Road to David

Today, on the 10th day of my trip, I moved out of the clean, hot water-supplied hotel and went to a new unexplored city and the first hostel in my life, but with the same goal, seeking adventure and new friends.
Having easily reached the bus station by taxi (for only $2), I plunged headlong into Panama, where no one speaks English. However, here I finally met the very human kindness of the locals always brought up by everyone when talking about ordinary Panamanians. Being stumbled upon the strange rules of the bus station – to go straight to the bus platform one ticket was not enough, you also needed to have an internal bus station pass, and trying to get my head around it, thinking, “whaat?” I’ve been taken under a wing by ordinary Panamanian women.

Thanks to their selfless care, I got on the bus and reached my destination, which also involved the persuasion of the local taxi driver in taking me to the hostel at one in the morning – because he simply did not want to. To this day, I send rays of goodness to these ladies.

Bus

The bus ride itself was highly emotional. Firstly, being in a very hot country, without the slightest doubt, I had put away all of my clothes in the luggage and made an indescribable mistake. For some reason, air conditioners inside the bus maintain a “warm” temperature between 15 C and 18 C degrees. In fact, in 9 hours on the road, you can freeze to death. During my entire trip through Central and South America, no one could explain why they froze people on buses, but everyone without reservation always takes warm blankets on the trip. For the first time in my life, I was getting out of the vehicle outside to warm up!

A fool’s dream came true!

Strictly at 1 P.M. Panamanian time, I was at the same time, both between two continents and between two oceans. A fool’s dream came true! Five minutes later, my bus wheel-shaped foot stepped onto North American soil for the first time. Thus, already a week after arriving at Tocumen International Airport, the first goal of my Latin American trip was achieved. Hooray, comrades :)

TRAVEL NOTES

2 P.M. (14:00)
Here I am sitting on the Panama City – David bus; a young guy is sitting next to me – I hope he wouldn’t bother me with his f*king questions and suggestions.
For now, he’d been sitting with two phones showing off, but it’s 7 hours to go – that’s sure as hell he’d pick on me.

4 P.M. (16:00)
Our bus made a stop for half an hour, as usual, to get a snack and to visit the toilet. For me, this was an opportunity to warm up. I still don’t get it: they live in such heat all their lives, but their air conditioners work like they are for the Eskimos! It was freezing cold on this bus! But that’s not the point; I wanted to tell you that at this stop, I got approached by a girl :) I think her name was Mahila (I am not sure because, as always, I got jumped on with jibber-jabber). She also didn’t speak English, and by the way, she said they are not taught English at school or university. Yeah. We have it as a compulsory subject, and their national currency is the Dollar. Deep thought! Surprisingly, she also asked where my boyfriend was. A single girl is a very unusual thing, apparently. Damn, I am in the risk group thanks to different mentality traits :/ And the girl took my email – will see if she writes. And that guy also tried making a pass. Fortunately for me, he couldn’t say two words in English :)

11 P.M. (23:00)
Unexpectedly
Not far from the city of David, exactly where my bus was heading, we were stopped for a check guess by whom… immigration control service! And this was strange because the bus was not international, and it happened in the center of the country, not at the border. All in all, the inspector hadn’t noticed me. Very strange :)

After 6 hours on the road, quite literally in the bitter cold, I was rather tired, but a surge of adrenaline saved me. Apparently, I, the only white Caucasian lady, should have been their number one person of interest. But this part of the world has its own rules. I had been ignored for the first time. Kinda felt left out :)

We arrived in David after midnight. The schedule is not for Sud America – I had attested this many more times over the following months.

To be honest, I had already imagined how I would sleep on the street. However, a pleasant surprise waited for me. I was expected and welcomed at the hostel as a dear guest despite the late arrival. They showed me around and explained everything. It turned out even better than I thought. Not scary at all. Like a student dorm, but you don’t have to get up for classes. By the way, I really recommend this place – Bambu Hostel.

This eventful day and a very long journey ended with a cold shower and a sweet dream on a bunk bed.