Stilt House in Bocas del Toro, Isla Colon, Panama
This was originally posted on my old blog, ngmarleyDOTnet, on Jun 30, 2009 @ 09:45 CST. That blog is now defunct and the content is slowly being absorbed into this one. This is one of a few posts I wrote when traveling Latin America during the summer of 2k9.
Rudi Gunn: What’s a Panama? Al Giordino: It’s a Navy thing. Rudi Gunn: I didn’t know you were in Panama. Al Giordino: We weren’t in Panama, we were in Nicaragua. Rudi Gunn: So why do you call it a Panama? Al Giordino: Because we thought we were in Panama!
I’ve noticed several main differences between Panama and Costa Rica. I’m really only comparing my experiences between the capital city of San José, Costa Rica and David, Panamá, which is Panama’s 2nd largest city.
- Costa Rican drivers will run you over. Panama drivers will stop for you in the road.
- The infrastructure here in Panama is generally a bit better than that of Costa Rica. Roads, electricity, internet, etc.
- In David, Panamá, it’s safe to walk the streets, and even safer on the sidewalks. Even at night. Not so much in San José, Costa Rica.
- They have a lot of air conditioning in Panama, and it’s actually cool/cold. In Costa Rica, when there is air conditioning, it’s not that great. And it’s not often that you’ll find it there at all.
- The supermarkets here (the big ones) in Pamana are like home. I stayed in one for 1/2 hour just looking around and being reminded of all the American products. They have Latin-American branded products too, but also quite a lot of the same stuff that the local Bentonville Wal-Mart sells (American labels and all). I don’t recall seeing that in Costa Rica. Also, in Panama, they are air-conditioned.