Cool with Rain

Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012--Santa Fe to Banquete, Panama

Today was a big travel day.  We were up early and waiting at the road in front of our hotel for a bus at 7:30.  Fortunately, one arrived in only 5 minutes.  An hour and a half later, we were in Santiago where the bus station was bustling and we had to ask about the bus for David, since we couldn't see a sign designating it.  We were told it was across the street, and a nice man there guided us to it on a side street.  Luggage was being loaded on top of a bus that was already full of passengers.  We were escorted to the back of a long line of other people waiting to go to David.  A quarter of an hour later, that bus pulled off and another replaced it.  They took our luggage, and we rushed forward with our line to get on the bus hoping we would get good seats.  We were far enough back in line that we just barely missed having to sit over a wheel well.  Therefore, our location was fine, but it lacked comfort.  It was another small bus which meant each bench could really only hold about 1 1/2 butts even though they force two people to sit per bench.

The bus for David left about 45 minutes after we joined the line for it.  The trip was a little over 3 hours on a bumpy concrete roadway with me sitting half-way off the seat into the aisle.  It seemed as if the trip would never end.  Eventually, however, we arrived at the terminal in David, got our luggage, and left within 5 minutes on another crowded, small bus for Banquete.  That trip took a little over an hour.  When we arrived, we had been traveling for over 7 hours and were exhausted.

Just as we got off the bus at the park in the center of town, it started raining.  We walked about 2 blocks towards our hotel and had to seek shelter under an entrance to a building.  We were tired, needed to use the bathroom, were hungry, etc.  Finally, after maybe 15 minutes, it turned to drizzle and we were able to make it the other two blocks to our hotel.

We are staying at the El Oasis Hotel.  It's one of the better places in town.  The beds are good, the sheets are soft, the TV has lots of cable channels, the wifi signal is strong, and we are hoping that the breakfast tomorrow morning will be great.

Around 4:30 p.m., we went out to find a place to eat.  I hadn't eaten all day, and Wes had only had a granola bar.  We went to El Sobroson which our guidebook said was popular with both locals and tourists.  Even at that hour, it had a long line of customers at the cafeteria-style counter and had tables filled with used dishes waiting to be cleaned off.  We each picked out dishes that looked good to us.  I got a rice with lentils, chicken with a cream sauce flavored with giblets, roasted plantains, and coleslaw.  It was a huge plate of food that was filling, but it lacked the great flavor of the food we had yesterday in Santa Fe while costing twice as much.

The wind and rain began again while we were eating, so we headed back to the hotel.  It hasn't let up all evening.  It must be associated with a cool front coming through.  We've stayed inside the room and relaxed.  We got a call from my friend Merryl's former college mate who lives here.  She and her husband will pick us up tomorrow morning after breakfast and take us to their place for a visit.