in san pedro (guatemala), the caretaker of the volcano made a joke about the sentra: se entra agua y sale humo (water comes in and smoke leaves). he was pretty right. the exhaust is more or less fixed (i patched it a couple days ago in costa rica, for $15). today, i found a small mildewed pool of water in the trunk. i knew my trunk leaked before this trip….but didnt expect such ridiculous rain here. in retrospect, it would have been wise to fix it. even now, i should probably consider patching it myself….but i probably won’t, since i’m lazy.
lonely planet suggests a great source for finding detailed maps of the city. i drove around for about 1.5hrs looking for it. the maps are quite good…but i still get lost. why? well, for one thing, street signs don’t necesarily match the labels on the map. second, maps/street names seem very foreign to the people here. earlier today, i asked a gas staton attendant where avenida simon bolivar was. he didn’t know and asked another guy. turns out it was the major street that the gas station is on. later on (after i had the map), i asked a waiter where we were on the map. it took him about 5minutes to find us. it’s kinda annoying…..and certainly not unique to panama.
traffic in panama city can be pretty awful. the traffic is probably worse here than in san jose…but at least it was dry here during rush hour. (note: it seems to be raining earlier in the day, as i drive south from mexico to panama). panama city is probably the most developed city i have seen so far. they are building tones of sky scrapers. it’s also quite large and complicated. during rush hour, they have cops manning the streets (in place of traffic lights). i think they do that every day….which gives you some idea of how overloaded the existing infrastructure is — coming from the us, it’s also funny seeing how many things here are not automated, because the cost of labor is lower. i think panama city could be a very fun place to hang out, if you know somebody here.
tonight, i ate at el trapiche off of ave. argentina. it’s a very popular local spot….kinda feels like a panamanian diner (only not tacky/old fashioned like diners in the us…and serving local food). a 3-course meal here (soup, sandwhich, dessert and sugar cane juice) runs for $10. the chicken soup has tons of stuff….including corn (on the cob), chicken, chicken bones (small and large), potato, etc. it was very good…but also very diferent from american/european soups where everything in the soup is edible….and you only need a spoon to eat it.
whereas in the us, restaurants are typically enjoyed by most residents….in central america, many serve only the rich and tourists. thus, i should be more careful who i inquire for the best restaurant in the city. chances are, many people will have never eaten at it…and will instead suggest the most expensive restaurant (correlating cost with quality).
also, happy father’s day and birthday papai.