After the sensory overload that is Africa, I have to say that Panama City seems very bland. I've not been getting any sights, sounds, smells or encounters that shout out "This is Latin America!", just a neat, clean and tidy set of streets and pavements with the occasional bank or fast food outlet - and lots of greenery.
Our office is in the canal zone, effectively a 1950's army barracks set amongst remnants of tropical forest. It's full of birds (saw my first scarlet-chested tanager today!), and has the surreal sight of giant ships appearing to pass along between one field and the next, but otherwise it seems to have no character whatsoever. I'd been keen to live near the office, having got used to a five minute walk to work in Dakar, but one look out of the window persuaded me otherwise. This is American family territory - great for those with children, dogs and cars but with nothing to offer someone single, childless and carless like me. There aren't even any supermarkets that don't involve a drive to a mall, let alone anywhere to go out in the evenings.
Understanding my response to the canal zone, on Saturday afternoon a colleague drove me into the main part of the city. Single herself, she was keen to show me why I might want to live downtown like her, in one of the skyscrapers lining the bay. & I must say a 30th floor apartment, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and with a communal gym and pool on hand, certainly has its attractions. I was surprised though to find just how well sound travels upwards, the noise from the four-lane dual carriageway down below making the high rise balcony anything but tranquil. A major disadvantage too would be the daily commute from that side of town, with a choice between losing a good part of my income to taxi fares or spending 2-3 hours a day on buses.
So what to do? I'm trying not to forget the lesson of Dakar as to just how important it is to live somewhere you like, somewhere you look forward to getting home to at the end of the day, but it seems that there will be nowhere here that ticks every box.
I'm off to Haiti tomorrow for a three-week assignment, but I think that on my return I'm going to have to get out there and onto those buses and see whether I could cope with them on a regular basis.
Hi Louise,
ReplyDeleteglad to see you arrived safely
when you said "saw my first scarlet-chested tanager today" I read that as "scarlet-chested teenager",.. & thought maybe the American kids had been out in the sun too much,.. (not that I’d know the difference.., my eyesight's not as good as it used to be :-( )
Anyway, hope you manage to find somewhere more 'you' to live. Somehow I can't see you enjoying either noisy tower blocks, or happy family zones,.. but knowing your tenacity for getting what you want, I’m sure you’ll find something
Finally got hold of "A Guide to the Birds of Panama" and have to correct my post - there's no such thing as a scarlet-chested tanager, it was a crimson-backed tanager (though still sounds like American kids who've been in the sun too long!).
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