Panama City and My Friend Mario tour

Prior to our cruise we contacted My Friend Mario for a city tour. It was supposed to be 6 hours and cost $30. Pretty reasonably priced compared to prices for the shore excursions offered by Princess. We were set to meet at 9am at a restaurant called Bennigan's located just outside the port compound. We located it easily enough through the help of some taxi drivers who were inside the compound. We later found out that tour companies that pick up cruise passengers inside the compound are required to give a percentage of the fees collected to the harbor master. Or perhaps not the harbor master, maybe the duty free shop. I really don't recall who the fees were paid to. Either way there was still a carfuffle prior to us departing on the tour. Mario and his son, also Mario, back and forth on their cell phones. The bus driver involved and something about whoever wanted more money or maybe just their money. We were delayed leaving by about fifteen minutes or so. Also because a couple who'd pre-booked the tour hadn't arrived yet. Later I met up with the same couple on another tour. They said they'd started out with good intentions walking through the port compound. They saw a man wearing a shirt that said "Mario" and asked him if he was the Mario they were supposed to meet. Of course he said yes and took them and another couple on a city tour in his taxi. They were very happy with their tour but realized their mistake almost right away when they drove past the Bennigan's restaurant.

We'd met Mario junior outside the bus. His father is the original Mario and he used to drive a taxi around Panama City after he was laid off from his job in the mid-90's. Mario senior met an American lady one day who was excited to discover her driver spoke English and asked him to accompany her shopping so he could translate. She kept his phone number and always phoned him for rides. She told all her American and Canadian friends about him and said, "You must phone my friend, Mario." Thus how the company came into being. His son, Mario, joined him later on after he was laid off from his job. His son started a tour company and named it Almiza Tours because a friend of his had that name and he liked it, but they are better known as My Friend Mario. Well recommended. If you're visiting Panama be sure to contact them. http://www.myfriendmario.com/

The original Mario has retired. But the day we took our tour, May 5, 2010, the tour guide was ill and so his son called him in to assist. So we had the original Mario leading our tour. We had a nice, comfortable air conditioned bus, a mini bus, but only about 12 passengers so very roomy.
That's Mario standing to the right.
We enjoyed a drive around Panama City where new skyscrapers are being built. Panama is very much a cosmopolitan city, clean and tidy, with well kept palm trees lining the streets.

In Old Panama we took photos of the ruins where Sir Francis Drake had destroyed the city in the 1500's.

Our driver, Felix, accompanied us across the street to take photos of the ruins. He didn't speak English and I spoke enough broken Spanish to understand a little about the area and the workers who are restoring the ruins and the old convent.

We stopped at an artisan's market for about 20 minutes to wander around the vendor's stalls.

On to Colonial Panama and the French Quarter where we had several chances to exit the bus and take photos of the lovely buildings.

We walked around a sea wall that had a lovely flower covered gazebo walkway where several vendors were set up to sell their art work and jewellery.

We're geocachers and asked Mario if we could stop at the Biomuseum on our way back to the marina, a couple of miles out, to search for a cache hidden there. The rest of the passengers were agreeable to wait inside the air conditioned bus while we went out to find the treasure. Mario joined us for the walk because he'd never heard of geocaching before. We were very impressed that they would make this extra stop for us to log a find in Panama.

Overall we were very impressed with My Friend Mario and the city tour. The tour was shorter than promised, lasting a little over 4 hours, but we saw everything. Bottom line was it was hot, hot, hot and we were very happy to get back on the Island Princess for a shower and change of clothes and have lunch. In the email correspondence Mario - junior I presume - had said we'd be stopping at some museums and there would be an admission charge. Attendance was voluntary. If we didn't want to go into the museum, we didn't need to. We could just wander around outside and enjoy the buildings. We were hoping to see a museum about the building of the Panama Canal, but unfortunately we did not stop at any museums.

But we found a cache in Panama City and that made the tour well worth it for us. So if any geocachers are out there and want to search for the cache hidden at the Biomuseum, Mario will stop there for you while you seek.