Trinidad and Tobago
We didn't go to Tobago, the holiday island, so perhaps I am being a little harsh, but Trinidad isn't high on my list of recommendations.
Port of Spain
We're back at the Hilton on the hillside overlooking Savannah Park. Dirty, scruffy piece of ground. The guidebooks mention the Magnificent Seven, a row of historical mansions bordering the park. Mostly boarded up and derelict. Downtown and Independence Square. Desserted and dangerous looking on a Sunday. Waterfront. We did have a coffee at the Grand Hyatt. And we had brunch at a food court. Well just a few take away windows and some benches. We got some local dishes to try. The place was packed with groups and families waiting for Carnival party boats. You gotta be dressed to the nines;very tight, very colourful, very bling. At noon, the DJ on the boat cranks up the music, a sign that it's time to board. You can take your own coolers on board and by the time they set sail, it's literally standing room only for a day on the water; dancing and drinking.
Caroni Swamp
We did an afternoon boat tour on the Caroni Swamp. This was amazing. Travelling through the mangroves, the guide showed us lots of birds, including the common pootoo, something like a tree dwelling nightjar. And boa constrictors curled up and hopefully asleep in the trees above our heads. Once out on the lake we saw flamingoes but the absolute highlight was watching thousands and thousands of scarlet ibis coming in to roost. I'd recommend stopping in Trinidad for this spectacle alone.
Panama City
Driving from the airport into Panama City with it's high-rise condos lining the seafront, it reminded us of Singapore about 25 years ago.
Our hotel was well located in El Cangrejo and it was safe to walk everywhere. Stopping for good coffee was back on the agenda.
The fishing port and fish market is worth a visit. We headed into the Casco Veijo or Old Town, a world heritage site that is fast gentrifying and fun to explore. We found a branch of Marzola Parilla for drinks and a late lunch, with a window table; great for people watching. After lots of googling to find live music in this city, we had a great meal and music at Cafe Pomodoro, around the corner from our hotel.
Birding Panama
Via a bit of research and some luck, we contacted Gonzalo Horna via email and arranged a day of birdwatching for the following morning. He drove us out to Pipeline Road, Gamboa, near the canal. In the trees in the carpark we saw toucans, macaws and parrots. What a fantastic spot to watch birds.We were out for 5 hours. Gonzalo found us 4 out of the 5 different Trogans in the area and we saw more than 50 species. Seeing massive ships cruising through the jungle on the canal is pretty surreal.
Back in town, the "trendy" nightlife area of Camp Alegre was pretty dead on a Wednesday night but we did have a great meal at La Posta.
Road Trip
On our 3rd day we hired a car. First stop, the Panama Canal. The history of the canal is really interesting and the engineering for the new canal that can take the Supertankers, impressive. For the largest ships, 1 crossing can cost up to a million USD.
We drove all the way to Portabelo on the Northern coast of Panama. The old buildings have been declared a World Heritage Site but what a shabby, sad and disappointing place. The wooden statue of Black Jesus in the Cathedral attracts Catholic Pilgrims from all over Central and South America; some of whom crawl on their hands and knees for many kilometres to get there.
We drove back to Gamboa to do an afternoon boat cruise on THE canal and to Monkey Island. Rather funny negotiations about price and destination ensued due to our complete inability to speak Spanish, but we jumped into the boat with 2 French ladies who were out to fish and hoped for the best. We saw 4 different species of monkey and lots of birds and our skipper rode the wakes of the giant ships on the canal like a pro surfer.
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