The captain told us yesterday that a fast boat would be here around 7:30am to take us to the 4x4, which will then take us to Panama City.
We all had breakfast and waited for the boat to arrive. It came shortly before 8:00am. We packed all of our stuff into the boat and then had about a 45 minute boat ride to the coast, up a river delta to a spot where a bunch of 4x4 trucks were waiting. This is the main entry/exit point for people going to/from the San Blas Islands, so there were lots of backpackers all over the place, coming and going.
The trip to Panama City cost us about $50US, that included the fast boat and the 4x4 truck.
It was about a 2 hour truck ride to Panama City. Coming into Panama City we crossed a huge tidal flat, similar to what I've seen in Nova Scotia in the past. Panama City is a very modern city, lots and lots of very tall skyscrapers dot the skyline.
I had reserved a twin room at Hostel Siriri, a large home which was formerly the embassy of Thailand here in Panama City. When we arrived, they didn't have any rooms with two beds, so dad and I get to sleep in a double bed again. Fun times.
The hostel is located walking distance to downtown and all kinds of modern amenities you'd find in any western city.
After getting settled, checking our emails and such, we headed to Hard Rock Cafe, which is near the hostel. We walked there, and it was a Hard Rock Hotel, not the restaurant (and, oddly enough, they didn't have a Hard Rock Cafe in the hotel, it´s located in another part of the city). Instead, we chose a small pub in a modern, massive mall, called Red Lion for a beer and burgers. The prices were quite reasonable, $12US for the burgers (which were very good), $3.75 for the beers.
After that, we walked through the mall and decided to get a piece of cake from a cafe in the mall. The lady working at the cafe was awesome, I would say 'Uno' and point to the carrot cake, and she would tell me the name of it in Spanish, then I'd point to the chocolate cake and she would tell me that name in Spanish as well.
Dad got all in a snit on the way to the restaurant because he was convinced that he lost his camera, because it was not where he always put it (in his pocket). In the end, he decided he remembered putting it somewhere else, which changed his mood to positive again.
We came back to the hostel and did journal stuff. We're both really tired, but it was way to early to go to bed. About 8 we went for a walk down to the waterfront, which is just a short 15 minute walk from the hostel. They have a long promenade all along the waterfront, and it was super busy with joggers and cyclists. I said to dad, apart from him, I was probably the least in-shape person on the walk way. Haha. Anyway, Panama City is very modern and you can see they have money here.
We headed back, stopped at a McDonalds on the way back so dad could get a McFlurry fix. Then back to the hostel around 10ish and to bed.
Hahaha re Dad's snit.
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