Theme From Zorba the Greek

Woke up to a sunny day at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Tocumen Airport in Panama City. After eating the buffet breakfast we boarded the hotel shuttle to the airport to pick up our rental car. We got a brand new Nissan Sentra and also a surprise. The price quoted did not include the obligatory liability insurance who is in addition to the insurance provided by our credit card. Jeff was very annoyed as he had done so much research, but with no choice we paid and drove back to the hotel to check out.

We drove all day on the Pan America Highway, the only highway in Panama, reducing chances of getting lost. We went on the southern side of Panama City

and then across the Bridge of the Americas. There is a parking area just across the bridge and I got out to look at the canal. It was very low the and mostly mud flats and no water.  Saw one large ship making its way from the Miraflores Locks. Not a busy morning.

Continued west along the highway dotted with little towns that are not much more than a few streets and some businesses and small industry. During a traffic jam we saw this guy selling churros complete with dipping sauce packaged in plastic bags. Reminded me of the pretzel sellers on Roosevelt Boulevard in NE Philadelphia.

We stopped for lunch at an upscale restaurant in a modern strip mall. Tried in vain to buy SIM cards for our phones and finally gave up. We now have an address for a phone store and will try again tomorrow. Lots of grass, trees and some cows along the way.

After 5:00 we arrived in Santiago and our Hotel Mykonos. A little bit of Greece right here in Panama. It is four years old, modern and very attractive. We were surprised at the lovely and large lobby. Luckily a bell hop handled our luggage as we found out there is no elevator for the second floor room that we had requested. This could never happen in the US. A large swimming pool and grounds occupies the center of the property with the rooms in buildings along each side. I sat outside for a while enjoying the warm weather and fresh air.

Later we had dinner in the onsite restaurant. Again it was beyond what we expected and the food was good. It can be difficult when the wait staff speaks no English. I knew I was in trouble when our waitress brought me two different bowls of soup and never brought Jeff's salad. Hopefully our upcoming Spanish lessons will help these situations.

Back in the room we tried to get an English language channel on the TV and that didn't work out so well. No news for me tonight. Better that I go to sleep so we can get up, get our phone cards and make it to Boquete early in the day.