This marks the second full day in Panama. Readers, from this point forward, you will probably be hearing a lot more from me, even though I hate to think of those with very busy schedules and not much time for reading on the internet. Hang on, because I have a lot of words inside pushing to come out. If you're interested, be forewarned that keeping up with this blog will take some time. I can no longer guarantee that my postings will be read in 10 minutes or less! Or even if they can be, I will be posting A LOT more frequently, so please make sure to check back frequently.
The trip over here was excruciating, with an overnight layover in Houston. By the way, Houston is the only airport I've ever known with a guarantee that their food prices will not exceed those in the city. Who ever heard of reasonable food prices at the airport? Not me, and given the layover time when everything was closed, I didn't benefit. Luckily, I had more than enough reading and listening material to help pass those hours between midnight and 6 a.m.
When I finally arrived in Panama City, I was cross eyed with fatigue since I had not slept in more than 24 hours. The Hostal had sent out a taxi for me and was I ever happy to see my name on white cardboard in front of a smiling Latin driver (Roberto). When he returned to where I was with his cab, I was horrified! This car was early model sub-compact with all the sub safety features you could imagine. No seat belts, a huge smash on the drivers side of the windshield, in short, this was a dilapidated automobile...one I hesitated to enter. But I did, and to my relief, the driver knew some English, was very pleasant, and most importantly, he drove slowly all the way to the Hostal Urraca, surrounded by maniac drivers, but without incident. Then, when I arrived here and was shown my room, I could not get over how small it was! About three times the size of my closet at home. But it was located right near the shared bathroom, and had everything I needed, so what the heck, I dove into bed and slept for hours. When I awoke, there were so many strange sounds coming out of my window which faces some kind of an alley way. I couldn't really see much because of the frosted louver windows. Oh, and did I mention the temperature? It was hot and humid (still is!) and no air, just a fan anchored up three quarters of the way to the very tall ceiling. This building is sandwiched between two skyscrapers! That's how it is here, mix and match. I had no idea how long I had slept. It was dark out, and I would have to connect my computer to see the time and I wasn't even having any of that. I decided to skip dinner, if it was indeed around that time (who knew), and went back to sleep until morning. The time difference from CA is 3 hours. Panama is 3 hours ahead of Pacific time, just like New England. And something that endeared Panama to me immediately...no Daylight Savings Time!
Now, when I finally awoke the next morning around 8:00 (which would be 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time), things started really looking up. I hadn't yet mentioned that when I awoke earlier in the darkness, how my thoughts had turned dark as well. A lot of doubts struggled in to keep me awake for awhile, and I was having thoughts such as, how am I ever going to navigate the bus system with the little Spanish I know? What in the world am I ever going to do tomorrow and what ever possessed me to even come here? Honest, I was having a lot of doubts before I finally fell back to sleep. But the next morning, I knew what I had to do. It was very simple really, and that was: GET DRESSED. Ahhhh, back to baby steps, which is how I managed to land here.
More later...I'm not stopping here because I want to. It's just that it is almost 9:00 a.m. and today I'm going to El Valle (The Valley), which is about half-way to David, my original second destination. It is just that I learned that I would love to stop there from other travelers (beautiful young people from the Peace Corp staying here), and an extremely gracious gentleman I met yesterday at the Library/Archives of Ricardo J. Alfaro, esteemed Justice, Author, United Nations Diplomat, Ambassador to the United States, and former President of Panama. President Alfaro was so extremely accomplished in this life, that I know I have missed many of the roles he played to benefit the Panamanian people. I promise to write more on this when I come back, since visiting this museum was the first thing I did, and one of the most (I am not exaggerating) magical experiences of my life. I'll be back, so you be back!
The trip over here was excruciating, with an overnight layover in Houston. By the way, Houston is the only airport I've ever known with a guarantee that their food prices will not exceed those in the city. Who ever heard of reasonable food prices at the airport? Not me, and given the layover time when everything was closed, I didn't benefit. Luckily, I had more than enough reading and listening material to help pass those hours between midnight and 6 a.m.
When I finally arrived in Panama City, I was cross eyed with fatigue since I had not slept in more than 24 hours. The Hostal had sent out a taxi for me and was I ever happy to see my name on white cardboard in front of a smiling Latin driver (Roberto). When he returned to where I was with his cab, I was horrified! This car was early model sub-compact with all the sub safety features you could imagine. No seat belts, a huge smash on the drivers side of the windshield, in short, this was a dilapidated automobile...one I hesitated to enter. But I did, and to my relief, the driver knew some English, was very pleasant, and most importantly, he drove slowly all the way to the Hostal Urraca, surrounded by maniac drivers, but without incident. Then, when I arrived here and was shown my room, I could not get over how small it was! About three times the size of my closet at home. But it was located right near the shared bathroom, and had everything I needed, so what the heck, I dove into bed and slept for hours. When I awoke, there were so many strange sounds coming out of my window which faces some kind of an alley way. I couldn't really see much because of the frosted louver windows. Oh, and did I mention the temperature? It was hot and humid (still is!) and no air, just a fan anchored up three quarters of the way to the very tall ceiling. This building is sandwiched between two skyscrapers! That's how it is here, mix and match. I had no idea how long I had slept. It was dark out, and I would have to connect my computer to see the time and I wasn't even having any of that. I decided to skip dinner, if it was indeed around that time (who knew), and went back to sleep until morning. The time difference from CA is 3 hours. Panama is 3 hours ahead of Pacific time, just like New England. And something that endeared Panama to me immediately...no Daylight Savings Time!
Now, when I finally awoke the next morning around 8:00 (which would be 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time), things started really looking up. I hadn't yet mentioned that when I awoke earlier in the darkness, how my thoughts had turned dark as well. A lot of doubts struggled in to keep me awake for awhile, and I was having thoughts such as, how am I ever going to navigate the bus system with the little Spanish I know? What in the world am I ever going to do tomorrow and what ever possessed me to even come here? Honest, I was having a lot of doubts before I finally fell back to sleep. But the next morning, I knew what I had to do. It was very simple really, and that was: GET DRESSED. Ahhhh, back to baby steps, which is how I managed to land here.
More later...I'm not stopping here because I want to. It's just that it is almost 9:00 a.m. and today I'm going to El Valle (The Valley), which is about half-way to David, my original second destination. It is just that I learned that I would love to stop there from other travelers (beautiful young people from the Peace Corp staying here), and an extremely gracious gentleman I met yesterday at the Library/Archives of Ricardo J. Alfaro, esteemed Justice, Author, United Nations Diplomat, Ambassador to the United States, and former President of Panama. President Alfaro was so extremely accomplished in this life, that I know I have missed many of the roles he played to benefit the Panamanian people. I promise to write more on this when I come back, since visiting this museum was the first thing I did, and one of the most (I am not exaggerating) magical experiences of my life. I'll be back, so you be back!
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