Missing Flights, Random Brits, and Bus Journeys.... All on Day 1 in Panama

Our first adventure began before we even arrived in Panama. When we got to Newark airport we joined the long line of people headed to Latin America. After standing in line for about half an hour, we were informed that our flight was "closed" meaning everyone in line heading to Panama, about 40 of us, would have to be put on the next flight which did't leave until 4pm. People were getting way too emotional for being that early in the morning, but we let the people with more energy do the negotiating to get us all onto our flight. At 8'05am we were finally given the "okay" to get on the 8'30am flight. We pushed our way through security, literally ran through the airport to our gate, and made it just in time to sit on our plane for about half an hour before our flight even left! After Amanda and I finally caught our breath and calmed our nerves we laughed about how improbable it was that we ended up making it on this flight given the odds we were handed just an hour earlier. Then we realized that my window seat was the ONLY seat on the airplane that did not, in fact, have a window. I stared at some nice speckled grey plastic until I fell asleep for the remainder of the flight...

About 5 hours later we arrived in Panama City, Panama! We were rushed to a taxi by a guy who demanded a tip for holding the "Taxi" sign, and then were on our way to Luna's Castle in Casco Viejo, or Old City. Luna's Castle is full of a neverending "kumbaya" feeling, where there are guitars on the walls ready for anyone to pick up and play on the balcony overlooking the water and city skyline. People pass the time in hammocks drinking one dollar beers from a stocked fridge that you can help yourself to and is purely on the "honors system". Everyone wears flip flops and tans, and hangs around planning their next excursion to another destination in paradise. This is the kind of place I can see myself staying in for a long while...

After we put out backpacks by our assigned bunks, we began our attempt at booking our flights to Bocas Del Toro for tomorrow, Sunday, since we hadn't had any luck with this process in the states. We ended up not having much luck in Panama either, and as we were figuring out what to do next we met a British guy named Sam who was in the process of planning his trip to Bocas as well! He said he and his friend Dov were taking the express bus tonight and invited us to join them on the trip. We hestitated for a few seconds realizing that if we left tonight we would only end up being in Panama City for about 8 hours before were were off again, but this ended up being the only viable option if we hoped to get to Bocas on this trip. So Sam, Dov, Amanda and I jumped in a cab and headed to the bus station to buy our tickets. The "express" bus is going straight to David, and will "only" take about 7 hours, at which point we will get on another bus for 4 hours to another stop where we'll get on a boat and take that to the islands. The good part about all of this traveling is that it will be in the middle of the night, so we'll get to sleep while we're traveling instead of wasting time during the day when we could be laying out on a beach or drinking from coconuts :)

So in an hour, at 9'30pm, we are getting back into a taxi and heading for the bus station to continue our first full day in Panama. I hope I'll actually have a window seat this time around!