Tag Archives: Panama city

So it all started rather sedately – Mr. P and I with FBI man, a.k.a. Claus for extra support.
Nineteen bars to cover in seven hours on the bar-hopping event ‘Ruta del Casco’, in Panama City – a breeze for sure! Plus the promise of a fabulous PRIZE as a focus point.
Now watch, and wither…

At the starting point of Puerta de Tierra I was freshly enthused from an Abuelo Rum & Coke wearing an Outsider silk shirt and my lucky London medallion.
Onwards to Super Gourmet, where Blane and his fiancée were hosting a Casas Patronales tasting with snippets of correctly sliced Edam mainland cheese. ‘Edam is Dutch so why would I want to try the New Zealand variety,’ piped a little voice over my shoulder! ‘AAH,’ said the patient and charming representative of Edam cheese Panama serving…’the milk is so superior’! Touché!

Next El Sitio del Casco, a sports bar hosting Grolsch lager, where Mr. P got sidetracked watching Djokovic on their humongous sports screens. Luckily I was able to recoup my wayward troop when I mentioned Delvino, the fabulous wine bar and a favourite with Mr. P, hosting a tasting of Septima Vineyards red. With 4 down and 15 to go I bumped into the cute blogger and stylist Olguita Reyna being escorted by her two boys at Diablicos Restaurant.
We swapped stories and chatted about the stars we had seen on the walk! Though I started to wane a little under the pressure.

At this point I knew we needed food and fast with Mr. P getting hungry and Claus hankering after a Soda, so checking into Tequilas en route seemed like a good idea, but it was packed and only the pretty girls preparing the shots saved the situation…

Casco was filling up and we just managed to bag a table outside Ego Narciso when the gang from Cascara TV turned up with bubbly, fun-loving presenter, Ale Arauz sporting the cutest Chajin Designs skirt and corsage, interviewing the throng.

I think it’s at this particular point that I have one of those scary premonitions…if, just if, I was going to make it to the finish, I was going to have to keep me, Mr. P and Claus on the move constantly, and really, our next few check-ins were done as quickly as possible: Segafredo, Ciao Pescao, Casablanca, Vieja Havana seemed to be completed through a complicated whirl of drinking, pushing and passport stamping! We finally make it, and I am seriously not sure how, to Tantalo’s.
And this is where it came to a halt, with complete mutiny from my escorts, and with head chef Pierre’s and the man on the roof, Kevin’s bar drinks…I finally just began to enjoy the PARTY.

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