Really tired, still need to catch up on sleep but it’s been a fun first day.
Highlights
- Sussing out where our flat is (the one we’ve booked for when we leave the hotel – a 3 bedroom, all amenities + broadband + weekly maid included for £600/month).
- Getting some private Spanish lessons started this week after our room service fiasco (see below).
- Booking a bilingual private guided tour of the city for Wednesday (with what sounds like a mad, crazy but very friendly local woman).
- Finding out where the gadget store is.
- Sorting out broadband access in our room.
- Finding TGI Friday’s just round the corner and having 2 main courses, 1 HUGE dessert (which J polished off on his own) & drinks…for the same price of just 1 main meal at TGI’s in the UK. I know it’s awful but it was an “easy” meal put after our room service fiasco.
- Sweating in 30 degree, tropical heat and hearing that it’s raining sideways back in Britain.
Lowlights
- Sweating in 30 degree tropical heat and having to return to the hotel after an hour of walking round.
- J trying to order room service and having to speak to about 5 people before anyone could understand him. Despite taking 15 minutes to order 2 sandwiches, he then insisted on trying to order a dessert of pancakes but had to give up after they asked him to repeat it – saving himself the trauma of repeating it 6 times before they ‘got’ it. Totally our fault for not knowing Spanish, but I think the guide books must have been lying when they said you could get by here in English. Maybe at the airport. Very much looking forward to our 50 hours of Spanish tuition.
- The traffic, especially along Avenida Balboa which sweeps the length of the bay. It’s nothing like Dubai and the drivers seem very civilised (they stop or slow down to let you cross at traffic lights and the taxis toot you as you’re walking along to let you know they’re free) but it’s pretty full on on along the big roads.
I have a feeling that Panama City is the kind of place that grows on you more & more as you get under its skin. It’s an interesting place and is an odd mix of old & new. It’s a pretty big city – around 700k population – and people seem friendly (even though we can’t speak to them yet). I can just tell.
I have a feeling that we’ll only really get to know it when we can speak the language.
Roll on the lessons…