Lengthy disclaimer:
You might have been there and had a blast, or you may be stoked about the upcoming trip there. But this was certainly one of the most dramatic trips we've ever been on. We are sharing it with a humorous twist, so we can all have a laugh together. Since we were back, we've told our stories to some of our closest family and friends over the holidays- we all laughed pretty rigorously. I guess this is what's charming about travel - good memories, bad memories, it's all part of the experience. :)
Day 1
Checking into a hotel room with this bathtub view was certainly a dream.... until I found out there was no hot water. Okay, let's take a quick shower in the cold/warm water and head out to town, it would be fixed by tonight so we can have a relaxing bath!
Until we found out the mechanist sent up by the front desk didn't speak English... (I wish I took Spanish class in school)
Getting into the taxi managed (kinda?) by the hotel, we found out our driver didn't speak English either...It's okay, let's take out that fancy translator app.
30minutes later, I opened map and found ourselves too far from the Old Town, where the Panama Canal Museum was located. Taking out that translator app again...
"I don't think we are headed to the Panama Canal Museum"
"Yes we are, almost there"
"But the map doens't said so"
"Let me look"
Then our driver was driving on highway while looking at my phone. >_____<
"The place we are going to have a museum, you can go there"
".... We wanted to go to the museum in old town..."
"The place we are going to have a museum, you can go there"
"......"
Turned out it was one of the three locks on the Canal. View was quite nice so Mr. Travel suggested we could just hang out here and check things out. Being positive guys!
I couldn't let go, I was a stresser (definition: so easy to get stressed and worried). I called the hotel to complain, and asked them to send an English speaking driver. After 15 minutes on the phone while we were still trying to figure things out, our old driver came back. He miraculously found us in the busy area. (It was creepy... to me at least. Mr. Travel seemed fine.)
He was holding that fancy translator app.
"I'll take you to the museum in old town"
"I asked you 30 minutes ago while still in your car, but you didn't want to" - I was answering him in my head.
At this point, I was still on the phone with hotel, and Mr. Travel was talking with the driver. There's no way I am gonna get back to his car. Just the thought already made me uncomfortable.
Long story short, we ended up in Old Town, not for the museum (as it was closed way before we got there), but we had an amazing dinner with whole fried trout and coconut flan.
Walking through the old town reminded me a lot of Puerto Rico (blog to come!) - colorful houses, narrow alleys, and squares out of nowhere with outdoor seatings of restaurants and bars.
How glamorous was this in the Church of San Jose!
Our mood got much better when we got back to the hotel, with a pleasant surprise that hotel upgraded us to an ocean view room. Looking back, they did try to make our stay a better experience. Look at the view - day and night!
On the flip side, remember that magical bathtub view? Well, never got the chance to take a bath with it. Hehe.
Day 2
Panama Canal was the main reason to draw us to this city, and now we embarked on the full day tour.
The documentary we watched, the articles we read all came to life when you were seeing it with your bare eyes! There are so many materials out there about the canal, but here are some my favorite fun facts:
a) France started the canal construction, but didn't finish due to worker morale and engineering problem. The US took it over.
b) 2 stage first lock + 1 stage second lock from the Pacific side, then when the ship goes out to Atlantic side, the third lock completes all 3 stages.
c) whenever locks open, fresh water from the artificial lakes pours into the ocean. Then the lake water will become less and less right? Yes, but Panama city get 60 inch of rain every year to replenish the lake.
d) there are so many birds hovering around the locks, because when fresh water pours into salty water, it kills ocean fish - which becomes a feast to the birds.
Our tour time besides going through locks, was just about relaxing on the boat with food, drinks, and sightseeing of the lakes.
Look at the cargo ship. Can they survive bad weather with stuff stocking up like this?
Nah, in bad weather, they'll save the ship first and just let the boxes fall into the water - says our tour guide!
Hmmm, then what about the boxes fall into the water?
You've got insurance, right - says our tour guide!
Haha, loving it.
Mr. Travel originally wanted to spend the night in Colon, where the canal tour ended. Upon research we decided not to because people say it was not quite safe to tour in Colon.
The previous day on a Uber ride, we validated with our English speaking driver (we got smarter to request Uber with English-speaking driver, go figure).
"Oh yes, it would be a wise idea not to go there. It's dangerous."
And here we are.
As you soon as we disembarked, we were guided to shuttles. No shopping, no photo-taking, straight to the shuttles. The whole thing happened in a closed area secured by fences, and there were a couple of cops cars around.
So...maybe it was a good idea that we didn't stay over night in Colon?!
People say Panama City is for the haves, and Colon is for the have-nots.
Day 3
Right before Panama Canal tour, we decided to cut our trip short and spend the holiday back in the States with families. So we canceled our Day 4 day tour to San Blas islands, and booked flights for Day 4, 7am.
It meant today was beach day!
Until, I felt nerve-pinching pain from my left side neck to shoulder blade; it hurt so much I didn't even want to walk or swim or anything.
The whole afternoon I was staying in, having ice treatment and taking hot bath. I felt bad for Mr. Travel that he got to stay in as well to take care of me, instead of sunbathing.
After dinner, when we got back to the room, we found an envelope from the concierge desk, saying the San Blas tour was canceled by the tour company due to bad weather on the islands. Oh well, we were going to fly out anyway so it didn't matter. But if we were to stay, then it was such a bum because you can see how stunning it is when simply search for pictures online!
Then I got a text from airline.
"Your flight tomorrow from Panama City was canceled..."
"You gotta be kidding me..." I almost yelled.
Our evening ended up with me laying in bed with pain, and Mr. Travel sorting out flight and hotel.
Day 4
As planned, we couldn't fly out today. So.... one more day in the resort. We were trying to make everything better by.... tropic fruit and smoothies, expensive massage and facial treatment, a Spanish seafood buffet, more beach walk and some more ice treatment (for me only :).
Day 5
At this point, all I ever wanted was to get on the plane and leave. No, that would be too easy!
I got randomly selected (seriously?) to have a double pat-down by the Panama airport securities.
Looking back
Throughout holidays, some of our drams were shared over dinner table, and laughed about over shots. Never thought all these could happen in a span of 5 days.
My shoulder feels much better, thanks for asking.