Caribbean diaries (2) - Miami, Panama City and San Salvador

Miami

Fort Lauderdale from the air

Miami was a base for us when I was in the Caribbean and I flew in and out from there many times (6 times at last count). So I got to see it lot more from the top than on the ground 😁. And it looked just like I had imagined. The skyline while landing in Miami was always enchanting. A mix of the high rises in the city, with sun and waves all around it. And while landing at places nearby, like Fort Lauderdale, you can see the retirement houses lining the coast, with their huge houses, swimming pools and palm trees all around. The whole coast is densely populated, with lots of buildings and palm trees lining it for tens of kilometres. Also once when I was landing, we also flew over a long stretch of swamps all the way to Miami, which made for pretty pictures. So from the top, it was definitely a different experience every time.

Miami downtown from the air

The airport experience though was never great. There were always long queues for immigration, lot of confusion and very rude staff every time. There was a lack of clear directions in the airport, especially when taking connecting flights between terminals. Immigration took forever, with the attendants very rude to you if you do anything out of the ordinary, like take out your phone! And the US flights are quite low in service anyways. The whole experience just leaves a very bad taste in the mouth. And it made me decide to avoid connecting through US airports as much as I can.

During my stay in the Caribbean, I twice stayed there for a night between flights (once in Fort Lauderdale and once in Miami), and once spent a whole weekend in Miami. My first night there was spent in Hyatt House hotel in Fort Lauderdale which was quite a disappointment. The hotel was very downmarket and full of very random and scary people. It barely had any facilities or eating options. I tried walking to the nearby mall but the sidewalk was closed. So I decided to order in the food and what came was so American - a lot of food! Overall my experience wasn't great and I would never recommend the hotel to anyone. But the drive there from Miami had been quite refreshing, with palm trees and holiday homes everywhere, and a nice relaxed vibe to the air. So clearly, there was something better in the offing in Miami.

Retirement communities

So I turned up there again, for a weekend, when we stayed in Miami and ended up doing nothing much really 😀. We were staying in a huge airbnb in one of the gated communities in the city and it was an amazing experience. Staying in a 7-8 bedroom house with multiple living places and its own pool was definitely a unique experience. We walked around the area a bit and got to see some of the huge luxurious houses around which were interesting.

The whole vibe of the city was so relaxed and it was raining the whole weekend. So we ended up just doing indoor stuff at a slow Floridan pace. Our first outing was a brunch in the warm weather at Morgans which was a nice start to the day. And we spent the rest of the day shopping at the Sawgrass shopping mall.  We spent some time walking in the Design District and Birknell, both of which seemed fun to explore. They were full of graffiti and street paintings everywhere. The city felt spotlessly clean, well lighted and quite posh. In the evening we went for dinner to Beaker and Gray and called it an early night.

The next day also, the weather wasn't too great. So we spent the rest of the day lounging in the Mandarin Oriental hotel, with a view of the waterfront. And so the weekend was done, without having done anything much. As expected, the ubers as is everything in the US were huge. But surprisingly, most of the drivers did not speak English which felt a bit of a surprise as we were in the US! But I guess, Miami is a lot more spanish as compared to the rest of the country.

Swamplands?

My last night in Miami was when I had missed a flight and ended up staying 24 hours in the city. I stayed at the W hotel in the city centre with a beautiful view outside of a river and a nice park. But the world cup was going on at that time and I ended up spending the whole day inside itself. So inspite of having spent so much time in Miami, I still haven't explored much of what it has to offer outdoors. And even after having been to Miami 4 times, I haven't managed to visit the South Beach yet! Maybe I need to go on another trip to Miami then?


Panama City

Boats moving towards Panama Canal

I barely spent 24 hours in Panama City but it somehow left an impression on me. A good one, one which makes me want to visit it again. The first view I have of Panama is of flying in and seeing the country from the air. When land slowly comes into view, and you can see hundreds of ships making its way into the Panama Canal. And then, we saw lot of beaches with high rises and resorts next to it, followed by vast lands of rainforests and then we landed in Panama City. As soon as we started driving through the city, I experienced a kind of richness which was missing in all the other places I had visited in the Caribbean.

The waterfront

And it turned out to be exactly that. Panama is quite rich and well developed as compared to most of its neighbouring countries. Most of it comes from the Panama Canal and its consistent stream of revenue, but over the years Panama has developed into a successful South American hub. A lot of the well educated people from around Central and South America come and work there, and its a nice melting pot of immigrants from across the continent.

A view of Panama city

The city felt very modern and lot safer than some of its neighbours. Again, I spent most of my time in the office and the hotel in the city centre which looked fab. The waterfront was full of people enjoying walks. There were malls, offices and apartments in highrises all next to the waterfront. And hills nearby behind the highrises. They all made for fascinating shots at sunset. There was the typical beach-ey feeling about the city, which felt relaxed and luxurious. And somehow I came back with the feeling that I want to spend more time there for sure one day.

My biggest surprise on the visit: Panama is a rich and well developed country, and a popular place for expats in Central and South America to come and work.


San Salvador

I spent two days in San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador but again spent most of my time in the hotel and the office. I did get a good sense of the country though, based on the small visits I had outside and time I spent with some locals. The people in ELS are Mestizos and I could easily merge with them. In fact, many people spoke to me in Spanish when I was there 😀.

ELS is a poorer country as compared to Panama and very unsafe. We again had strict instructions to not go anywhere without security. I noticed lot of guards outside buildings walking around with armed guns, which clearly indicated that we hadn't got the wrong advice!

A view of San Salvador

There were lots of malls around. And the nice areas felt very nice. I went out to two malls for lunch and dinner and liked the vibe I noticed there. Good restaurants and people out in the warm weather enjoying the nice meals. Also the country felt a lot more conservative than what I had imagined all of Latin America to be like. In fact, there was something there which made it feel a lot like India - with its so many potholes and the difference between the rich and the poor.

As I said, I did not get to see much of the country. I had the option to go and see a volcano which was very near. However, I debated going there and decided against it after hearing how unsafe the city is. So I decided to leave instead for the airport, which again was a nice drive. I passed through lot of hills and green dense forests on the way to the airport. I did feel sad leaving without exploring the country, but maybe thats for another time 😀.

My biggest surprise on the visit: There was a volcano within 30 mins from the city of San Salvador.

Caribbean diaries (1) - Haiti, Trinidad, Martinique

Caribbean diaries (3) - Ocho Rios, Port Antonio (Jamaica)

Caribbean diaries (4) - Negril and Kingston (Jamaica)