Here’s the Thing

Today, Bocas del Toro saw a little bit of Panama’s nine-month rainy season. For the most part, though, the weather was just deathly muggy and overcast. I hung around the courtyard of my hostel and read a book while I tried to drink water fast enough to keep up with my pores.

But I also made friends with the local wildlife, including a large orange tabby and several scurrying crabs. The crabs came as quite a surprise (as I imagine they typically do), because they occupy burrows in the ground that seem more typical of rats or snakes. These crabs were pretty bold, I have to admit, as they scurried in and out of their burrows with little regard for the human presence. But it was somewhat of a relief to discover the burrows’ true inhabitants, because I was really starting to worry that the place had a serious rat problem.

It’s started to rain, and the temperature is dropping a little, making it possible to move without the immediate onset of perspiration. While a number of the backpackers in the hostel were murmuring about a Cinco de Mayo party, all other indications around town are that Panameños aren’t particularly interested in Mexican Independence Day. But I don’t think that will deter most of the visiting gringos from finding a reverent, thoughtful way to celebrate the day. Right.

If I don’t stop sweating by this time tomorrow, I think I’m going to pack up my stuff and head northward, in hopes of finding more beach and less humidity.

 

Well, I think I’m done with night buses. Last night’s journey involved nearly every conceivable annoyance and inconvenience, including a broken seat (mine), screaming niños (somebody else’s), and a really-really-rediculously bad stench that seemed to combine moldy upholstery with rotting food (didn’t figure out who to credit with this).

But right on schedule (5-ish in the AM), my bus rolled up to the stop in Changuinola, where I transferred to the water taxi terminal. As it was quite early, I didn’t expect to see anyone awake and moving around. But fortunately enough, the terminal attendant was opening up the dock and there was a small restaurant next door, filled with workers from the surrounding banana fields.

If you’ve never met a guy fixing to go cut down bunches of bananas, you might find it interesting to know that most of these guys carry several large knives with them, the largest of which is a little number with a blade about a meter in length. I can’t say I felt relaxed until I’d scanned the room for pirate costumes and hockey masks. Finding none, I took a seat and ordered what everyone else was having (it was a limited menu…”desayuno” or “solo cafe, por favor”). This consisted of red beans and rice, with a generous mound of fried chicken. The breakfast of champions, and banana farmers.

After breakfast, I headed back to the dock, where chatted with the attendant about the weather, overnight bus rides, and why the mosquitos only bite tourists (his theory, though I didn’t contradict him). Before long we were joined by a couple of the head honchos from the banana fields. They didn’t have any scary knives but both wore big rubber boots that seemed to be company uniform. After shooting the breeze with them for awhile, they headed back to work and I busied myself in a skirmish with a colony of gnats (not my idea). But soon, the water taxi arrived, and I hopped aboard (as did the gnats).

It took a few minutes of hacking through the lilypads before the boat cleared the lagoon, but then we were cruising fast enough that the gnat contingent was quickly blown back into the soup from whence they came. The day was mine.

The water taxi took about 45 minutes to reach Bocas del Toro, but the views were stunning and I was almost disappointed that the boat ride was over so soon. But now that I’m checked into a hostel and walking around this sunny town, it feels good to have arrived.

On the agenda for the next few days: find some good beaches, maybe rent a bike and explore the island, and if there’s time, I think I’ll have a nap in a hammock.

 

No rain today, so far! This morning I headed to the Miraflores Locks to check out the Panama Canal. Not the most exciting place ever, but it was pretty cool to watch a car carrier and two oil tankers pass through one of the Pacific-side locks. If you’ve been to the Ballard locks in Seattle, this would have been a familiar process, but on a much larger scale. According to the guide, the Miraflores Locks move 3 million gallons of water per minute…without using pumps. Only gravity. Pretty amazing to think about, though the whole process seems (misleadingly) to move rather slowly.
Panama City has been good for salsa music. I made friends with a couple of local salsa buffs, making for some good listening and shop-talking. Tonight, I take what I hope to be my last night bus on this trip. I’ll roll in into my destination around 6am, with only a scenic ferry trip separating me from Bocas del Toro. I’m looking forward to having some time on a Caribbean beach.

Today I headed inland from the city center to check out the metropolitan nature park, which is known for its panoramic view of downtown and the canal, as well as a thriving ecosystem of plantlife, turtles, monkeys and 250 species of birds. Sounds pretty good, right?

Well, my walk took me a couple of kilometers into the jungle before the rain started coming down in sheets. It’s safe to say that I have only gotten so drenched on a short hike once before, back in Redmond, WA, though that time I was in good company.

So as I mused about the humor (and slight familiarity) of my situation, I trudged through the river that had once been a dirt path leading to the heart of the park and the stunning panoramic views. While the view was thoroughly obscured by low-hanging rainclouds, the hike itself was pleasant enough.

In fact, the only truly trying part of the afternoon was in persuading a taxi driver to allow a rainsoaked gringo (that’d be me) into his cab. After 20 minutes of waving down taxis on the road next to the park, I finally got a driver who wasn’t too concerned about his upholstery. Of course, by that time, the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to emerge from a gap in the clouds. What timing.

But it was a nice afternoon. It reminded me of how much I enjoy romping around in the woods, gave me a chance to enjoy some good memories, and saved me the trouble of washing a coffee stain out of my T-shirt. Tomorrow, I think I’ll take another gamble on the weather and head out to see the canal, up close. If there’s time, I’ll head to the bus station to secure passage to Bocas del Toro for tomorrow night.

The flight from Quito to Panama was quick; barely enough time to skim my travel book and sketch out my itinerary for the next couple of weeks. But it looks like my route will take me from Panama City to Bocas del Toro, to Puerto Viejo, to San Jose. Hopefully this will include good salsa music, sunny beaches, jungle expeditions, tortugas and monkeys. But most of all, I’m hoping for a very relaxing couple of weeks as an end to the last nine months of world travel. And even though it’s raining in Panama City, I’m optimistic.

In a few hours I hop on a plane for Panama City, ending my my foray south of the equator. South America has been fantastic, even though I’ve seen very little of it. Other than that, I guess there’s not much more to say. Time to hit the road.

Thanks to friend and webmaster, Ryan, for setting up a little watering-hole get together for the weekend after I get back to Seattle. If you haven’t received the Evite, email me or post a comment and I’ll make sure that you get the details.

Last night’s bus trip from Cuenca to Quito was pretty uneventful, but I can’t say as much about my wait at the Cuenca bus station beforehand. Here’s what happened…

I arrived at the bus station around 6pm to catch some dinner before my 8:30pm bus. Apparently, as I made my way down the main hall to the restaurant, I picked up a couple of tails who were interested in making off with my equipaje. Fortunately for me, as self-aware as I am, one of the bus company clerks alerted security that I was being sized up by these two menacing muchachos.
So within five minutes of my setting into the restaurant with a plate of arroz con pollo, the establishment was swarming with security guards toting handguns and batons, all looking around for the would-be thieves. I munched away at my dinner, oblivious to what was going on, even as a friendly waiter tried unsuccessfully to explain the situation to me (in Spanish). As best I could tell, at the time, the waiter was trying to tell me that someone had stolen something from the restaurant and that he wanted me to keep an eye out for this person. Right.

So after my clueless dinner, I picked up my bags (all still accounted for) and made my way out to the main terminal waiting area. At this time I was quickly approached by half a dozen very large, very well-armed security guards with a wide-eyed backpacker in tow. The backpacker was for translation, and he explained the situation to me (in English), at which point I felt like a complete idiot. Through the translator, the guards told me that I was not to leave the main terminal until I boarded my bus at 8:30, at which time they would escort me to the gate.
This all seemed like quite a lot of fuss over a couple of bag-snatchers, but I wasn’t about to argue with these guys. Instead, I parked my butt in a chair and read a book while the mod squad orbited me for an hour or so. While they hassled all the male travelers around me, checking IDs and ticket vouchers, I tried to make chitchat with the guy sitting next to me. I must have seemed like bad news, though, because he didn’t say much and moved seats after a couple minutes.

So at 8:30 I waved to one of the guards and the convoy paraded me down to the departure gate, which had one of those toothy turnstyles they use at zoos and theme parks to keep people from sneaking in the exit. Once I found my bus, I hurried onboard and found my seat. I don’t know who was more relieved at my departure…me, or all the other travelers in the bus station. I still don’t know whether to feel embarrassed or grateful for the experience, but I guess it’s at least good for a chuckle.

Tomorrow, I fly to Panama, which will hopefully involve a much less spectacular exchange with port security. Here’s hoping, right?

Last night’s chili expedition was a huge success. Actually, it was the hugest (is that a word?) bowl of chili I’ve ever had. And good, too. Today, I walked around Cuenca until it started raining, at which point I found a dry cafe blasting cumbia/salsa music. Between the music and the double-strong instant coffee, it’s been a jarring afternoon. Hopefully, my next post will be tomorrow from Quito, after arriving safe and well-rested.

After a leisurely breakfast and drawn-out goodbyes with the pooches, I bid farewell to my hosts and started the day’s trek. This began with a taxi into town, where I caught a combi (shared mini-bus…not bad if the other passengers have bathed recently) to Tumbes. From Tumbes I caught a bus across the border into Machala, Ecuador, the self-pronounced banana capital of the world. While I don’t know much about bananas, I saw little else on the road in and out of Machala. My lunch at a parilla next to the bus station in Machala consisted of grilled chicken (half of one, actually), rice, pinto beans (yay! don’t laugh…I love pinto beans!), and a huge pile of fried bananas. All for two dolares (dollars…Ecuador has some coins in circulation, but otherwise they seem to use only US currency). Then I caught a bus to Cuenca, where I am hoping to sample some excellent chili. Tomorrow, after some poking around Cuenca, which is also famous for its pleasant colonial architectural stylings (so says the Lonely Planet), I’ll take another night bus, this one to Quito, where I’ll cap my lightning round through Ecuador. But I think I’ll be coming back again, someday, if only to have lunch again at the parilla in Machala.