|
Articles.TravelAndTourismInfo.com (Guest Articles | Visit Main Website ) |
Home | Submit Articles | Login |
| ALL Countries | USA | Brazil | France | India | Spain | Egypt | Travel Tips |
Taxiing Through Panama CityBY: Carl-Sham GmbH | Category: SOUTH AMERICA | Submitted: 2011-02-16 09:10:51
Carl Hinrichsen and Shamala S. Palaniappan jump into a taxi where the taxi driver takes them through leaps and bounds through history in Panama City. "Taxi" A word that translates into almost any language. When caught in the aftermath of a tropical storm and hailing a cab, you would anticipate just being able to get into the warm, cosy interior of a taxi when you hail one down. However, we were in for a different ride. „Too bad all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxis,„ said George Burns and we have all had our fair share of tales of taxi drivers, some more insidious than others. But, we were in luck as we waited on a puddle-ridden bustling street in Panama City, we managed to hail a tour guide extraordinaire, who turned out to be a bit of a historian and a jolly good chap to throw in for good measure. Our ride began with a twenty minute conversation by the side of a crowded main street on how we should not be headed to the Panama Canal late in the evening but instead, our taxi driver would drive us around a little and share snippets of information. We were in luck! As he chattered away in a smattering of English and suave Spanish, our eyes were treated to a kaladeiscope of tropical colours surging through what was a dreary evening. He pulled in by the Amador Causeway where we stood out by the waterway, dazzled by the Bridge of the Americas and the stunning Panama City's skyscraper skyline. It was from this very area that cannon shots were fired to drive a Colombian warship away to ascertain independence. From revolutionary to religious , we were then whisked away to Casco Viejo, a 337-year old neighbourhood where we first entered the Iglesia de San Jose. The church is famous for its Golden Altar which a priest had painted black to disguise from the pillages and plunders that occurred during the course of history. Our taxi driver shocked us by lifting a vault cover that was well hidden and explained how gold had been hidden in there. In awe, we sauntered on to be amazed by the Arco Chato (The Flat Arch), a monumental marvel that was the deciding factor to whether the building of the Panama Canal could go on. Built in 1678 and spanning 50 feet, the arch was to be the proof that earthquakes and storms would not affect the building of the canal. Our taxi driver espoused the beauty of the arch and how it had withstood the test of time and earth movements with no support other than its terminal arches. To add humour to the situation, our driver chuckled on how Panama's Centennial celebrations with fireworks display brought down a lot of the then 300-year old arch! Around 300 steps away, we found ourselves in the southern Tip of Casco Viejo, in Plaza Francia and were affronted by a large obelisk topped by a rooster. Our taxi driver, well-informed as he was, told us that the obelisk was in honour of the Frenchmen who had stated the task of building a canal in 1880 but perished. The obelisk was surrounded by 12 slabs of marble that outline the history of the Panama Canal. What we did not know was that we were in store for a little bit of magic, or well, a trick. We were asked to push against the monument and lo and behold, a trap door opened up. Apparently, all valuables were thrown down the vault when pirates approached. And, the trapdoor led to the trapdoor at the Iglesia de San Jose where we had viewed an earlier trapdoor! Gleeful, we checked out the Paseo Las Bovedas, the Promenade of Vaults and the nine restored dungeons in the area. One of them is now a restaurant and our taxi driver did not hold back as he vented out his displeasure on the treatment of slaves and showed us a rather awful trapdoor, which was an entryway to where slaves were held. It was another time and our time with our taxi driver was drawing to an end. As a last bit of a treat before we were taxied away, he urged us on to the Lover's Walk, which was a beautiful canopied walk and by the moonlight, with the sea lapping at the Old Spanish seawall, Panama City held a lot of hope for times ahead. Article Source: http://articles.travelandtourisminfo.com/ About Author / Additional Info: Comments on this article: (0 comments so far)
Additional Articles: • Family Holidays in South Africa • Reducing the Risk of DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) While Traveling • Loneliness: Dreaming of the World • Fishing to the Fullest in Finland Waters Latest Articles in "SOUTH AMERICA" category: • Eight Ways to Make Travelling to the Galapagos More Rewarding • Visiting the Controversial Devil's Island, French Guiana Important Disclaimer: All articles on this website are for general information only and is not a professional or experts advice. We do not own any responsibility for correctness or authenticity of the information presented in this article, or any loss or injury resulting from it. We do not endorse these articles, we are neither affiliated with the authors of these articles nor responsible for their content. Please see our disclaimer section for complete terms. 
Copyright © 2010 travelandtourisminfo.com - Do not copy articles from this website. |
|||||||
| | Home | Disclaimer | Xhtml | | |||||||
