I went over to my new hostel which already felt so much more relaxed and comfortable and left my luggage in their luggage closet, also incredibly packed like the one at my old hostel.
I asked about transport to the Miraflores Locks. There was a shuttle round trip for $8 but it didn't leave till later and there would be a time constraint. Though the harder way, I decided to try and navigate public transit on my own.
I took a new route to the nearest metro stop. On my way, I passed a building for the crazy meat and produce market. I entered the smaller produce market first and then stepped foot in the crowded meat market. Rows and rows of tables full of unrefrigerated meat arranged by the animal they came from. It was foul and discussing and quite and interesting experience. Needless to say, I quickly got out of there and made it the rest of the way to the metro.
Once in the metro I took it to the end of the line, the main Albrook bus station. This is a very busy and hectic place with tons of people coming and going. The last time I had been here was the night I arrived on the overnight bus from Costa Rica. I decided to grab some lunch at the food court while trying to orient myself to where I needed to catch a bus to the canal.
After awhile I somehow managed to find a bus that would go by the locks where I could walk to get the rest of the way. This was similar to the chicken buses of Guatemala but here they are called Diablo Rojos (red devils). There were other tourists there too so I knew I was in the right place. However, I was only able to get standing room as I was one of the last people on the bus. The two people in front of me were also tourists, and they were arguing the whole ride. Another couple at the end of my day were also having a bit of a feud. In these moments I was very relived to be traveling alone, though it can also be very difficult as well in it's own right.
In any case, the Panama Canal was fantastic, well worth my trip out there and I ended up staying much longer than I would have been able to if I had taken a shuttle. I watched their little promotional video twice, first in English then in Spanish. I walked through their museum and I watched the boats pass through the locks. A truly amazing feat, a giant man-made lake, three amazing locks to raise and lower gianormous boats to and from sea-level.... So much history and experience, they are even still using the same gates to the locks that they first opened with in 1914!
I left the locks right before 5, closing time. I started to walk but then saw that there was also one of the city buses that was arriving and was able to catch that back to Albrook. There I went to the giant mall and walked around for a bit. This mall was no different than the many malls in the states though and I decided to just get myself back to my new hostel.
Sunday morning was frustrating! I'm sick of Casco Viejo. Everything is so dang expensive! There is no in between. There are the have and the have nots, no middle class, at least not in Casco Viejo. It is largely catered to the rich tourists. All I wanted was a quiet cafe, somewhere to grab a coffee, my breakfast, and write my blog. Sure I could get breakfast at a whole in the wall, but then there's no wifi or pleasantness to sit and write my blog. Just stinky streets and traffic buzzing by and humidity!!! But no Starbucks or cheap little cafes, oh how spoiled I've gotten....
After walking in circles and going in an back out of the expensive ones after discovering their prices I finally managed to find a place. Their internet wasn't working, but hey, at least I got to type on my computer in some air conditioning and eat some food!
In the afternoon I went with a friend in his car to see some more sites (I met him over the internet, which I know wasn't smart, but he offered and it seemed easier than trying to navigate public transit once again). We drove across the Bridge of the Americas and looked onto the canal from the overlook. We also drove to a beach on the other side of the canal. Then out to the Amador Causeway. Last but not least we went to the Canal Zone where he showed me the high school and middle school that the American students attended when our military occupied that area. All in all, I'm very grateful to have gotten to spend time with a local. In all my other locations I have been more integrated through homestays or talking to teachers. It was interesting hearing his perspective on our American over-involvement in their country.
Additionally, I was reminded more of the have and the have nots that I spoke of at the beginning of the day. This gentleman that I spent the day with was definitely one of the haves. He had spent 3 months in Boston, a year and a half in Spain, and had also travelled several other places. Such a different lifestyle he leads than those of the people I see on the streets of say Central Avenue. Just the aspect of having a car makes life so much easier here as evidenced by me seeing so much more in one day (I think if I were to do either Costa Rica or Panama again it would be smart to just rent a car). But also more difficult because with the have and the have nots there is also a lot of money laundering and blackmail going on. On our way out of Casco Viejo may friend may or may not have broken the law and was asked by the officer to pull over. The officer basically asked him for money to not write him a ticket (even my guidebook had mentioned something about this, saying that you should just pay the officer and get on with it).
Then on our way back we parked since we were going to grab a beer. Everyone was trying to get my friend to pay them to watch his car on a public street "or something might happen to it" implying that they would bash the window in or something. He had also told me about a bigger scale of this and why it has taken so long for them to finish the canal expansion. Some of the workers had been refusing to continue unless the were paid much above and beyond what they should be making.
Once in the metro I took it to the end of the line, the main Albrook bus station. This is a very busy and hectic place with tons of people coming and going. The last time I had been here was the night I arrived on the overnight bus from Costa Rica. I decided to grab some lunch at the food court while trying to orient myself to where I needed to catch a bus to the canal.
After awhile I somehow managed to find a bus that would go by the locks where I could walk to get the rest of the way. This was similar to the chicken buses of Guatemala but here they are called Diablo Rojos (red devils). There were other tourists there too so I knew I was in the right place. However, I was only able to get standing room as I was one of the last people on the bus. The two people in front of me were also tourists, and they were arguing the whole ride. Another couple at the end of my day were also having a bit of a feud. In these moments I was very relived to be traveling alone, though it can also be very difficult as well in it's own right.
In any case, the Panama Canal was fantastic, well worth my trip out there and I ended up staying much longer than I would have been able to if I had taken a shuttle. I watched their little promotional video twice, first in English then in Spanish. I walked through their museum and I watched the boats pass through the locks. A truly amazing feat, a giant man-made lake, three amazing locks to raise and lower gianormous boats to and from sea-level.... So much history and experience, they are even still using the same gates to the locks that they first opened with in 1914!
I left the locks right before 5, closing time. I started to walk but then saw that there was also one of the city buses that was arriving and was able to catch that back to Albrook. There I went to the giant mall and walked around for a bit. This mall was no different than the many malls in the states though and I decided to just get myself back to my new hostel.
Sunday morning was frustrating! I'm sick of Casco Viejo. Everything is so dang expensive! There is no in between. There are the have and the have nots, no middle class, at least not in Casco Viejo. It is largely catered to the rich tourists. All I wanted was a quiet cafe, somewhere to grab a coffee, my breakfast, and write my blog. Sure I could get breakfast at a whole in the wall, but then there's no wifi or pleasantness to sit and write my blog. Just stinky streets and traffic buzzing by and humidity!!! But no Starbucks or cheap little cafes, oh how spoiled I've gotten....
After walking in circles and going in an back out of the expensive ones after discovering their prices I finally managed to find a place. Their internet wasn't working, but hey, at least I got to type on my computer in some air conditioning and eat some food!
In the afternoon I went with a friend in his car to see some more sites (I met him over the internet, which I know wasn't smart, but he offered and it seemed easier than trying to navigate public transit once again). We drove across the Bridge of the Americas and looked onto the canal from the overlook. We also drove to a beach on the other side of the canal. Then out to the Amador Causeway. Last but not least we went to the Canal Zone where he showed me the high school and middle school that the American students attended when our military occupied that area. All in all, I'm very grateful to have gotten to spend time with a local. In all my other locations I have been more integrated through homestays or talking to teachers. It was interesting hearing his perspective on our American over-involvement in their country.
Additionally, I was reminded more of the have and the have nots that I spoke of at the beginning of the day. This gentleman that I spent the day with was definitely one of the haves. He had spent 3 months in Boston, a year and a half in Spain, and had also travelled several other places. Such a different lifestyle he leads than those of the people I see on the streets of say Central Avenue. Just the aspect of having a car makes life so much easier here as evidenced by me seeing so much more in one day (I think if I were to do either Costa Rica or Panama again it would be smart to just rent a car). But also more difficult because with the have and the have nots there is also a lot of money laundering and blackmail going on. On our way out of Casco Viejo may friend may or may not have broken the law and was asked by the officer to pull over. The officer basically asked him for money to not write him a ticket (even my guidebook had mentioned something about this, saying that you should just pay the officer and get on with it).
Then on our way back we parked since we were going to grab a beer. Everyone was trying to get my friend to pay them to watch his car on a public street "or something might happen to it" implying that they would bash the window in or something. He had also told me about a bigger scale of this and why it has taken so long for them to finish the canal expansion. Some of the workers had been refusing to continue unless the were paid much above and beyond what they should be making.
Sounds like you're having an awesome adventure! Glad you had a couple days to be a tourist, although I know it's more important to learn spanish. I hope one of the jobs work out. Panama City does not sound like a great place to live though. Miss ya:)
ReplyDeleteI miss you too, bro! Yeah, in the end I decided the same about Panama City. I'm headed back to Guatemala today. Hope you all are well!
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