Welcome to the Panama Weekly News Roundup! Here’s the latest.
Panama City’s style shines in 2016
Panama City, and more specifically Casco Viejo, is getting a lot of attention from travelers these days. So much so, that’s it’s drawing attention as a go-to place for fashion, cuisine, and cosmopolitan culture. In a recent feature by Conde Nast, the magazine goes over why Panama City is Latin America’s most stylish destination.
One place driving the city’s turnaround right now is the still-gritty but relentlessly atmospheric Casco Viejo, the pastel-hued, colonial-era quarter less than two miles from the canal where foreigners and locals alike are giving new life to neglected real estate. Surrounded on three sides by the Pacific, the area is sleepy in the midday heat but begins to stir at sunset, when “the shirtless neighborhood boys head to the squares for soccer matches,” Ringer says, “and salsa spills out of spaces you presumed were abandoned.”
Source: Conde Nast Traveler
Panama strengthens ties with Thailand
This week, government officials from both Thailand and Panama met to discuss, and sign, a mutual agreement to strengthen ties between the two nations, both diplomatically and economically.
Panamanian Deputy Foreign Minister Luis Miguel Hincapie, and Thailand’s Head of Department of American and South Pacific Affairs Songsak Saicheua signed the memorandum of understanding on the Establishment of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism between the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Panama and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
The bilateral consultation will cover a range of mutual interests such as political, economic, commercial, financial, industrial, cultural, educational, social, scientific and technological cooperation, as well as investment, development, tourism and sport.
Source: Fox News Latino
Google Just Made Panama’s Confusing Bus System A Little Easier
Ride the Metro Bus in Panama? Well, for many people who don’t use it frequently, figuring out routes and times can be a bit confusing. Luckily, that’s all changing these days with Google Maps.
Learning how to use the bus in Panama City was not an easy task for me and often involved getting lost along the way. The was no “enter start and end destination” and the fastest route would instantly be calculated. I would have to look up multiple routes on a PDF map, hope the bus would actually come, and go where it said it would.
On Monday August 23, Google launched a beta version of Metro Bus routes in Panama City on their popular Google Maps app. For the first time in Panama, users will be able to enter their start and end destination and have a step-by-step route on how to get there using the bus and metro.
Source: PTY Life
Top 5 Places to Bring Friends and Family When They Visit Panama
Do you have any guests headed your way? Have you thought about where to take them? Panama is full of great things to see for tourists, and entertaining your guests is easier than you think, no matter what your budget. Check out our top 5 favorite places to bring friends and family when they visit Panama.
One of the most fun, unique, and cultural experiences you can do in Panama City is to visit the Mercado de Mariscos (fish market). The market is located at the southern end of Panama’s coastal belt park (Cinta Costera), and is a vibrantly large area to buy fish. Even if you’re not in the mood to buy, you can do some great people watching, and take some colorful photos of local people, boats, sea life, etc. There’s music blasting from every angle, and you can even get a heaping cup of ceviche for less than $3. Plus, you can walk there from most parts of the city using the beautiful, pedestrian only, Cinta Costera park.
Continue reading about places to bring your family and friends when visiting Panama
