I love summer in Panama. To every sunset there's a perfect song, every soft breeze makes you close your eyes, every weekend excursion turns into a marvelous story that you can tell someone on Monday morning.

What I love the most of summer weekends in the city is the fact that everyone is out of town (at the beach or in the interior of the country) and the streets are incredibly deserted. It is almost as if for one day, for a brief moment, the city belonged to you. Noises from construction sites, the constant honking of cars and street vendors offering their goods are reduced to the minimum.

Panama City is not a huge capital. With a population of more than 880,000; it still remains an unresolved matter the chaos and stress that are now part of the capitalinos' daily lives. Maybe it's because of the inefficient public transportation system, the changes and rapid growth of the city, the infrastructural projects that have been undertaken to improve the city's image, who knows. Maybe it's a combination of all of the previously mentioned causes.

However, in an effort to not let stress get in our veins,we can decide to take it easy and Panama City offers some fine spots to do so. Even more during the summer, that stretches from December to March. During these months you can relax by the mere sight of the incredible sunsets that mark the last hours of light in the day.

Casco Antiguo buildings. There's an interesting mixture of architecture here: from colonial era to french influenced structures, there's always a detail to be discovered.

 What about a weekend stroll through the streets of Casco Antiguo? Panama City's Old Town offers that unique sensation of not being in the city. It has always been my favourite part of town, where I escape from the stress and the hectic of city life. 

My batteries are recharged after wandering through those streets and looking at how locals there engage in their daily activities. It helps me unwind and realise that there are always a thousand reasons to be worried, but it is better to look up at the sky, take a deep breath and keep walking at your own pace focusing on good thoughts. Or as people from the barrio do, turn up the music to the loudest, eat saus (pickled pig's feet) and spend the rest of the day chitchatting or figuring out how to solve the world's problems.

A sunday stroll through the streets of Casco Antiguo.

Details, details and more details. Love all of  them here in Casco.

Summer sunsets in Casco Antiguo.

The spires of the Cathedral in Casco Antiguo.

Are you a fan of gelato italiano? You can have one in Casco! I took this photo at Ferretti café, right next to the National Theatre.

A view of the Casco Antiguo, the entrance of the Panama Canal, the Causeway and Cinta Costera III (the expansion of the coastal highway) before it was completed.

Cerro Ancón, a symbol of the country's sovereignty, and the Balboa Port.

Panama City summer nights.

I guess that's what summer in Panama feels like: the promise of a new way of looking at life through the relevant aspects that happen everyday, but sometimes go by unnoticed. It is through these details that we renovate our desire of living and loving the place that we occupy in this sometimes crazy, materialistic world.

I hope you have a nice week,
Astrid