Diablos Rojos in Panama City

One of things my sister and I have marveled at while here in Panama City are the city buses known as Diablos Rojos (Red Devils in Spanish). The elaborately painted former school buses cover the city and are quite ubiquitous. Missy and I have enjoyed pointing out various things (Look, there's Beyonce on the back of that bus!) painted on them as we have passed them by. Yesterday while we were at the Summit Gardens and Tropical Zoo there were two Diablos Rojos parked outside so we couldn't resist snapping a few pictures. My favorite parts are the zipper opening to reveal Harry Potter on the front of the one bus (if you look close you can even see Harry's owl Hedwig) and Al Pacino from The Godfather on the back of the other one.

Although the Diablos Rojos have a lot of flair, they apparently have a reputation for being unsafe and beginning in December 2010 are being replaced by Volvo buses. We have seen a number of the Volvo buses on the road as well and while I am sure they are better and safer, they sure don't look nearly as fun.

Comments

[Rene]

These buses just scream "Panama" to me. So lively and fun. Too bad they're unsafe. I don't think the Volvo buses would be as much fun.