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

Caribbean diaries (1) - Haiti, Trinidad, Martinique

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 (3) - Ocho Rios, Port Antonio (Jamaica)
Caribbean diaries (4) - Negril and Kingston (Jamaica)

Florida: Sun, sand and drives...

Our trip to Florida was more of a cross country driving trip than a touristy one. Miles and miles, you drive on.. passing by towns and cities and what not.. Landscapes which keep changing from dry lands to thickly forested areas.. and the roads cutting through them.. Guess now I know what American road trips would be like! Long and expanded travels, from one scenery to another...

This road trip started in Orlando, in Florida upto the Keys through Miami and then back through Florida, Georgia and North Carolina to Durham. So essentially we did cover half the east coast (I guess!). 

Anyways our first stop was Orlando. There wasn't much to see in the city though, the downtown was as boring as it can get. We did walk around through their cafes and the famous Eola lake park. We also took the free hop-on hop-off bus shuttles running around the downtown area. The town just seemed so dead! I guess Orlando is just famous for the numerous theme parks it offers, some five or more Disneyland parks, Universal studios, Waterworld and so on. There isn't much else to do there other than these! Of these, we visited the Magic Kingdom of Disneyland and what an out of this world experience that was! I guess a repeat trip of Orlando is for sure, to see the other parks it has to offer.

After a day in Orlando, we drove on across Florida to the beach and party town of Miami. The best part of Miami I guess was the drive till there! South Florida is quite densely populated especially the areas next to the sea, and quite a rich population too. Looks like all the loaded people like to have a winter home in this area; away from the work world, in this world of sea, sun and relaxation!

Instead of driving on the interstates, we took the smaller roads and those were all along the sea. We did get down at some beaches too on the way, all sunny and isolated, with the whole beach to yourself. Ah, what a life.. Especially when you have just landed from a cold and snowy New York! This whole route is dotted with beach houses and mansions, all reflecting the wealth of the people who stay here. You can feel it in the air...  

The drive was quite enchanting, and then you reach the Palm Beach area which gets even more rich. The drive from then on is laced with huge palaces, of the rich and the famous. They were so huge, so well decorated, at night you can even see the lights and how well done they all are. Was good to drive through it all:)!!

Miami was a let down though (or guess we did not do it enough justice!). We stopped in Miami just for a couple of hours, and walked on South Beach which is the party area of the town. It surely is, but it felt too loud for our tastes. So after a round of the area, we just left the city. On the whole though, Miami feels like a commercial touristy place, rather than a nice vacation place. Do not like!

Anyways the next two days were spent in the Keys which is the southmost tip of Florida. The keys are a group of some 100 or so islands, all pretty small but connected with bridges. This whole area is geared towards a nice lazy vacation! A few beaches, lots of eating places, diving, snorkeling, swimming with the dolphins and the sea lions and such water based activities. There are umpteen types of water sports around, and the best of course would be to rent a boat and go around island hopping! And of course driving on and on over and onto island after island is something else the islands offer.

We did not do most of it though:), we were more looking to just having a nice relaxed vacation! Lazy beach time! Though the beaches were the toughest to find! Anyways, the first day we drove along the islands, and spent some time on Anne's beach (which wasn't much of a beach though!). The water was shallow though, which was nice.. And of course the emerald colour which so entices the water lover! We also stopped at a couple of haunts on the way, including at the the world's best Tiki bar. They had live music playing in the evening, which was just perfect.. Sitting next to the beach, watching the sunset and live music playing with people dancing to it. Isn't that the perfect end to a vacation day?

The next day we did some more stuff though, all inspired from the Frommers Guide! First we went snorkelling which was good. There is a lot of aquatic life to see, and we even saw a turtle swimming there! The area was better for diving though, as at some places it was too deep to see much during snorkelling. 

We went to a cafe where you can see and feed the tarpons for a dollar! Was interesting, and this is how they look! Mind you though, feeding them can get a bit scary!

The next stop for the day was the Sombrero beach, which was just perfect for relaxing! We saw the sunset there, next to the palm trees. Even saw a person catch a baby shark! and skin it!! 

In the evening afterwards we finished at the Lorelai cafe (again from Frommers), and it was so pretty (and cheap!)!!! Good food, great location next to the sea, pleasant lighting, sounds of the waves coming in and awesome music to complement it all! Was another relaxing evening spent next to the sea. Sad though that places close down so early in the Keys, they all close down at 10pm itself!!

During the two days, we drove a lot also around the Keys, which was pretty.. Driving through narrow connected islands. Sometimes you can see the sea on both sides, and sometimes you are just on a bridge connecting two islands! Both sides there are islands splattered here or there.. Might even be better to take a boat and go to all the islands. Also we could not go to Key West, so that's for next time I guess:).

Anyways the last day was just the drive back across Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. We took the interstates for faster commute. Stopped at the standard eating haunts, IHOP, Waffle Place, Subways, Taco Bells and all. The landscape wasn't as interesting with the interstates as it had been with the smaller routes, so was just a usual drive across the country, from one landscape to another.. Anyways guess we had seen and done enough, and all we wanted to do was go home and rest.. !