Panama City, Panama

Tuesday 14th January:
Why did I start in Panama? Well basically it was the cheapest place to fly to, That or Guatemala. Now I have been here a couple of days I wonder if I should have gone up to Guatemala first and dove around some of Those areas ( Honduras, Belize). However .... I am glad i came to Panama City as I have the best host ever from Couch Surfing, a guy called Rafael Chong. The apartment is small (but cozy) and there are 4 people sleeping in it now (a French dude doing a blog called http://www.worldpokertrip.net/ funding his entire trip, of 2 years through South America, by playing poker. He is a pretty awesome guy! There is also a new Dutch dude, arrived last night. It is a great start to stay in a place I feel so welcome, with a local guy who is just so sweet and lovely and can show you around. 

I had a rather scary trip with some dickhead cab from the airport. It should never be more than 30 dollars, but he was asking for 60! Only after the cabbie dropped off the the couple at their hotel, I was sharing the cab with, did it double in price. What a twat. I got out, opened the boot - but my backpack was gone! I went mental. Marched the cabbie back into the hotel to talk to the couple and get my bag, that had somehow mysteriously been taken out of the boot. They backed me up on what he had originally agreed to and then he decided to reduce it to 45 dollars. But I decided I was not getting back into the cab with his dodgy ass, so then he took the money out of my hand (40 dollars) said he had and done he had done his best, which he clearly hadn't, and left me to get another cab…

Met my couch surfing host, Rafael, at the Coca-Cola Cafe, which, as I have now discovered is in one of the coolest areas, the old town. Apparently a few years ago it used to be a slum, really run down, shootings, but now it's been done up a bit. There is a strange mixture of wealth and poverty in this city. In some parts you feel like you are in Miami, there are big cars (it’s shit for cycling around, I tried!!) nice apartments and hotels. But in other parts it is basically a slum. People tell me you don’t wanna go there, cause they don’t like Gringos (or greengos) after the Americans bombed Panama in 1989, and occupied it till 2000, all because of the Canal and its importance to US trade. I cycled through the slum anyway, by accident! I would love to be able to get to know someone who live in that area and see how people live there. It really interests me. There was music blasting from all the apartments, kids and families just sat around,  make-shift houses. Makes you feel lucky to have a better life.

Spider-man...

As I was cycling through Panama city along a motorway (not a good idea) I stopped at a junction because there was Spider man, or a guy in his costume swinging from the bridge doing acrobatics. He’d then jump down, just before the lights would change and ask people for money from their cars…what a brilliant way of begging!

and the parrot

In one of the markets next to the Coca-Cola Cafe, is a talking parrot. I heard him Meow like a cat! Say papa! And all sorts of things.