Panama Update #37
August 24, 2008
Yesterday (Saturday) morning we got a call from the manager of the apartment we had looked at in Casco Antiguo. He said he had rented the apartment to someone else who could move in immediately and stay for a year. We were a little upset that he did not call us first before renting it to someone else, but that must be the way they do business here. We decided to walk down to that area anyway, to see how long it would take to get there from Ancon, where we live now. We found a route that took only 20 minutes and it seems fine to walk in that area in the daylight hours. We went to the Canal Museum in the area and then ate lunch nearby at a place called the Super Gourmet Deli. They had very tasty soup and sandwiches and a few grocery items on sale, and is in a very convenient location. We talked to several people there about apartments available in the area, but they were either too small or too expensive. Since we are not in a rush, we will keep looking there and other areas of the city.
From Casco Antiguo we took a 20 minute ($2) taxi ride to the Multi Centro Mall in the downtown area. There is a small Indian store near there that Nikki had gone to once before but I had not seen it. It only has a few items and is the only store in the city that specializes in products from India. It seems clear that a large Indian community like they have here could support a much bigger store, so there is an opportunity for someone. Every Saturday afternoon from 4:00-6:00 they have an informal vegetarian buffet. You can get a small plate packed with a variety of traditional Indian dishes for only $2.50. The food was spicy and tasted great. It is normally only a store, not a restaurant, so they set out a bench for people to sit on while they are eating. It was fun to at least try it once, but will probably not make a special trip there again. If we are in the area anyway at that time, for shopping or to see a movie, we would definitley go again.
