Panama City

The Hostel I am staying at is typical for the ones in this area I have seen.  Cement construction, high ceilings, weird layout, conduit and pipes and wires not concealed.  And fairly cheap.
The name of the place is Casco Viejo, and it is an old part of Panama City (PC).  There is construction and re-building happening all over the city.

It seems like every second building in this section of town is either in desperate need of re-building or is some stage of being re-built.  The rest of the place looks postcard perfect.  The pictures from the square with the church show this if you look closely.  The church itself is old and rugged, proud to show it's age and the storms and years it has endured.  The buildings opposite it in the following photo at first glance seem fine, but only the facing has been redone.  The building itself is an empty shell and the scaffolding on the building next to it shows the effort underway.

The modern core of Panama also has construction, the highrise on the left edge is raw and showing its bones.

The walk along the edge of the bay shows the two faces of the city quite well, the first photo showing the area I am staying in with its Spanish colonial architecture, and the wonderfully done seawall that stretches to the modern high rise mass of the modern downtown.

The transition between the two is prompted by Mercado De Marisco, the fish market.  I may take a few photos of the place, but so far have restricted myself to eating only.  Ceviche in a cup will cost you between $1 - $5 depending on the type of seafood you want.  If you wander behind the cafes selling the food, you find the market where they get the ingredients.  One good lungful of air, and there is absolutely no doubt that it is a fish market, both a large one and an old one.  There is also a transition time, one between the people looking for fish, and starting at about noon, the ones looking for a meal of truly fresh fish.