January 10, 2019

Fuerte Amador, Panama (Panama City)

Last year when I was here I did the Hop-on, Hop-off bus and there were no excursions I really wanted to do so I took the free shuttle to the Albrook Mall.  The mall had to be one of the top two largest malls I have ever been to.  I only walked from one end to almost the other on the ground floor and ended up spending two and a half hours.  There were at least three food courts as well as various small kiosks of food.  If you had a hankering for US fast food, you had your choice – McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, KFC, China Wok, Burger King, Carl’s Jr., Pizza Hut, Dominos, Subway, Popeyes, and more.  So what did I end up having for lunch???  Cinnabon!  I don’t think I have had a Cinnabon in ten years and it really tasted good (I don’t care much for HAL’s cinnamon buns).  For $3.25 I had the very healthy meal of a Cinnabon and a Coke.

I also used the ATM to get a little more US cash since two friends and I are going to hire a taxi in Manta rather than take a tour.  I have gotten into the bad habit of having a soda as I finish up my blog each night so I stopped in the “Super 99” store in the mall which has groceries as well as a little bit of everything and bought a 12-pack of ginger ale.   I took the 2:30 shuttle back to Fuerte Amador (it was about a 20 minute ride).  I then looked around in the duty free shop by the pier before taking the tender back to the ship.

I had enough time to take my drinks to my cabin before afternoon trivia.  We had 10.5 right out of 18.  The winning team had 12.5.

1) What was the name of the girl who died in “Love Story”?

2) Which former US President was a fashion model while in law school at Yale?

3) What is the minimum number of musicians needed for a “Big Band”?

4) What is the name of the tea company that is the largest in the UK and Canada and the second largest in the US?

5) And, for my Aussie friends…. Five of the stars on the Australian flag have seven points.  How many points does the sixth star have?

Had my afternoon ice cream (I missed yesterday) and sat with my feet in the Lido pool before heading to my deck to watch us sail away from Panama.

We once again came in second place in evening trivia with 18 out of 19 correct.  The winning team had all correct.

1) What disease gets its name from the Latin words for “bad air”?

2) Which company introduced the first decorative box of chocolates?

3) Which Japanese auto maker shares its name with the Persian god of light? (this is the one we missed)

4) In what year did the Berlin Wall open up?

5) What European country does Aruba maintain the strongest ties to?

Tonight was Panama Hat night.  Everyone was given a hat and the ladies’ hats were different from the mens’ (unlike last year when they were all the same).  Even the menu was decorated with Panama hats as were the penguins.  For dinner I had French onion soup with short ribs (very different), seafood fried rice with crabmeat and shrimp, and crème caramel. 

The show was a variety show with three of the performers from previous shows.  I did not go.

At the Mall…

My store!

Lunch

From my deck…

No desire to sail on this!

Last view of the Bridge of the Americas and the Biodiversity Museum

Panama Hat Night…

Menu

Penguins ready for the evening

my hat

Afternoon trivia….

1) Jenny

2) Gerald Ford

3) 10

4) Tetley

5) 5

Evening trivia….

1) Malaria

2) Cadbury

3) Mazda

4) 1989

5) Netherlands

Smooth sailing until next time!