Around The World In 80 Waves

Wooo-hooo! I have made it to Panama City.

Some said it couldn’t be done. Many more suggested it shouldn’t be done.

However I have arrived at the end of the road, and since arriving here I have been enjoying not doing a great deal and recharging my batteries.

I have done a bit of sight seeing including going down to the dilapidated area of the former colonial capital, known as San Felipe.

There are some wonderful old buildings, but a significant number of them appear to be falling to pieces, partly because the area got a bit of a hammering during the US invasion in 1999.

From the Paseo Las Bovedas which runs alongs the shore there you can see all the ships lined up and waiting to enter the canal.

I am told the constuction work in the foreground is the start of a new yachting marina, which is part of a major investment plan for the area.

Driving along the shore towards the modern city centre you come to the Vasco Núñez de Balboa bronze statue. He is holding the Spanish flag in his left hand and a sword with his right as he overlooks Panama Bay.

Vasco crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to have seen the Pacific from the Eastern side.

However I have it on good authority that he is no relation to Rocky.