DAY 17 - DAY 6 SERENITY

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

You might think that last evening was part of  the movie Groundhog Day since we went to the same venues before and during dinner.

We began our evening with a visit to the Crystal Cove to listen to pianist Richard Pucci perform.  He did play a whole set of new songs though as he always does.  LOL. We sat with a very nice couple who we met at the start of this cruise.

Dinner was at Prego for the second consecutive night.  Keith made an error when making the dinner reservations having us dine  for two consecutive nights but we decided to leave the second reservation in place.  

We dined with Cruise Director Rick.  We didn't take photos.

Since we were overnighting in Panama City and docked (sometimes we tender) we didn't have the gentle rocking of the ship to put us to sleep.  Anne Marie did sleep better and Keith slept well too.

We repeated the start of the day with a workout for Keith and breakfast in our room.  Afterwards, Keith went on a run outside on the Promenade Deck.   The Promenade Deck is wide and easily allows up to three people to walk side by side.  Typically there are only one or two walking so it was easy for Keith to run by them. He ran for 45 minutes and spoke with a few people he knew afterwards.  


While Keith was running he saw one of the new locks.  After the run he went to the room to get his camera and took a photo of it. Unfortunately he doesn't have his really good camera with us which has  a very long lens so he did the best he could taking the photo.  The lock is towards the left of the tower.

He spent time  with friends  Jim and Steve this morning.  We've known  them for many years.   Jim is on-board as a lecturer and celebrity entertainer and will be performing before dinner on Monday.  It was so  nice to catch up with them.

He also met former astronaut Scott Kelly and his lovely wife Amiko.  They were leaving today.   We will always remember his talk with several meaningful takeaways.  

Anne Marie made another visit to the Medical  Center in the morning for the nebulizer treatment.  Evidently there were two medical emergencies which meant both rooms were occupied.   She was asked to come back at 10:00 AM at which time she received the first treatment and returned later in the day for the second treatment.

We have visited Panama City on three different occasions and toured the city two times once on  a group Crystal tour and the other time on a private tour arranged by Crystal Cruises.
​
The city has a population of close to one million people who live in the downtown area and  the overall population is close to 1.4 million people when including the metropolitan area.
 
Panama City does feature two distinct cities in terms of look and feel; the old city along with a very modern skyline of beautifully designed skyscrapers.  
 
Like some cities around the world including some cities in our own nation even neighborhoods in this city change from block to block where one block might have tall modern buildings and the areas adjacent to it may have luxury homes with slums nearby.
 
Panama has a very strong economy.  Whereas unemployment was over 15% after the United States gave up control of the Panama Canal, unemployment continues to decrease. The biggest driver of revenue is the Duty Free Zone in Panama City which is focused on companies that sell and buy goods and it is the second biggest Duty Free Zone of the world behind Hong Kong.  Of course, the Panama Canal is a big driver of revenue and when the new Locks come on-line that will drive revenue even more.

The old city has gone through a major restoration to restore it to its former look.  The government moved quickly to accomplish this.   Unfortunately, this meant the displacement of many people who had been living  there.
 
We are including photos of the ancient city, old city and modern  city.
​

Lunch was at Marketplace where we enjoyed  salad entrees.   Keith wanted to play  Paddle Tennis  in  the afternoon but it was hot which kept people away. Tomorrow is a sea day so there will be play for sure.     Later in the afternoon  he met up with dear friend Bob.  Anne  Marie continued to read one  of three books  she  took out  from the library.   All  three  books are on the list  of books that is on the list for  the neighborhood book club.

Following is today's daily Reflections Program.

​

Cheers,

Anne Marie  & Keith