Jaunted

Panama Travel / Bus Travel / Public Transportation / → All Tags

Are Panama's Red Devil Buses Now a Thing of the Past?

Panama City, though less visited and talked about than its neighbor to the north, San Jose, is by no means an outdated place. For evidence of that, simply look for the skyscrapers shooting up in high-end nabes like Punta Pacifica, the new promenade being constructed along the coast, as well as the recent arrival of big name hotels (Trump, Hard Rock, Waldorf-Astoria).

But there's one part of the city that has remained a glaring anomaly in the city's tireless campaign to bring itself into the 21st century: los diablos rojos. Translated literally as "red devils," these are second-hand schoolbuses that careen around the city, decorated vividly with cartoon characters and graffiti-style imagery, offering cheap rides to anyone brave enough to flag one down. Needless to say, these bad boys were hard to miss.

The only problem was they weren't the safest way to get around. Drivers were often more worried about what songs were playing on the radio, or how to fill their dashboard with as many dolls, statues, and toys as possible, than what was actually happening on the road.

For years, the city fought to put an end to the red devils—against the wishes of locals, who enjoyed the festive vibes on their morning commute (not to mention the 25¢ ticket price!). Again and again, the government would announce an expiration date for the red devils, and again and again, they would fail to do away with them.

But as of last month, it appears the lawless jalopies have been put to rest once and for all.

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Videos / Panama Canal / Panama Field Trip / Ships / Panama Travel / Museum Travel / → All Tags

Watch a Giant Container Ship Pass Through a Lock of the Panama Canal

Ever wondered what a giant container ship passing through the Panama Canal might look like? Well, it just so happens we were visiting down there last week, and managed to stop by the Miraflores Locks, on the Pacific side, to witness a giant Dole container ship—full of pineapples, we assume—ease its way into the canal.

The entire process involves three sets of locks (Miraflores, Pedro Miguel and Gatun) and takes about 8-10 hours (though they allow multiple ships to travel along the canal at once) from one ocean to the other. But worry not. We've gone ahead and sped up the process to cram a 45-minute Miraflores Locks crossing into an easy-to-swallow two-and-a-half minute video clip. See below!

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Airport News / Airports / Southwest Airlines / Delta / ECP / Florida Travel / → All Tags

That Oil Spill Isn’t Spoiling the Grand Opening of Northwest Florida's New Airport

After years of construction and buckets of cash, the brand new airport near Panama City, Florida has finally fired up the x-ray machines and metal detectors for the first time. Regular air service began earlier this week at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, and Southwest Airlines and Delta are the first carriers to bring in passengers from cities like Atlanta, Memphis, Orlando, Houston, and Baltimore. With connections through those cities, beach bums from across the country will be able to test out the new airport and the nearby sun and sand.

The place is the first new airport to open in the country since 1997, so hopefully the TSA lines will be designed a little better than the ones that have been crammed into some of the nation’s older airports. We heard that our favorite government agency was going to test out some new security tricks at the new airport too, but so far there haven’t been any juicy details.

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Panama Field Trip / Museums / Frank Gehry / → All Tags

Panama Still Waiting on That Building of the Future

Our own Brendan Spiegel is down in Panama this week and will be reporting back on all that he's seen and done. Whether or not he's wearing a Panama Hat, we can't say. But if you have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

Flip open any guidebook to Panama and you'll read that the country's biggest project since the canal is getting set to open "next year." The attraction in question is the Bridge of Life Museum, a celebration of natural biodiversity housed in a futuristic building designed by starchitect Frank Gehry. (You can check out the crazy design online).

The museum's backers hope the Bridge of Life will do for Panama City what Gehry's Guggenheim did for Bilbao, namely, give it a permanent spot on the global cultural map. And Panama seems to have all the tools in place.

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Panama Field Trip / Hotels / Casco Viejo / → All Tags

Panama Hotel Has Old World Setting, New World Style

Our own Brendan Spiegel is down in Panama this week and will be reporting back on all that he's seen and done. Whether or not he's wearing a Panama Hat, we can't say. But if you have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

Considering how built-up and cosmopolitan much of Panama City is, we've found that to our tastes, the accommodations game is surprisingly lacking.

You've got a bunch of very high-end places like The Bristol, which are pretty clearly outside our price range; there's a whole slew of cheap, dimly-lit pensions that strike us as just a tad too sketchy; and there are only one or two backpacker hostels to even speak of.

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Panama Field Trip / Street Food / Food Travel / → All Tags

Panama Street Food Is Worth Bringing the Cipro

Our own Brendan Spiegel is down in Panama this week and will be reporting back on all that he's seen and done. Whether or not he's wearing a Panama Hat, we can't say. But if you have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

When traveling in less developed countries, we're of mixed opinion about street food. The pros are obvious: genuine, not-for-tourist grub at prices often cheaper than a stateside pack of gum. The cons are also obvious, and evident when you spend a significant portion of vacation in the bathroom.

So we don't recommend partaking in street food everywhere you visit, but we're definitely declaring that Panama falls in the category of "bring some back-up stomach meds and pig out."

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Panama Field Trip / WiFi / Aiport WiFi / Airport-WiFi-Map / PTY / → All Tags

Where to Find WiFi in Panama

Our own Brendan Spiegel is down in Panama this week and will be reporting back on all that he's seen and done. Whether or not he's wearing a Panama Hat, we can't say. But if you have any questions or suggestions for him, let us know.

Jaunted is checking out the wild shores of Panama this week, and as you might expect, our first question upon arriving is, where can we find some WiFi?

The answer, quite surprisingly, is just about everywhere. Cosmopolitan Panama City is a telecommunications hub, with tech businesses like Dell, MCI and Swisscom basing much of their Latin American operations here, creating a mini-Silicon Valley along the isthmus. Consequentially, the Internet infrastructure across the country is years ahead of the rest of Central America.

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Trouble over Trump Burj Knockoff

The developers of the Trump Ocean Club in Panama City just obtained a protective order against Dubai's Jumeirah Group from a Panamanian court. The Ocean Clubbers say they've faced "veiled threats of legal action" from the Middle Eastern luxury hotel chain because Jumeirah feels that Trump's new $220 million tower copies the design of their flagship Burj Al Arab in Dubai.

The Trump Ocean Club, pictured at right, does look a lot like the Burj, at left, but you'd think Jumeirah would be flattered. The Burj Al Arab's sail-style construction has been described by critics as the "pinnacle of tackiness," so it's no surprise that Trump would admire the design. Besides, it's not like the Trump folks copied the Burj's amazing rooftop tennis court.

Jumeirah hasn't tried to sue yet, and we doubt they actually will: This whole thing smells like a Trump publicity stunt. Selling your place as a Burj knockoff is probably a lot easier than getting mega-rich tourists excited about Panama City.

Related Stories:
· Trump Ocean Club [Official Site]
· Trump Project in Panama Goes to Court [IHT]
· Trump Tower Developer Gets Order of Protection [La Prensa]

[Photo: IHT]

Celeb Travel / Crime / → All Tags

Panama City, FL: Drop In On Joe Francis, 'Cause He's Not Going Anywhere

Are you a girl? Do you want to go wild? Better do it in Panama City, FL, where the founder of Girls Gone Wild is serving 23 days of jail time for contempt of court.

Joe Francis, who built an empire on offering girls free hats for a quick peek at the goodies, is facing charges of tax evasion and failure to pay fines on a previous charge of capturing minors gone wild. Francis could use some visitors; he's not having a good time in the Bay County Jail, having already attempted to smuggle in prescription drugs and bottled water by bribing a guard, according to Celebitchy. (And like many of his exploits, that was caught on tape. Oops?)

The good news is, it is now safe to go wild in the Panama City area.

[Photo: Celebrity Gossip]