The overnight buses for all sisters were pretty uneventful, which is of course preferred. H and my bus made one stop along the route from David to Panama City, and we almost slept through it until I happened to glance out the window to see a Tica bus marked Costa Rica-Panama (R just happened to be traveling from San Jose, Costa Rica to Panama City on a Tica bus that was scheduled to arrive one hour after our’s) parked close to our bus. We immediately exited the bus (by immediately I mean – we stood in the front bus cab until someone else decided to exit the bus and opened the door for us) in search of R. We were not successful in finding her as all of the doors to the Tica bus were also impossible to open; one of the passengers mentioned that it was going in the opposite direction (we didn’t completely believe this man because there was a feeling that something was lost in translation). After looking in all of the windows of the bus and seeing no R, we gave up and went back to sleep on our bus.
H and my bus arrived in Panama City at around 2:45am and by the time we got our luggage and had a moment to be confused about where R’s bus was to arrive, they pulled up right next to where we were standing – a full hour earlier than scheduled. Not bad for a semi-planned reunion. We also found out later the R was completely laid-out in her bus (because she had been traveling for 3 days straight), so we wouldn’t have seen her in the window… If only we had had some clever bus-breaking-into skills…
We had made arrangements with a recommended hostel, Panama by Luis, that was going to let us hang out on their patio until they opened at 8:00am, so we hopped in a cab. We arrived at the hostel around 3:45am and sat around their patio table catching up on all the happenings until the sun rose nice and bright and other hostel dwellers started getting up for their day (around 5 am). Then we proceeded to promptly pass out on the chairs in incredibly uncomfortable positions.
Once we got checked into the hostel, we decided to venture toward the Panama Canal using public transit. H and I were excited to show R the crazy tricked out buses, which are apparently used all over the city – they call them Diablos Rojos. We even took one out to the canal… definitely not the most comfortable bus ride I have ever taken. We ate at the restaurant by the Miraflores Locks which provided us a perfect vantage point to watch the ships move through the locks. It was a bit expensive for our tight budget, but the cheese sticks made with wonton dough (rather than breading) were awesome with our Panama beer!
We decided watching the ships move through the canal is more interesting than watching grass grow (it is actually pretty quick and before you know it water has filled up or emptied out and the ships were sailing away). We also noticed during our time in Panama City there is a never-ending line of ships waiting to pass through the canal – you can pretty much see ships waiting in line every time you look out at the ocean. It started a full-on deluge while we were visiting the canal so we jumped in a cab to the largest shopping mall in the area to see if we could find some good deals. Found some dancing shoes for $4, which we wore dancing the following evening.
Our second day was full of fish and fishy smells at the Mercado Mariscos; followed by a self-guided tour of Caseo Viejo, or the old/new city of Panama. Caseo Viejo was named a world heritage site relatively recently so it is a mix of restored and severely degraded Spanish buildings all intermixed throughout the area- which makes for some great sightseeing. We sat on a bench right out front of the president’s house (where he actually lives, who lets random tourists sit directly in front of their President’s house?!?,) stopped to view the remodelled national theater while the ballet just happened to be practicing for an upcoming performance, and had some epic sandwiches (they were a bit expensive as well, but so good!) at Super Gourmet. We started walking back towards our bus stop along Avenida Central for more shopping opportunities and then decided to catch the bus further down the way after we took a stroll along the the oceanfront at sunset. It turns out that the bus does not return along that route at all, which we only figured out by walking at least a mile out of the way (public transit is difficult without route maps or times!).
My last day in Panama consisted mostly of food-related activities. I had ceviche from the Mercado Mariscos; we had some fancy gelato in Caseo Viejo; and blended drinks after an amusing bike ride along the Amador Causeway (the causeway was built with all of the ground removed from the Panama Canal construction… as well as used for much of the ground of the new ocean front properties in the city). We also walked around Panama’s old/old city, Panama Viejo. This was the original location of Panama City that was destroyed by a pirate! It is also a world heritage, but they have mostly just tried to preserve what is remaining instead of restoring any building (plus they are super old – 1500s). We enjoyed the stroll through the crumbling buildings until H may or may not have decided to sit/climb on one of the old rock walls outside of the protected area. Needless to say, as soon as H said “F would be telling us to ‘be safe’ right now” a portion of the wall broke off. Don’t worry, if there was any damage to either party it was minimal – for example a small rock laying near a pile of other broken rocks and a few bloody scrapes. But we will neither confirm or deny the specifics…
That evening our hostel owner invited us to a BBQ at a different hostel so we cooked veggie burgers and conversed with fellow travelers. We have to give a shout-out to Panama by Luis, our hostel, and Luis in particular. Not only did he let us come at a ridiculous hour on our first night and not ask us to pay for passing out in his patio chairs, but he was wonderfully helpful in pointing us in the right direction for public transit, answering our questions about Panama, took us dancing, and showed us the city including a trip to the new Trump Tower. Staying at Panama by Luis is like staying with a friend!
My flight left early the next morning for Hawaii, putting an end to my extended 30rdy birdry. The sisters put me in a cab headed for the airport and returned to the room to pack (probably sleep some more) and headed for a festival in the countryside. You all will have to wait to hear from them on their continued adventures likely until next week.
Thanks family and friends for a wonderful birthday and trip, couldn’t have been better! I am already working on the plans for my return trip for more epic traveling with my sisters and family in South America!
H
G
R:
Rule #2: Don't Die. 
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