It is my last day in Florida and lots of my friends over here are hit our place. We enjoy a great BBQ and I have a decent amount of drinks. During this evening I land in the pool for two times. It’s time for a last visit to the Atlantic, for a last round of Gainesville party. I say goodbye to this city and vanish around 1 am since my plan is to leave here at 5 am in the morning, to catch my flight into Panama from Tampa.
It’s tough to get up and I’m late… 🙂 still tipsy and very tired I make my way through the darkness but there is no need to be stressed out, the time I calculated was plenty. Totally destroyed and tired I board the flight to Miami where I have to wait 2:30 hours until I can continue into Panama City. I sleep most of the time and some Americans who sit beside me show off how great their vacation will be, diving, playing golf and residing in good hotels. That’s not what I’m looking for. I look for an adventure for a bargain, since my money comes to an end and I want to feel the countries I am going to visit. I get out of the airport short past 3 pm and take an overpriced private shuttle to my hostel Luna’s Castle in Casco Viejo, an old part of Panama City in the beautiful style of the time of colonization.
I get into my room and there is a German girl. Her name is Anne and we get along well from the start. She invites me to stroll around Casco Viejo with her and I agree and follow her and another couple from Germany. It’s impressive how some of the buildings are in shape and others are nothing more than are ruins and when you have a look over to the city you see the modern time.
I decide to depart from the group and walk along the bridge out of Casco Viejo to get an overview over this most beautiful skyline and the harbor. And I have my first Ceviche, which is way overpriced compared to the ones sold at the fish market – which I find out the next day.
Back to the hostel I meet Anne on the room again. We talk a bit and suddenly a guy enters the room. His name is Stefan, he is from Germany which is obvious from his accent. I enjoy 2 minutes where I talk English to him and he doesn’t recognize I am German. It’s funny but then I reveal myself. So Anne and Stefan what are your plans?
San Blas is booked out, damn. There is no single seat left to get there. It’s the weekend of Easter and word of mouth is lots of locations are booked out for the next days. I wanted to go there first, before I continue westwards, towards the border of Costa Rica. This is not an option anymore so I decide spontaneous to get a rental – saving time in 18 days of Latin America is important – and go to Santa Catalina first. Anne is in, after I promise her to stop a day in El Valle. Stefan has not eaten yet so we go out again to grab something. I like this guy, he is funny. So I ask him to join us as well and he replies to think about it. Later the night he is in as well…
