Currently rooming at Mamallena backpackers hostel, in a dormitory of 12 bunkbeds. I have a top bunk (reminds me of my dear, dear childhood). This afternoon I booked a spot on a boat leaving Thursday from Portobelo with a final destination of Cartagena, Columbia. We will be spending 2 or 3 days on the San Blas islands, and should arrive in Cartagena on Sunday. There will be 6 of us on board, including 2 other American chaps headed to Carnavale de Rio.
Panama City is a noisy (during the day) big city of high rises, hotels, free-for-all honking traffic, taxi's Just around the corner from this hostel is a store similar to Costco. Also in this area are two large casinos (saw a newspaper headline that read "Is Panama City Becoming the Las Vegas of Central America?")
Panamanian Economics:
- From what I've sampled so far, the food, though cheap, is bland (I had a full course vegetarian dinner including beverage for $4.95).
- lunch (full course including beverage): $2.40
- Hotels are priced about the same as in the states.
- Internet service: .50 per hour.
- Pedicure: $10
- 40 minutes of long distance calls to the states from a "call center" : $2.50.
- Taxi's charge $1 to $3 for rides around the downtown areas.
- Met a construction worker Angel Maria Herrera Butilla working on a new bank next door. He told me for December he will work 5am to 5pm Monday through Friday for $1 per hour.
- He and his wife own their own home which cost $7,000.
- His wife is a nurse. Her salary: $380 a month.
- Immigration punks, I mean immigration "officers" will demand a bribe from a tourist in lieu of 5-days of jail time for said tourist, for the "crime" of walking around at night without a passport.
- There are substantially less street vendors here as compared to the rest of Central America.
- Guys whistle and honk at women.
- According to Angel, and from what my eyes verify, Panama has no skin color trip. Lights, darks and in-betweens mingle congenially like a basket of warm, clean laundry.
- Also according to Angel, the country is full of extranjeros (foreigners), and the Spanish (from Spain)(including the women) are known for their vulgar speech.
- Saw a security guard in front of a bank checking women´s purses before they entered the bank.
- Many business have locked doors with buzzers to screen and control entry.
