Casco Viejo - Locks and Mall - Central America

February 1, 2023

Casco Viejo - Locks and Mall

I took a que from my wife this morning, who always takes so much better pictures than me of everything, and went out early to take some pictures of the neighborhood before the sun came up and there were any cars and people in the street. You will have seen some of these scenes already, but it's just a different perspective and some nicer pictures I feel.

Then, after that, I had to wait around in my hotel lobby for a little bit because I had locked my key in my room, and it was before the receptionist came in. But I got all that worked out and then, today it was time to check out the Miraflores Locks. I mean you have to visit that if you're gonna be in Panama right? They opened at 8:00am, and I got there about 8:30, and it was packed already. For whatever reason, they don't let ships through from 10 to 2, so it was a real treat to see two huge cargo vessels go through this morning. There was not a lot of other stuff to see here though – an IMAX video narrated by Morgan Freeman, but I can YouTube that stuff too, so I was not going to waste my time in Panama with a movie. So after the ships went through, I left there and then went to the Albrook mall. This mall is the second largest in all of North and South America - second only to Mall of America in Minneapolis. They had three food courts! Just over 4,000,000 ft.²! the Mall of America is just over 5,000,000 ft.² . All the other larger malls are in Asia or Dubai (of course).

Tomorrow is officially my last ride of the tour, before I break down my bike and get everything packed up for a Sunday morning flight. Its only about 4 miles away from here. I hate to leave this hotel I'm in now though – it is so quiet and in such a charming, culture-filled neighborhood, but this will give me a taste of downtown Panama life then too.

Apparently, most all ships are constructed to the specifications dictated by this canal. the trolleys help keep the ships from hitting the walls only; they move forward under their own propulsion. There are only 34" from the side of the ships and the walls of the locks!

Albrook Mall. There were all the usual stores we would see in the states, but then a lot that I've never heard of. Some of these stores really just focus on low-cost. I saw t-shirts, underwear, and shorts for $.99 or $1.99! Obviously super poorly made too.

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