Another new country! In Panama I've been to Bocas del Toro, Panama City, and the Guna Yala Islands (aka San Blas).
1. Without fellow traveler knowledge before we embarked, I am quite sure that we would not have been successful in crossing between Costa Rica and Panama. To leave Costa Rica, we had to stop at a little bodega shop a block around the corner from the bridge to pay our exit tax. This looked like a family owned 7/11, not a government facility, and was very easy to miss. Then we climbed several flights of stairs to the bridge to receive the exit Costa Rica stamp, which required the receipt of our tax payment. Then we crossed the rickety (honestly, a little scary) bridge. On the other side of the bridge we paid an entry to Panama tax, once again into a random cash box that could have belonged to anyone. This tax receipt was a passport sticker, but no entry stamp. So we descended some stairs and looked for a sign or any indiction of immigration stamps. A random taxi driver pointed us down a block and around the corner, where a very bored but very serious man stamped our passports. We could have easily accidentally illegally entered without our stamps. Our bus was stopped by police and we had to show our passports, so phew for finding all the right pieces and not being sent back!
2. I'm now accustomed to hostel hopping. I thought the Hostelworld app (for making hostel reservations) would be a valuable tool, but instead I've gotten fellow traveler recommendations before entering a new city and then looked at each to book the best one. This may seem time consuming, but most towns are so tiny that the hostels are only a block or two from each other.
3. Hostel dogs seem to be a thing sometimes. While they are precious, they are dirty. And sometimes loud.
4. Panama has been a relief from bug bites. My legs are returning to their normal, non-splotchy color!
5. Banana pancakes continue to be served as the hostel breakfast. One hostel must have figured out that this is the cheapest breakfast solution and then it spread through Central America like wildfire, because I have never seen pancakes served anywhere in Central America outside of hostels.
6. The grocery stores in Panama are run by people of Asian descent. Rumor has it that they came over to build the canal and then couldn't get jobs so they started their own businesses. However, in the Panama Canal museum, when listing the countries who contributed, Asian countries aren't listed. So it's a mystery!
7. We took the overnight bus from Bocas del Toro to Panama City, and for the first time on my trip I remembered what it felt like to be cold. Freezing, actually. That AC was on full blast for 11 hours. A good learning to dress warmer for future overnight buses!
8. Panama City has been the first city that I've been to on this trip, and it was has been quite refreshing. Stores have air conditioning, and there are normal pipes which means throwing toilet paper into the toilet instead of the garbage can.
9. Guna Yala aka San Blas was quite the opposite - no electricity, no running water, no mirrors. Bathing was entering the ocean, and tooth brushing was from bottled water that we brought with us. I didn't wash my face or wear shoes for four days. We could walk around the entire island in about 30 seconds and it was only white sand beach, palm trees, and thatch roof huts. It was beautiful and refreshing to be unplugged.
10. It's fun learning slang from other travelers. South Africans call shacking having a "napover", Australians say "I'm keen" when they're game for something, and Brits use "nice" as an adjective for absolutely everything, which means that Europeans who speak English as a second language also use "nice" to describe everything (people, places, food, movies, etc).
11. I haven't figured out Panamanian food - it seems to be rice, beans, and meat, but most restaurants are more diverse. In San Blas, however, together the island ate chicken & rice for lunch, and fish & rice for dinner.
12. I get ready for the day in 10 minutes. I put on the outfit that smells the least terrible, go to the bathroom, rinse my face, and brush my teeth. I haven't worn makeup since I arrived (I consider this a personal feat). Fewer belongings means shorter get ready and organization time.
13. Mentally converting Celsius to Fahrenheit has become very quick and easy. Hint: it's ALWAYS hot.
14. Saying that I'm from Chicago tends to illicit one of three responses: 1) Doesn't it get really cold there? 2) Chicago Bulls! 3) The Windy City! Doesn't it get really cold there?
Interestingly, when I was living in Spain the response was always related to Obama. Not a single person that I've met in Central America has brought up Obama in relation to Chicago.
15. Speaking of Obama, the US education system is all messed up compared to the rest of the world. I always knew this, but it seems even more so when talking to foreigners. How did it even get to that? A question and discussion for another time.
16. Enrique Iglesias is very loved here. Which is wonderful, because I also love him.
17. The currency is the US Dollar, which makes budgeting things amazingly simpler.
18. My (lime green) sunglasses seem to live on the top of my head. I tend to forget they are there and then someone points them out to me at 11pm. The sun never sets on a badass, right?
19. Snacks are a travel essential. Therefore, I have acquired a jar of peanut butter that travels with me - it's healthy(ish), filling, and the dipping options are so vast! I didn't realize how super American this was, but have been told that more than once. #LONGHAIRDONTCARE.
20. At a restaurant in Panama City I randomly ran into a girl that I went to high school with ten years ago in The Netherlands. I continue to run into travelers that I met weeks ago in other countries. I look at a map and see the minuscule amount of the huge world that I've managed to see in a month, yet am constantly reminded that it's actually a quite small world after all.
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