Hello everyone! I hope you all had wonderful 4th of July holiday weekends! I ended up heading to Panama for the 4th of July weekend (random, I know) with a few coworkers/friends... our firm gave us the Thursday and Friday after the 4th off, so we figured we might as well take advantage of the time off and travel in style...
Purvi, Amogh, Rahima and I used to work on the same team a few months ago. Since that time, a lot has changed and the four of us, sadly, are not on the same team any longer. But you better believe we still keep in touch! God bless the Internet- it's ability to keep people connected is such a Godsend in my mind. So, with Amogh in Boston, Rahima in New York and Purvi and myself in Chicago... we decided what better spot to reunite than... of all places, Panama? Sure, why not- just go with it.
And what a reunion it was! From hugfests to gossip galore to stalker cab drivers to police encounters to tour guides named Sharkie to... well, I am getting way ahead of myself. As such, I present to you... our 2012 Panama adventures- in a nutshell.
Day One: The Reunion
Day Two: The Panama Canal and a Run In with the "Policia"
Day Three: Adventures with Sharkie
Days Four and Five: The Adventure Wraps Up...
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
Showing posts with label panama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label panama. Show all posts
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Days Four and Five: The Adventure Wraps Up...
Day four started off with a trip back to that travel agency where we'd originally booked our Sanblas adventures. After that awful experience with Sharkie, we felt that it was necessary for the travel agency to hear about it. It was such a sad thing too, since we had absolutely fallen in love with the guy who had sold us on the trip. He was just the most jovial man ever and was SO EXCITED for our adventures... so to have to break this kind of news to him was just a total buzzkill to end all buzzkills. After hearing our perspective and empathizing with our situation (he seriously looked like he was on the verge of tears), the travel agency ended up refunding us our money for the trip to Gamboa that we'd booked for Day four.
Gamboa was supposed to be this area of rainforest-y goodness. So, instead of going through the travel agency, we ended up just taking another cab out to Gamboa for the day. Again, we had no idea what to expect.
After the forty-five minute drive, we ended up at this super luxury hotel, where we were apparently supposed to book our excursions. We ended up opting for a boat expedition that would allow us to see animals in the rain forest and crocs/alligators in the waters... how cool would that be, right?!
Well... it sounded a lot cooler than it actually was. I mean, at least the boat ride was relaxing, because the sights to be seen were not the most exciting.
Oh well. At least we are easily entertained, right? Right.
The rest of day four was actually relatively tame. We ended up just wandering around the city center area (right by our hotel) and partaking in some last minute shenanigans...
For some reason, we were exhausted after those tame adventures, so we came back to the hotel room, where Purvi (the "mom" of the group) read to us and we passed out. Don't we sound like we are really embracing our 20s? Sigh. Oh well.
For our last night out though, we had made reservations at this highly-recommended traditional Panamanian restaurant, complete with traditional Panamanian dancing and everything. How FUN, right?!?!
Welllll. It was fine enough, but again, not the most exciting thing ever. In fact, we got kind of annoyed when the traditional dancing started because the music was so loud and, quite frankly, very disruptive to... well, our chit chat! Sure, we'd had the entire TRIP to chit chat away, but we STILL had a LOT to say and quite frankly, darn traditional music during dinner was just getting in the way.
To be fair, we gave the traditional dancing a good half hour. It was at that point that Rahima and I just looked at Purvi and Amogh and were like "So... how much longer do you guys want to stay?" to which Purvi responds with "To be honest, we can leave anytime" to which Rahima and I just look at each other and look at Purvi and Amogh and immediately say "Now?".
Needless to say, it took just a few short minutes of staggered departures (we didn't want to seem RUDE after all) to peace the heck on outta there... and head, where else? Back to our hotel room. It was our last night in Panama- why bother going out, really? Haha.
After yet another earlier than usual (for 20-somethings on vacation) night, we awoke on Sunday with the heavy realization that it was our last day together. Sad day. It had been such a fun trip and it was already over! Amogh and Rahima's flight was first, so sad farewell hugs were given all around before they headed out.
Purvi and I had another few hours before we had to head to the airport, so we just wandered around the city center a bit more before coming back to our hotel to finish packing and head to the airport (five hours early, but whatever- airports are so FUN for people-watching, etc., right?! Right.). It was only as we headed down to our hotel lobby (to do some last-minute Internet checking before heading to the airport) that we noticed our dear pal, Eddie (remember? the cab driver from our trip to the Panama Canal?) just loitering right outside the hotel entrance. This would all be seemingly coincidental and relatively harmless except for the fact that, since that Panama Canal day, dear Eddie had CONSTANTLY been texting/calling Rahima (who had grabbed his number that first day to coordinate rides to/from the Canal) asking about when we needed to be picked up/where we needed to go/etc. Let's just say it had become a little creepy (and/or comical, but whatever)... but we'd already arranged a cab ride to the airport- we didn't want to have to deal with breaking the news to Eddie! So... Purvi and I did what any two self-respecting individuals in this same situation would do... we hid. As best we could. In the hotel lobby.
Seriously, it was like out of one of those creepy stalker movies. What a way to end the trip, right? Right.
All in all, I can safely say that this trip was SO MUCH FUN!!! While the sights were great and it was so interesting to see such a different country, the best part was, of course, the reunion itself! Till the next one...
Gamboa was supposed to be this area of rainforest-y goodness. So, instead of going through the travel agency, we ended up just taking another cab out to Gamboa for the day. Again, we had no idea what to expect.
After the forty-five minute drive, we ended up at this super luxury hotel, where we were apparently supposed to book our excursions. We ended up opting for a boat expedition that would allow us to see animals in the rain forest and crocs/alligators in the waters... how cool would that be, right?!
Well... it sounded a lot cooler than it actually was. I mean, at least the boat ride was relaxing, because the sights to be seen were not the most exciting.
Oh well. At least we are easily entertained, right? Right.
The rest of day four was actually relatively tame. We ended up just wandering around the city center area (right by our hotel) and partaking in some last minute shenanigans...
For some reason, we were exhausted after those tame adventures, so we came back to the hotel room, where Purvi (the "mom" of the group) read to us and we passed out. Don't we sound like we are really embracing our 20s? Sigh. Oh well.
For our last night out though, we had made reservations at this highly-recommended traditional Panamanian restaurant, complete with traditional Panamanian dancing and everything. How FUN, right?!?!
Welllll. It was fine enough, but again, not the most exciting thing ever. In fact, we got kind of annoyed when the traditional dancing started because the music was so loud and, quite frankly, very disruptive to... well, our chit chat! Sure, we'd had the entire TRIP to chit chat away, but we STILL had a LOT to say and quite frankly, darn traditional music during dinner was just getting in the way.
To be fair, we gave the traditional dancing a good half hour. It was at that point that Rahima and I just looked at Purvi and Amogh and were like "So... how much longer do you guys want to stay?" to which Purvi responds with "To be honest, we can leave anytime" to which Rahima and I just look at each other and look at Purvi and Amogh and immediately say "Now?".
Needless to say, it took just a few short minutes of staggered departures (we didn't want to seem RUDE after all) to peace the heck on outta there... and head, where else? Back to our hotel room. It was our last night in Panama- why bother going out, really? Haha.
After yet another earlier than usual (for 20-somethings on vacation) night, we awoke on Sunday with the heavy realization that it was our last day together. Sad day. It had been such a fun trip and it was already over! Amogh and Rahima's flight was first, so sad farewell hugs were given all around before they headed out.
Purvi and I had another few hours before we had to head to the airport, so we just wandered around the city center a bit more before coming back to our hotel to finish packing and head to the airport (five hours early, but whatever- airports are so FUN for people-watching, etc., right?! Right.). It was only as we headed down to our hotel lobby (to do some last-minute Internet checking before heading to the airport) that we noticed our dear pal, Eddie (remember? the cab driver from our trip to the Panama Canal?) just loitering right outside the hotel entrance. This would all be seemingly coincidental and relatively harmless except for the fact that, since that Panama Canal day, dear Eddie had CONSTANTLY been texting/calling Rahima (who had grabbed his number that first day to coordinate rides to/from the Canal) asking about when we needed to be picked up/where we needed to go/etc. Let's just say it had become a little creepy (and/or comical, but whatever)... but we'd already arranged a cab ride to the airport- we didn't want to have to deal with breaking the news to Eddie! So... Purvi and I did what any two self-respecting individuals in this same situation would do... we hid. As best we could. In the hotel lobby.
Seriously, it was like out of one of those creepy stalker movies. What a way to end the trip, right? Right.
All in all, I can safely say that this trip was SO MUCH FUN!!! While the sights were great and it was so interesting to see such a different country, the best part was, of course, the reunion itself! Till the next one...
Day One: The Reunion
Day One involved actually getting to Panama and actually finding the people that were flying in from New York. Trust me, given how little planning had been involved with this trip (all we really had booked at this point was our hotel), these two activities were going to be feats in and of themselves.
Purvi and I were flying together since we both live in Chicago and were able to get on the same direct flight to Panama City. Amogh and Rahima were flying down together from New York. We were just going to meet them at our hotel, since our flights were only a couple of hours off from each other.
As Purvi and I were trying to figure out carpooling situations to the airport, we quickly started realizing just how different our travel styles are. Although our flight was only at 9 AM, I wanted to make sure we allowed ample time for traffic, security lines, etc. So, I proposed we leave our apartments at 6:00 AM... well, just in CASE! We were flying international after all- who knows what we could expect? Purvi, however, was all set to just head to the airport around 7:30 AM or so... when she shared THAT with me, I just stared blankly at her and was like "Okay, well I guess I can just meet you at the airport then."
I mean, 7:30?!?! It was 4th of July! How can anyone be sure that we weren't going to hit traffic or encounter some unexpected lines at the airport, given the holiday?
In any event, we ended up leaving around 6:30 AM... and got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Thank goodness- I'm a freak about being on time for things... early is more preferable. After hitting no traffic and no security lines (well, what?! Better safe than sorry!), we ended up being ready and set for our flight with a couple of hours to spare before boarding began.
So I overestimated the amount of time all of this would take. Sue me. No fret though- thanks to Purvi's status, we were able to make ourselves nice and at home in the airport lounge!
You better believe we stocked up! We had a couple of hours to spare!
Finally, though, the time came to board our flight... although there were a few fairly disheveled characters sitting around us, it turned out to be a fairly uneventful flight overall. Once we landed in Panama (!), we grabbed a cab from the airport cab stand and began our trip to Panama City... the reunion was imminent!!
Upon our arrival at the Toscana Inn (seriously one of the nicest little hotels ever), we headed up to our hotel room and were IMMEDIATELY accosted by... Rahima and Amogh!!! It has been quite some time since the four of us have been together (when we used to work together everyday) so you can only imagine the hug attacks, squeals, giggles and CHATTER that the Toscana Inn was immediately subject to.
It was seriously one of the happiest of reunions. The next couple of hours just involved some SERIOUS catching up (we couldn't stop talking and laughing... and sharing way too much information!) in our hotel room...
Before we finally decided we might as well begin exploring the city a bit. Keep in mind, we had no plan and/or idea of what to expect from Panama City. Good luck us, I guess.
Thankfully, the receptionists at the Toscana Inn are the most accommodating things ever (we became total BFFs by the end of the trip), and had some suggestions of things to do for our first night. So... off we went to Casco Antigua (aka "Old Town"). It was absolutely beautiful there... we quickly found out that the colors of Panama are so vibrant and the city has such a unique "character" to it... we had so much fun just wandering the streets...
Stumbling upon a market...
Doing some shopping...
After going a little crazy at the hat stand (can you tell?), we ended up finding this restaurant that came recommended by one of our cab drivers - Diabolicos.
Here... well, we ended up just sitting around and catching up for another couple of hours. Can you tell this was going to be a general theme of this trip?
After dinner, we decided to head to this rooftop bar that came recommended to us by... well, by this random Panamanian guy that we'd run into on the street just prior to dinner. (It's not as shady as it sounds- trust me.) I mean, sure he works there, so he was all about selling it to us but... well, what can we say? He was nice and clearly a good salesperson. For four girls with no real plan... we were sold!
And we had absolutely NO regrets. This place was le-git. It was pretty posh when you enter the first floor restaurant, but you take that elevator up to the 4th floor rooftop bar and... you are in for a TREAT. It had the most spectacular views of the Panama City skyline- such an impressive start to our first night in Panama City. And let's be honest, the drinks at this place were DI-VINE. I couldn't believe how tasty and delicious they were! Mojitos all around!
All in all, I can safely say that Day One of our trip was one sweet success... we ended up heading back to the hotel and being in bed by like 11 PM (this is my kinda vacation!), but in all fairness, we HAD agreed we'd go out the next night... I mean, our trip was just beginning!
Purvi and I were flying together since we both live in Chicago and were able to get on the same direct flight to Panama City. Amogh and Rahima were flying down together from New York. We were just going to meet them at our hotel, since our flights were only a couple of hours off from each other.
As Purvi and I were trying to figure out carpooling situations to the airport, we quickly started realizing just how different our travel styles are. Although our flight was only at 9 AM, I wanted to make sure we allowed ample time for traffic, security lines, etc. So, I proposed we leave our apartments at 6:00 AM... well, just in CASE! We were flying international after all- who knows what we could expect? Purvi, however, was all set to just head to the airport around 7:30 AM or so... when she shared THAT with me, I just stared blankly at her and was like "Okay, well I guess I can just meet you at the airport then."
I mean, 7:30?!?! It was 4th of July! How can anyone be sure that we weren't going to hit traffic or encounter some unexpected lines at the airport, given the holiday?
In any event, we ended up leaving around 6:30 AM... and got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Thank goodness- I'm a freak about being on time for things... early is more preferable. After hitting no traffic and no security lines (well, what?! Better safe than sorry!), we ended up being ready and set for our flight with a couple of hours to spare before boarding began.
So I overestimated the amount of time all of this would take. Sue me. No fret though- thanks to Purvi's status, we were able to make ourselves nice and at home in the airport lounge!
You better believe we stocked up! We had a couple of hours to spare!
Finally, though, the time came to board our flight... although there were a few fairly disheveled characters sitting around us, it turned out to be a fairly uneventful flight overall. Once we landed in Panama (!), we grabbed a cab from the airport cab stand and began our trip to Panama City... the reunion was imminent!!
Upon our arrival at the Toscana Inn (seriously one of the nicest little hotels ever), we headed up to our hotel room and were IMMEDIATELY accosted by... Rahima and Amogh!!! It has been quite some time since the four of us have been together (when we used to work together everyday) so you can only imagine the hug attacks, squeals, giggles and CHATTER that the Toscana Inn was immediately subject to.
It was seriously one of the happiest of reunions. The next couple of hours just involved some SERIOUS catching up (we couldn't stop talking and laughing... and sharing way too much information!) in our hotel room...
Before we finally decided we might as well begin exploring the city a bit. Keep in mind, we had no plan and/or idea of what to expect from Panama City. Good luck us, I guess.
Thankfully, the receptionists at the Toscana Inn are the most accommodating things ever (we became total BFFs by the end of the trip), and had some suggestions of things to do for our first night. So... off we went to Casco Antigua (aka "Old Town"). It was absolutely beautiful there... we quickly found out that the colors of Panama are so vibrant and the city has such a unique "character" to it... we had so much fun just wandering the streets...
Stumbling upon a market...
Doing some shopping...
After going a little crazy at the hat stand (can you tell?), we ended up finding this restaurant that came recommended by one of our cab drivers - Diabolicos.
Here... well, we ended up just sitting around and catching up for another couple of hours. Can you tell this was going to be a general theme of this trip?
After dinner, we decided to head to this rooftop bar that came recommended to us by... well, by this random Panamanian guy that we'd run into on the street just prior to dinner. (It's not as shady as it sounds- trust me.) I mean, sure he works there, so he was all about selling it to us but... well, what can we say? He was nice and clearly a good salesperson. For four girls with no real plan... we were sold!
And we had absolutely NO regrets. This place was le-git. It was pretty posh when you enter the first floor restaurant, but you take that elevator up to the 4th floor rooftop bar and... you are in for a TREAT. It had the most spectacular views of the Panama City skyline- such an impressive start to our first night in Panama City. And let's be honest, the drinks at this place were DI-VINE. I couldn't believe how tasty and delicious they were! Mojitos all around!
All in all, I can safely say that Day One of our trip was one sweet success... we ended up heading back to the hotel and being in bed by like 11 PM (this is my kinda vacation!), but in all fairness, we HAD agreed we'd go out the next night... I mean, our trip was just beginning!
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