Greetings from Panama City! We’ve only been here for three days but I am already feeling completely recharged by the tropics. I’ve always loved the energy in Central America, and I’ve found it yet again here in Panama. I’m waking up smiling again — I don’t know if it was our change in location, my re-commitment to getting endorphins flowing again with daily exercise, or some important air-clearing in my personal life but things seem a lot sunnier than they did just a week ago.
This week’s Photo of the Week candidates feature photos from both Panama City and our final destination in Ecuador. Cuenca is a beautiful colonial city and was a nice note to say goodbye to Ecuador on. We were originally planning to fly out of Quito in the north but found much cheaper flights out of Guayaquil in the south half a week later, so we headed to Cuenca to wait for our departure. I’m happy for the last minute change in itinerary that brought us to this charming city.
Photo A
Colonial Cuenca
Photo B
At dusk
Photo C
Cuenca flower market
Photo D
The impressive Panama City skyline
Photo E
Riding from ocean to ocean on the Panama Canal Railway
Photo F
Traditional Panamanian dances
Which photo is your favorite?
I was really depressed once upon a long time ago, and a psychiatrist recommended that I up the exercise ante. It makes a huge difference, even now when I am happy!
I like the Skyline in D. It reminds me of Perth for some reason.
Glad to hear you’re back on track 🙂
The adrenaline boost can be addictive. I think when it comes to weight loss, eating right is by far the most important component but when it comes to mental health, exercise is where it’s at! Which is maybe the justification I use to follow up every run with a dessert…
Lol, I love that idea. I think you have given me the best excuse to eat cake!
D….I sucker for a good skyline and since this not a familiar one it invites curious daydreaming about the urban adventures….over there.
Over here isn’t too far… come visit!
I’m going to choose B. I like that time before the night comes in.
I call it the magic hour! Love that beautiful lighting!
Wow, what gorgeous architecture. I’m a total sucker for portrait shots, so F would be my choice!
I’m usually too shy to shoot portraits when I travel, so going to a traditional dance performance was the perfect excuse to get some people pictures!
All of them! Happy you made it to Panama. I have a Southern friend living in PC if you guys want to meet up with a fellow expat.
I would love that! We’re here for another couple days — if you email me their contact info I’ll get in touch!
My favourite is B – I like the pops of colour. Enjoy Panama – I’ve always wanted to go!
I’m LOVING it so far, Emily! Hopefully I can convince you to make the trip soon 🙂
Cuenca! I miss that city; lovely, relaxed place…and we had some great food there too! Therefore, I have to pick photo A as my favourite.
Sam, thanks to your post about where to eat at Cuenca I became a short-term regular at San Sebas… eating there every single one of the four days I was in town 🙂 Thanks for the recommendation!
Oh, so glad you liked Cafe San Sebas – that was definitely one of my favourites!
I love E. Perfect composition!
Thanks Amanda! It was such a cool experience, can’t wait to share!
Hi Alex, good to hear the tropics are helping you.
I’ll choose B this week. The light at dusk and the lights inside the church just look perfect for me on this photo.
Yup, this is most definitely where I belong. And thanks for the vote 🙂
Glad to hear you being back on track. I personally find my happiness levels are so different when I am eating healthy and exercising regularly. From there, things just seem to spin off nicely. Oh and what’s life without dessert anyway?!
Re the photos I love them all! I haven’t been to Central/South America and your posts/photos are giving me a good dose of encouragement!
Answer: Life is nothing without dessert 🙂
total rockstar set. my gut fave: photo E…there’s something timeless about trains plus i can’t resist a sun flare. my husband’s fave: F. beautiful, perfectly lit capture.
glad to hear things are looking up!
Thanks Becky. I think I just needed a big change in l(attitude). Okay that joke doesn’t work as it was more a longitude move but there’s no pun there!
Great to see you hitting the central Americas.
We’re looking towards a 6-12mth adventure in the near future starting in that exact region.
Can’t wait to see your thoughts.
P.S. So happy to see your mood has improved! 🙂
LOL, see your thoughts does read rather oddly, but it does make sense 😉
I love Central America, Chris! This is my fourth visit — previously I’ve been to Belize, Costa Rica, and Honduras. It’s a magical region, and I hope to return to do a more comprehensive Central America trip someday in the future!
I’m excited to hear it referred to so glowingly.
We’d likely be taking the chance to do it pretty thoroughly, so can’t wait!!
The Panama city skyline is my favorite!
I’m a big fan of skyline pictures — I typically take about a million per trip!
Happy to hear you’re feeling better Alex! I’ve only been to Mexico and Costa Rica but loved my time in Central. I’m a sucker for the tropics (coming from Canada, we need to get away in the Winter!!) We’re heading to Belize in March for 2 weeks. I didn’t realize you’d been, I’m going to search for some posts 🙂 I have an idea of what we want to do but it’s hard to squish it all in! Enjoy the sunshine!
Unfortunately my Belize trip was pre-blog. I did make a great scrapbook about it though — ha! It was a family trip and we went to San Ignacio and Placencia. It was amazing!
Oh … and I vote for D!
I love photo B! It looks like it’s being lit by candlelight.
That’s a beautiful description and perfect for Cuenca 🙂
I am so glad you are feeling better again. I am sure that the weather and having it all let out of your system really helped!
I think “getting it out of my system” was key. Sometimes just verbalizing my problems is the biggest step to getting over them.
Amazing photos! Both are places I really want to go to 🙂
Thanks Anna — and I LOVE the name of your blog!