After 58 days on tour, it all closed out in Panamá City. On our way into town we stopped for a couple of hours at the Canal to see massive grain cargo ships pass through the Miraflores lock, dropping 27 feet in mere minutes. Engineering lasting 100 years come 2014 is pretty impressive to say the least. And it still draws a crowd at rush hour.
We stayed the first night in the metropolitan area in the tour hotel and after dinner we hit the clubs on Calle Uruguay. From what I can remember we went to a British pub to start and played pool while waiting for the clubs to actually get going. Pure and Privet clubs came next, one of which had a $10 cover and charged $5 for a small bottle of water. It was cheaper to buy alcohol. We did a lot of dancing, drinking, shouting and laughing, letting our hair down after so long on the road.
For unknown reasons I somehow managed to attract the amorous attention of a bouncer who wanted me to stay until he finished at 4am. I’ll take it as a compliment since he would hopefully have been sober. I was in bed by 4am though so no luck chuck.
A few of the group stayed on a few extra days in the same hostel, Luna’s Castle, including my roommate Claire and guide Ernesto. Even after so long together, we could still hang out and go to meals, the mall and a movie together.
Luna’s Castle is in an older part of town, Casco Viejo, surrounded by old architecture, new decrepitude and an abundance of construction works. An old family home built in 1905, it also contains some of the original city wall, high ceilings, tall doors and dorm rooms holding 10-12 bunk beds. Our room had views out over the bay towards the high-rises which seem a whole world away from the vibe of Casco Viejo.
Panamá City is stickily humid, exhaustively hot and to be blunt, kinda boring. It could have been the long stop after a fast moving trip or some unsavory hassles during the last leg that put a dampener on the vibe. Whatever the reason, we had to make our own fun with a day at the mall doing very normal activities like shopping for clothes and a sleeping bag, eating at food courts and going to the movies – Hansel and Gretal = good escapism, good CGI, some humour, bit of eye candy. 3.5 stars – and it was in English too, bonus!
We indulged ourselves with a long brunch at a French crepe bistro followed with a walk around the streets of Casco Viejo, along the shopping strip and finishing with a beer at a rooftop bar where the beautiful people go, overlooking the water and high-rises.
Ernie and I spent some time at the Fishmarket trying ceviche and cocktails with prawns…yes people, I ate prawns! Put enough sauce on them and they aren’t too bad. From there we taxied into the den of high-rises to El Carmen and Prisma Tattoo Studio where I watched him get a tattoo. The words “You only live once. If lived right, once is enough” are now on the inside of his right forearm, in black outline and orange and yellow gradient fill. It’s awesome and he hardly even flinched.
Back in town we gathered supplies for a crudités and antipasto party for Ernie’s last night, plus a few bottles of wine and continued to have a feast in the common room. I’m pretty sure people nearby were saying, “hmmmm, must be nice.” We also got photos with Lachlan, or as the whiplash from our double takes wants to believe, Alexander Skarsgaard. No joke, this guy could be his double. Several more beers, some rums and an animated conversation between myself, Philip the German and Alejandro the Colombian, during which I’m sure we tried to solve world poverty but mostly talked about the difficulties in having an animated conversation across three languages. I called it a night when I was asked if I wanted to roll around in the movie theatre…otherwise known as the roll-around room. I said “I’ll be back in a minute” and did my best impression of Ernie…which is to say that and then go to bed. God he had a gorgeous smile though 😉
Saying goodbye to Ernie the next day involved a lot of tears, hugs, kisses and assurances we will meet again. Claire and I walked him to the cab and waved as he was driven away. Some people just know how to get under your skin and hug your soul. That’s our Ernie.
To distract ourselves from the realization that now there was just two, we took a day tour with Cacique Cruises to the beach to frolick on molten hot black sand until the tent was erected, have a
BBQ, watch others learn to surf, sleep off the hangover and swim when the bite went out of the sun. In the end it was nice to get out of the city and the hostel. Even if every infesstiminal nook and cranny seemed to pick up a fine layer of the superfine, sparkly, sticky to be almost magnetic, black sand.
The next day I had to say goodbye to Claire – my roommate and confidante for the last two months. I hope she knows I love her and we will see each other again…on the road.
