Panama City

After being told that we wouldn't be able to get a bus to Panama City til after new years, Erin and I were actually able to get on an overnight bus to the City the same day that we left Bocas del Toro...we arrived at about 4:30am in Panama City, found a 24 hour cafe where we hung out til a reasonable hour and checked into a hotel, and then later found a fantastic place on AirBnB, where we ended up extending our stay for an extra day, since the city was so fantastic.

Panama City is by far the most developed city in Central America, which I am sure is due to the Panama Canal, which brings millions of dollars to the city.

It also has really wild buildings, and an amazing skyline...

Panama City Skyline

The Yacht Club Apartments...the building is shaped like a yacht!

We spent New Years Eve in Panama, which turned out to be quite the experience....first, we decided to go out at about 10:00pm, so that we would be at the club at midnight to ring in the New Year...we took a cab to the club, and the club was closed.  As it turns out, in Panama City, the clubs don't open until midnight on New Years Eve...people spend time with their family and friends, then go out!

So, to kill time, we went here for a couple of drinks.  If I was rich, I would have loved to spend a night here, but the bar had an awesome atmosphere, and we felt super fancy!

we enjoyed beverages that were way too expensive...and it was perfect.

After this, we returned to the club, where we were still early, but experienced the huge display of fireworks in the city when the year turned...It sounded more like we were under attack...huge fireworks everywhere, and this continued for about an hour...

We finally went home around 3am, just as the club was really picking up...but it was late enough for us, especially after 3 hours of an open bar!!

This was a fantastic start to 2013!