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1st February 2016
Peter spoke to the concierge at the hotel yesterday and decided the best way to see Panama and especially The Canal was to have a guide and 'do' it properly. As he had so looked forward to it last year, we didn't want to miss a single detail and as Javier arrived at 9.45am we let him take over our morning.
We are driven for 15 minutes to the Miraflores Lock complex which houses the information centre for the Panama Canal and on 4 floors it comprises 4 major viewing platforms running alongside the Miraflores set of locks. The French and a certain Monsieur de Lesseps (The designer and constructor of the Suez Canal, no less ) first tried to create a canal through the middle of Panama to connect the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea in the 1880s but problems with finance and diseases amongst the workers caused the idea to fail. But in 1903 when Panama became independent they formed an agreement with the U.S. and on August 15th 1914 the canal was finished and America managed the waterway until 1977 when the Americans passed over ownership of the canal to Panama in a treaty agreed between the Panamanian President Torrijos and the American President Jimmy Carter and finally, as agreed, Panama took over complete control at the end of December, 1999.
Panama run a fantastic canal and the viewing centre and museum is fascinating, my favourite bit was the simulator of a huge vessel being negotiated through the canal, Jen Mills I thought of your George. To be a pilot, doing that must be awesome.
Since 2007 there has been an expansion programme in force to double the waterways capacity to satisfy the increasing demand of world maritime trade. The ginormous ships will increase from 4500 containers per vessel to 12,000 in the new facility when it is finished sometime in the next 18 months.
Next we take a tour with Javier around the major sites of Panama and walk around the 'Old Town' and we take loads of pictures of the beautiful architecture including the French Embassy which is very smart sat at the edge of the water, overlooking the Pacific.
Tonight, as agreed, we must find a good place to eat and if at all possible within walking distance of our hotel. We head to our pool to relax and study Trip Advisor for advice on this. Lo and behold the nearest restaurant, almost adjoining the Waldorf is high on ratings of good places to eat, it is called La Posta. We wander to find it and make a booking, in Spanish with the car-valet guy who seems to get the idea, so we hope for the best. We arrive at 7pm prompt as this is, we understand the opening time, but there already a few at the bar and a couple of tables occupied.
Our booking has been recorded and during the next 2 hours we enjoy a perfect meal of superb quality. Now Peter will say my blogs are all about food and anyone who knows me, knows I do enjoy a good meal. But Mr. Flack is not averse to an excellent repast so I will tell you in full about this delightful night. A difference between last nights farce and tonight is the thought of Fawlty Towers to Raymond Blanc! We were first given menus, then water, then a very delightful glass of Prosecco! This is more like it! We get bread rolls and butter, an Amuse Bouche of tiny fried fritters of a vegetable concoction and a shot glass of a cold soup, flavoured with Wasabi, very nice! Having ordered we relax and watch as the place fills, the waiters busy themselves and even people are turned away. There must be at least 50 diners on a Monday evening having the most wonderful time, in this beautifully ornate Italian restaurant . We enjoy 2 Carpaccios, one of Beef and one of Octopus, done 3 different ways to share. We follow that with two delicious seafood pasta dishes and even then manage deserts. All accompanied with a perfect bottle of Pinot, a superb night was had. La Posta will get a 5 star write up on Trip advisor, they should get 10!
- comments
Caroline Dilks You do look so happy in the photos :) xxxxxxx
Maud Looks great. Better than Being in Swindon on a night away for work no comparison. Xx
liz tomaney We are learning so much from your blogs. Have fun