Going to Panama City is really annoying. It’s not even that far away but it takes at least an hour to get to it and the roads are in crappy condition. I can see why these Central American countries have so many tire shops: because the roads here are so horrible, you’ll keep needing new ones.
So I went back to the Aduana to get my passport stamped so that it says my vehicle has exited the country. That’s it. That’s all I needed. If the lady had known to do that yesterday, I wouldn’t have had to go back. But at least I found out I needed to do that through my research here.
Then I went to Gatun Locks, which I actually happen to like better than Miraflores Locks. It might have to do with the fact that it’s got a roof over the observation center and isn’t nearly as crowded. Took lots of pictures, and left after an hour or so.
I dropped off for some laundry to be done here at the hotel and left for the duty free zone. I am quite confused as to why the best buildings in Panama are locked up in a Duty Free zone. I went into a couple shops, was disappointed, and left fairly quickly.
The surprise of the day happened when Van calls me in my room at around 6PM. He says he wants to go to Colombia with me! I go downstairs to meet him. He’s serious.
It’s not going to happen. I like him, but I don’t like him that much. He doesn’t have any money, and I can see me having to support him. Getting him past borders is gonna be a problem. I just gave him $10 for him to go to Panama City and see if he can’t get some sort of document that allows him to travel, but I am not counting on it. He doesn’t have email and wants to take a boat and rendevous with me somehow in Cartagena, Colombia.
But he wants to seriously get away from Colon. Who am I to prematurely end his dream of leaving this dump, the only place he’s known for 32 years? Perhaps he can find another place to live and retire in along the road… But that’s much more than what I had asked for before starting out on this trip.
They don’t even try to hide their intentions anymore. Today, while organizing things in my car, a young man comes up to me and asks me in decent English if I can’t spare some money for food. By this point I am very upset that he just walks up to me to ask for money. I give him a dollar. On the way out later on, we cross paths, and he smiles at me with a thumb up. I show no emotion and walk away.
Everywhere I go in Panama, one of the wealthier Central American countries, I’m hounded by guys that speak decent English, asking me for money for food or whatever. I didn’t expect this, Panama least of all. Honduras and Nicaragua I would definitely understand. But Panama? What’s going on?