We landed in Panama after connecting via a red-eye flight through Miami. It’s plenty hot here. Our hotel has air conditioning in the individual rooms, but the halls are only slightly cooler than being outside in the sun. We napped for a few hours in the room after we arrived and then wandered the neighborhood looking for a snack.

The hotel is in the Casco Viejo district of the capital city and only a few blocks from the presidential palace. The area is gentrifying, although unevenly. One block features bars with dress codes, while the next has garbage in the streets and stray dogs.

The hotel is over 100 years old and most of the interior is marble. Owned by an American expat family, they rent everything from shared bunkbeds to a penthouse suite. Our accomodations are in the middle of that range, but closer to the penthouse than a shared room full of bunkbeds.

It’s not even 9 pm yet, but I think we’ll be turning in early after the long night of travel. Tomorrow we’ll head down to the nearby fish market to try some of the fresh ceviche then wander off to explore the city.