The Canal

So apparently there's like a canal for boats or something in Panama that's kind of a big deal. The French tried to build it at the turn of the 19th century and pussed out (big surprise) after 22,000 people died of yellow fever. Luckily, after fomenting Panama's cecession from Colombia and subsequently convincing the nascent government to sign a contract screwing itself out of a huge section of the country, America finished the job.

Oh, and the Chinese helped. Actually so many Chinese people helped that there's a huge amount of Chinese heritage. Lots of people who look Hispanic turn out to have last names like Chong here. I went to the lookout point to see the Bridge Across the Americas (pictured) and the whole place is decked out like a Chinese temple.

Panama City

I just flew into Panama City and was surprised to see how developed the area is. Real estate is clearly big money here right now and the ads are everywhere. I'm staying in the San Francisco district which isn't even that ritsy and from my room I can see at least five stationary cranes. They're probably working on more resorts and condos. It reminds me of Dubai, but cheaper.

Unfortunately, it's also ultra touristy. The Americans clearly didn't leave after the Panamanians took back their canal. I even ran into a guy from Virginia Beach. He was some surfer punk who went to Cox High School, like five minutes from my house. I'm not sure why that bothers me, but I think I'm gonna have to get out of the city and into the northern part of the country sooner than I planned.

Viajeros

I met up with a few other backpackers to split the cost of a room and they turned out to be great company. Andrés (center) is an Argentinian 21 year old who started backpacking last year. He's constantly singing songs to himself and actually has a really good voice. Ruben (left) is from Puerto Rico and is working on his masters in history. He's thinking of studying in America and asked me to talk with him for a few hours in English so he could practice.

We went out to check out the murallas again, this time with some daylight so I could photograph the walls themselves, and it turns out they're actually made largely from coral. The military engineer who constructed them had the bright idea of using whatever materials were readily available and they've proven quite sturdy.

Andrés and Ruben are heading southward by bus today, working their way down the west coast back to Buenos Aires, where they started their trip. Unfortunately I've changed my plans and am no longer heading that direction. Instead I've decided to go north. My next stop is Panama and I leave tomorrow by plane. We said our goodbyes in front of the turrets as it started to rain.

Gigantic Lizard

I was walking along in the lovely though postage stamp sized Parque del Centenario, trying to translate the plaques underneath statues like this one, when I noticed this gigantic lizard in the middle of the park just staring at me. Why was it there? This is a gigantic metropolitan city, it is pretty much the worst possible habitat imaginable. I don't even think it's native to this region, although I'm certainly no zoologist. The guy apparently was a little camera shy because he beat feet up the nearest tree as soon as I started filming and it got a lot more difficult to get a good shot with the bad lighting.

Street Eats

Though it's pretty much always a craps shoot, the street food here has proven to be largely delicious. There are plenty of exotic looking fruits, deliciously fried goodies, and unidentifiable types of sausage. This is a picture of a very Costeñan treat, thick fried arepa (doughy cornbread) filled with cheese. The arepa is delicious but they put so much margarine in them I could choke.

You can wash it down with one of the myriad types of juice available here. This kind is made from a tiny citrus fruit that's native to the region. It looks like a small lime but is much pulpier has a huge seed in the middle. They sweeten it, chill it, and ladle it copiously into plastic cups for you. I always end up spilling some.

Ciudad Vieja

The Old City (the part of Cartagena where all the tourists go) is another historical site, founded in 1533 and largely preserved. It's surrounded by murallas, giant walls built to keep out pirates. They still have cannons mounted on them which you can actually climb on. I was on top of one when I took this picture of the street.

The architecture is distinctly colonial but in a very different style from Villa De Leyva. It's more grandiose, probably because it was a major port and commercial center. The downside is it's also swelteringly hot. Luckily it's the rainy season, apparently when there isn't cloudcover from all the rain it's around 100 degrees every day.

Instrumentos de Tortura

Apparently the Inquisition had some dealings in Latin America as well as in Europe because there's a museum here in Cartagena about it and the instruments of torture they used. It's really quite a gruesome part of history. The nails in is collar were actually bolted all the way to the bone, which surprisingly is not immediately fatal.

All the dislays had little labels with descriptions and notes translating to "this instrument was not used in Cartagena" or something like that and at first I wondered if the Inquisition used any equipment here, but now I think what they mean is that the ones on display were from other cities. The realization that this thing was actually used to slowly crush people's heads was not a pleasant one and it's safe to say this place is not one of my favorite museums.

Cartagena!

So I just made it into Cartagena from Bogotá on a 22 hour bus ride next to a very amiable though heavily accented Costeña and her diapered dog. Their names were Katia and Motita and they were wonderful company, though the Paris Hilton style pet pampering was adorably ridiculous. I got in so late I didn't have time to do much but check into a hostel and wander in search of some much deserved street food / internet. First impressions say the historic town will be incredibly interesting and hellishly hot.

Colombian Dancing

I met up with Rosa and a group of her friends to do some more clubbing and accidentally got sloshed on aguardiente. Aguardiente is a sugary, anise flavored liqueur and I found out a little too late it's the most potent liqueur I've ever encountered (around 55 proof I think). I'm pretty sure it helped my dancing though, I asked the girls for some lessons and apparently wasn't bad. Colombian dancing is a lot like frotteurism. You straddle your partner's thigh so your crotch is like right up in their business, then you sort of gyrate your hips in a manner which all too closely resembles dry humping.