Panama City: Mini Manhattan of the Americas

As the race against time ensues, I finally arrived in Panama 2 days before my flight to the city of David in order to take a transfer onward to Panama on a night bus. Froze my butt off on the bus with the AC pumped at150% and arrived at Panama City before dawn, and took a cab to the hostal only to be locked outside until opening time, 3+ hours later. Finally was admitted in, and my day started by being sent from 1 bank to another. 7 banks & 2 taxi rides later, only to find out that not one bank accepts Traveller's cheques... except one but charges 4%! so those of you who are reading this, TCs are a dying breed!! It causes more problems, wastes more time than it saves *cry*  Cash is still King in Latin America (although I did get lucky in El Salvador, Guate, Honduras).

On a more positive note, I went to see the famous Panama Canal which is really impressive at the sheer sight of it. Reading the numbers can impress the statisticians, but seeing the colossal size of the ships, and imagining the amount of work involved to take an Ocean Highway (Cargo Ship) with a beam of 32m, length of 179m cruising into the water chambers prepared to level the water for travelling from the Atlantic to the Pacific across a 77km canal, took my breath away. The Canal is a showroom of men dominating nature, however not without sacrifice of around 27,500 lives.

The ladder part of the day was spent cruising in one of the 4-5 shopping malls of the city that put our Carrefour Laval to shame :o !! It is gigantic, bright, full of people, bursting with life! I felt like I was in an American mall had it not been the Spanish signs. The bus ride back to my hotel was one of the most memorable of my life.

I fell in love again. With Life. Somewhere between the moments of a long travel journey, one gets distracted, then lost, sidetracked from the initial aim. I have woken up from a conscientious stupor that I slipped in, as if swayed into hypnosis by the waves of the island life of Corn Island of Nicaragua. Thanks to what ya say?

• To the electric and vibrant energy rising from the inumerable sky scrapers that illuminated the Panamanian night sky.
• To the vibe from a mainly young population and melting-pot of races that aroused my visual senses. 
• To the Panamanian reggaeton music blasting through the roof of the bus that I was riding in. 
• To the chaotic driver of the of the "Diablos rojos" (red devils) school buses zooming through the rush hour traffic, tall and proud and not the least intimidated by the SUVs that they were surrounded with. 
• To the contrast of second or even third hand school buses still being used as city buses racing through a up-and-coming modern city in full puberty growth.
• To the charming Columbian whom explained to me about the Panamanian reggaeton music with such passion and about Panama City with feverish fervor. His enthusiasm, combined with my sudden awakening, together we were riding an intangible but very real tide of electric vibration.
• To the owner of the hostal whom made sure I tasted everything Panamanian before I leave: beer, "natural herb" and men by bringing me to the beautiful dock by the lakeside where the yachts are parked :D

All the above combined became the perfect concoction to tingle my senses and reach deep within to arouse me from the hard-to shake apathy that I was inevitably slipping in.

I must share: This is the song that I was listening to on the bus when I experienced my awakening.
(Disclaimer: The author of the blog cannot be held liable for listeners whom are not able to experience the same emotions as advertised)

Amazingly, with just a day in Panama City, I fell in love with the energy in the air. It's electric, full of beautiful people. I have never witness such a mix that made me turn around every corner, with an undeniable attraction to experience more, to live more, to want more. The music, combined with the energy of the Panamanians, reached deep within me and drew my soul back to action.

Panama City, a young and vibrant city with a skyline that resembles a mini Manhattan with no signs of stopping, and filled with the most beautiful mixture of people that I have ever seen. Black, brown, coffee, coffee-caramel, indigenous and yellow! They are not just living together, they are blended and well-mixed thanks to all the foreign workers required to build the Canal. My eyes were fixed, for the first time in a long time, more on men than on women! A highschool boy stepped on the bus: dark coffee skinned paired with clear gray-brown eyes that have the capacity to pierce through the doors of the women's souls. Beware, here comes the male version of medusa... And some beautiful mix of yellow, coffee and black, beautiful mestizos that roam the streets!

Finally, yet reluctantly, on board for my flight to South America. After an extensive travelling time, the fact of taking a flight to a world famous destination re-triggered that excited giggly child in me as I arrive in Lima, Peru.

To be continued...