We donned light rain gear and, with our packs in tow stepped into the large dugout canoe for the last trip of this visit. Our guides had encouraged us to arrive at the airport shed early for our flight which was scheduled at around seven that morning. We did hurry and the three of us alighted on land very near the landing strip where our intended flight should be bumping down within the hour.
We joined several other folks who were scheduled on our flight as well as another flight which was scheduled in just about a quarter hour after ours was to arrive. We signed a log in the shed which asked for our names, nationality, our weight in pounds or kilos and whether or not we were ticketed. In the two landing strips out in the autonomous region, if one is not ticketed, one stands by and if space is available, jumps into the vacant seat and settles one's account when one reaches Panama City. There are no metal detectors, no gates, no counter attendants visible at the airports out in this area. There is one man who tends to baggage that is in-coming and that to be stowed from the passengers. But John and I had only our backpacks as this was a very short and leisurely visit and it required only one change of dry clothing and a few personal effects. So, after we had signed the log, we waited about for the sound and sight of our twelve-place aircraft that was arriving from Panama City. Before long, we were rewarded with first the sound of the single engine and then the sight of her circular path as she approached the landing strip. We first spotted the aircraft over the Caribbean Sea and it circled onto the mainland over two small rises behind the landing strip. Down it swooped, easily clearing the rises and lowering on the end of the runway opposite to the end where we were standing. The prevailing winds are from the ocean so the plane landed into the winds and taxied down the end of the mainland which also coincided with the end of the mainland where the concrete block shack was situated.
Passengers poured out as did four crew members of the aircraft. The aircraft was also bringing with it luggage that had belonged to passengers of the day before who were sans their things because the plane's hold was too small to accommodate everything. We noticed a committee of the four crew members standing out in the front of the plane, deep in conversation. It seems that the total weight of all of us waiting was more than the aircraft could stand so, the short of it was that we were left at the airport together with a couple with a baby and one crew member without being boarded for our flight back to Panama City. As it was, the time was very tight because we were scheduled for a Panama Canal transit at 9 that same morning. The committee of crew continued for one hour during which another aircraft much larger in size of the company Air Panama had arrived, deplaned, unloaded cargo, loaded new passengers and cargo and had taken off. Still our crew labored over the apparent discrepancy, scratching their heads and becoming very deep in conversation.
Our outbound flight was supposed to have departed around seven and continued on to the other wee landing strips on the coast before it circled back and continued to Panama City. Now, because our names were not listed on the manifest as passengers from the location where we were standing, the crew decided that three of the crew would go to the next landing strip where they would unload passengers and cargo and return to our location to fetch us and the one crew member left behind. We were told that the crew was being oriented on either a new aircraft or a new procedure. Thus, there was double the number operating this wee bird.
We waited and finally the aircraft took off and was gone for about 40 minutes before it returned to the strip. The pilot got out and produced a bathroom scale and made each of us remaining there weigh and report our weight out loud. It was posted and we were finally allowed to board the plane. Once aloft, we traveled directly to Panama City. Half way to our destination, I could hear the rain begin to pelt the fuselage. It continued for approximately ten minutes and then we alternated between the white cumulus clouds and areas of clear, blue skies until we reached our destination at Panama City.
In Panama, whether one is taking a domestic leg or an international one, one's luggage is searched. Mind you, there is never a careful search but, there is a search. And, one must follow procedures when arriving else there will be trouble. So, we arrive in Panama and were directed to walk across the tarmac towards a door that appeared to be our entry point. We entered with back pack in hand and were told to wait. First the bags had to be searched and then our names had to be crossed off of a computer generated list of passengers to verify that we had, in fact, arrived and checked in. Perhaps three other names were called and checked ahead of John and then he was summoned to the desk. I accompanied him because we were traveling together. The clerk told him that he owed money for the flight. I stepped up and said that we had paid and we had our itinerary in hand to prove it. I was speaking in Spanish and I got a very rude remark from her saying that I was bothering her. I said nothing further but when we produced the paper, she sent it out for a copy for herself and one for the pilot who was closing out the flight and we were both given the green light to pass.
The island where we departed was humid but the heat of the day had not yet reached its peak but our destination in Panama City was both hot and humid and very uncomfortable. Fortunately we were both clothed in very light attire so it really did not matter.
It was obviously way past our connect time for the Panama Canal transit so we decided to hoof it over to the very fancy Allbrook Mall adjacent to the airport in Panama City. Upon leaving the terminal area, we were offered taxi rides but refused every one. There are no meters in the taxis in Panama City so one has to arrange for the price before entering the cab. For locals, transit across the city can range from two to perhaps six or seven dollars. If one is fluent in Spanish, it helps but even so, the cab drivers do make their money on tourism and the last two years have been a disaster here as elsewhere. So, for us, our fares if we should have taken the cab might have been five or six dollars instead of fifty cents to one dollar. We arrived at the mall and it was a great relief to get inside the cool common area of the shopping areas and food court. We even found a Dunkin' Donuts where we enjoyed the familiar tastes together with tea and coffee. We did a bit of looking around and John picked up one item before we decided to head for our hotel. Before exiting, I asked the clerk how much she would pay for a trip from there to the Amador portion of Panama City. She told me to pay absolutely no more than three dollars.
We saw a cab driver outside and I signaled and went over to her window. I told her where we wanted to go and asked how much it would cost. She then asked me how much I was willing to give and I told her three dollars. She agreed and we were all happy. She deposited us about ten minutes later at the former Serviceman's YMCA which had been converted in part to a sales area for artisans. We found it very poorly stocked and almost vacant of tourists. However, we did manage to locate some items which we collected and traded for US dollars. Then, it was only a fifteen minute walk to our hotel.
This would the the third and final visit and stay at the Country Suites by Carlson. And, on the last two stays, we were told that our rooms would not be ready until 3 in the afternoon. This visit was no different so we asked for a key in order to get into the business center to catch up on our e-mail and other items. We also grabbed a bite at TGIF which shared space with the hotel. We finally got our room and went up to the fourth floor where we both took extended times in the shower. It was great to clean up and get fresh clothing on.
We were scheduled to meet friends of our landlord at 4 that afternoon so I went down to the lobby to await their arrival. Soon John joined me and I told him that he could let me know when they arrived since I wanted to catch up on the blog or other Internet stuff. I finished in the business center and joined John once again and we waited for our friends to show. Soon Bonifacia and Victoriana showed up and we suggested that we go for refreshments to TGIF. They were happy to join us and we had a delightful time conversing in Spanish. We had to ask Bonnie several times to slow down. Her friend Victoriana also asked her to slow down so we were assisted by her slackening of speech. We bid them so-long and walked with them to the bus stop where we left them. Then up to the room for a wonderful night of sleep. Our scheduled flight from Panama City to David the next day was due to depart around nine in the morning so we figured that an arrival of half past seven should be appropriate. That meant we would have time for breakfast at the hotel and a taxi ride over to the Allbrook airport the next morning.
We were awake around 6 and cleaned up before packing all of our things for our flights back to Guatemala. Down we headed for breakfast which we enjoyed. The breakfast room had windows which overlooked the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal but this morning we saw no movement or lining up of shps for transit. We finished breakfast and headed up to the room for a final swing through then back down to the lobby where we asked for a cab to the airport. Checked out and loaded our things into the cab and made it to the airport in record time...perhaps fifteen minutes.
Next segment will be Panama City to David in Panama, David to San Jose in Costa Rica and, our final leg San Jose to Guatemala City in Guatemala.
No comments:
Post a Comment