Traveling to Costa
Rica has been forefront in my mind for many months now. I've been
talking to Shannon about what we'd see and do there and telling
everyone how excited I was to go. With great anticipation, I left Lima last week….to have it all come to a screeching halt when
I reached the gate for my last flight in Panama. I handed my
boarding pass to the attendant...
“And your yellow
fever vaccination card?”
“My what?…. But
I don't need that-I'm American... I checked the requirements!”
“Yes, but
travelers coming from Peru must have one.”
“... <jaw drop>...”
And thus my plans
came crashing down around me. What an idiotic mistake!
“But wait,” you may be asking, “Why didn't you get the vaccine in Panama and then go on to Costa
Rica the next day?” Well, I would have liked to, however, to be
effective, the vaccine requires a 10 day waiting period – longer
even than my planned journey! I was left with two options - turn around and return to Peru the same day or stay and explore Panama. As I was already geared up to explore a new place, I opted for the latter. Fortunately, Panama doesn't require the same vaccination!
Happily, Shannon was able to join me for a couple of days as well, so we were
able to have a bit of the adventure we had been planning for so long.
After some quick
research, we decided to stay in the up and coming part of Panama
City, Casco Viejo. It had a great view of the skyline of Panama City.
Although it's not so pretty when the tide is out...
Casco Viejo has a bit of a Village-y feel
...much like my beloved Barranco
 |
| Iglesia San Francisco |
 |
| It would be interesting to see the changes in a few years. Many of the buildings we saw were just in the beginning phases of reconstruction, with just the front walls finished, but mere shells inside. |
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