Couple days ago, Gabi and I arrived in Panama with Diego and the girls to visit out friend Teresina who just moved here four months ago. Although we had to get up at 3:30 am to catch a 6:00 am flight, the trip was not too bad. We flew from Cincinnati to Houston, and from Houston to Panama, which was the longest flight. We were sitting in the back of the plane, which normally would be bad, but with the girls it was actually convenient because of course they got up multiple times. They got a little bored during the second flight, but in between playing with my iPhone, watching a movie on thr iPad, and playing musical chairs with Gabi and Diego, we all survived. By 1:00 pm, we had arrived in Panama.
As soon as we got off the flight, we went straight to the bathroom. And what was a clear sign that we were indeed back in Latin America? ... That there was no toilet paper in the bathroom! That is so typical of public bathrooms in Mexico, although I have to agree with my sister, that in Mexico, the airport bathrooms DO have it. This was just the first of multiple comparisons that - almost involuntarily - I have been making.
The reason we went to the bathroom first is that we had no idea how long it would take us to get through immigration, and having the kids we didn't want to risk having to go while we were waiting. But turn out that there was nobody waiting in line in front of us. Yet, and besides the fact that there were multiple immigration agents at their posts, we did have to wait a few minutes for one of them to take us. As Gabi pointed out, they were probably waiting to see who would break down first and take us. The guy who took me and the girls wasn't mean, but wasn't particularly friendly either. After he reviewed our passports I stood there, waiting, because I thought he would give me a copy of the forms we filled out, or some other sign that I was ready to go. But he didn't. It was couple minutes later that the agent next to him - a friendly girl - told me: "You are ready to go. Bienvenida a Panama".
When we came out Teresina was already waiting for us. It was nice to see her there, a familiar and friendly face.
We loaded the suitcases and the kids in her minivan, and in a few minutes we were on our way. My first impression of Panama was that it looks like any other coastal city in Mexico, with its small airport, almost intolerable heat, the palm trees, and the contrasting mix of extreme wealth and extreme poverty almost everywhere you look. It felt - for a minute - like we were back in our home country. But, unlike the Mexico I remember, I got the impression that there is more hoplessness around here. But more on that later.
We arrived at Teresina's house in about 20 minutes, and quickly offloaded everything, took a tour of the house, and let the kids take a break. Adriana, who will be 3 years this summer, looked happy to have a playmate. We also got to met Antonio, her 5 month old baby, for the very first time. Her house is very nice, the style I like from the outside, and they seemed to have settled quickly, although I am sure it was no walk in the park with a 2 year old, a newborn, and a big dog.
After resting for a while we went to the park that is right in front of her house where we met 3 French kids - who were there with the nanny (more on that later as well) - and although the girls were not very interested in playing together, the older boy played soccer with Diego for a little while. After that we went to Casco Viejo, the older part of town, to walk around for a little while. They are putting a lot of money and effort to renovate all the historical buildings there, but for now many of them are really run down which is very sad. Walking around there made me really long for the downtowns in Tlaxcala and Queretaro, with their nice and safe parks, all the coffee shops open for business, and all those beautiful, well kept buildings, as the perfect surrounding for an afternoon or evening out. So yes, that was another comparison. That area has potential, but in comparison to Mexico, it has a long way to go.
After our walk we got back in the car, and drove to an ice cream shop. It was later in the day, but we are on vacation, so we made the exception.
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