Panama City Downpour

I arrived in Panama city exhausted and shaken from my eventful bus ride. Rain was pouring from the sky, making it impossible to find a cab or any transportation for that matter to my hostel. I decided to wait it out and in the process meet two fellow solo-female travelers, both heading to the same hostel. We chat for a bit and then finally found a taxi, willing to drive in the late afternoon downpour.

As our cab float through the streets of Panama city I knew Central American rainy season had begun. It rained non-stop for the next three days, making sight seeing and other activities near impossible. The hostel had a movie room, packed with backpackers ridding out the weather and several other common areas where people were having drum circles, sing-a-longs and planning their next destination. Sick of hanging out in a hostel all day, I decided to find someone to brave the rain and walk the city with me. Diane, a Canadian backpacker was more than happy to join me on a walk through the Casco Viejo. Surrounded by decaying and very old buildings and slogging through rain puddles was an adventure and visually spectacular. Although soaking wet i was enjoying myself. The rain was just a part of the experience.

The next day, I woke to cloud filled skies and more rain. Diane and I decided to visit the Panama city mall, do some shopping and see what it was all about. I am confident this mall is the largest mall I have ever been to; it had numerous food courts, copious vendors and a store for everything ever made. I enjoyed looking through the many cigar shops and even bought a few to try. The mall interior was filled with strange fiber glass statues of animals and famous movie icons, an excellent chance for photo ops. An opportunity Diane and I took full advantage of, posing with various animals; kangaroo, orca, king kong. It was a surprisingly fun day at the Panama city mall, and in its own way a cultural experience.

That night while drinking at the hostel bar and complaining to my fellow travelers about the rain situation, someone mentioned going to one of the many casinos in the city. It was one of those good ideas that was actually not a good idea. It was a typical casino, gamble and get free drinks, or gamble and drink til you run out of money. I did neither, instead I chose to watch my fellow travelers attempt to strike it rich, playing black jack and poker with wealth Panamanian men. I must admit it was hard not to join in, they had a craps table, but nearing the end of my trip i knew i didn't have money to waste on stupid things like gambling. That's when I noticed how many of the people playing poker was casually using cocaine at the game table. Cocaine is illegal in Panama but for some reason people just don't care. It was a rare culture shock.