Its been a couple days now that weāve been in Boquete, after having arrived Friday morning tonight I guess would be considered our second official night in our home away from home.Ā After the short 2.5 hour layover in Houston TX, the flight to Panama City took us just short of 4 hours in total.Ā When we were boarding the plan in Houston Ryleigh had gone on ahead of me as I was apparently taking too long checking in with the flight attendant, but suddenly stopped short as she was walking along the ramp as she was greeted with the the lineup of border patrol guards.Ā She didnāt know what to think as her eyes got big and looked to me unsure of what to do as I smiled and motioned for her to move along āitās ok, they are just doing their job.āĀ It was here I think she started to realize that we are not in Kansas anymore (the convenience of freedom of travel between Canada and the USA).Ā It was then I decided I had better warn her about our arrival in Panama as I wasnāt sure what scene we would be arriving to.Ā Would it be like flying into Cancun Mexico or Puerto Vallarta with a bigger Military presence?Ā I thought Iād better prepare her for either or as she has never really seen military personnel outside of air shows and ā¦ā¦ā¦. well, air shows.Ā I know when I had flown into Delhi, India there was a mixture of Police, Customs, and Military roaming throughout.Ā For those of you interested, Iāll have you know it was a low key reception with only customs officers to greet us as per usual.
Once we arrived and gone through immigration, which Iāll say had the most check points in the process of entering a country that I have experienced, I counted three where either our passports, fingerprints, and facial photos were taken ā mostly passport scan and a second luggage x-ray scan before exiting the airport.Ā I only mention this as it all added to the impression being left on my daughter as she was taking it all it.Ā Once we were clear and looking for our driver it was obvious that he had gotten his day mixed up.Ā Alfonso was to meet us at the airport and make sure to deliver us to the Albrook Bus TerminalĀ as he is the local expat go-to driver for the Boquete area.Ā I had texted him leaving the Houston Airport to give him a heads up so either he didnāt receive my text or he was otherwise engaged.
Of course I was being bombarded with offers from taxi drivers and such but I had waved them off to take a moment to make sure I could look around and decide my options.Ā I had seen this tall man enter, tall as in āyou MUST play basketball?ā tall, dressing in freshly pressed black slacks and a golf shirt that said Hoops2Dreams on his chest.Ā He was friendly and had helped an older lady out through the circle doors.Ā In my head I said to myself wellā¦.. if I was a kidnapper evil criminal I donāt know that i would help the elderly plus this guy stands out and was super friendlyā¦..it was the best I could go on with no real other option at this point.
His name was Alex De Leon and yes he played basketball for the National Panama team and they beat out Canada in one of his last tournaments.Ā Alex was a perfect gentleman in manners and in hospitality.Ā He drove us around Old City Panama wanting to show off the beauty of itās charm and characteristics.Ā He even teased my daughter to coming early back to the city so that she might take in some soccer practices with some athletes that he knows.Ā I wasnāt sure if he was telling the truth or legit but I know my daughter is most definitely intrigued.Ā Iām not sure what the plans are for when we leave we are saving that choice for a later date.
Planes, Buses and Automobiles
It was originally suggested to us to be sure to book a lower level seat on the double decker bus however due to Alfonsoās no show and Alexās impromptu substitution I had forgotten to request this of Alex when he had ordered the tickets for us ā which by the way were $18US one way each.Ā I didnāt realize the significance of this detail until of course it was too late and I now understood the importance of mentioning this before hand.
I should have clued in from the beginning when the driver had done his walk through and mentioned to Ryleigh and I, if my book bag that was stored where the carry on storage would normally be stored, was asked to be removed and placed on my lap or on the floor.Ā āThatās strangeā I thought as I looked around and noticed no one used the shelf above them.Ā Well it didnāt take long for me to realize it was a safety protocol implemented to avoid blunt force trauma or to avoid objects being propelled through the air during what would rival Mario Andrettiās best finishā¦ā¦ only with a obscenely long bus with two levels ā of which we were seated mid to back end, upper level.
Ā āMOM ā I canāt do this.Ā Iām going to pukeā¦ā¦ā
I immediately reach into my lulu bag and pull our the little insert bag with draw strings and empty the contents.Ā āYou WILL do this because we have no choice honeyā¦..but if your going to puke, puke in thisā¦ā¦ but swallow it if you can PLEASE!!!!ā I beg her.Ā Itās not my finest moment but Iām desperate.Ā Weāre in a country where we donāt speak the language.Ā We are guessing at every move thatās being made and everyone is looking at us like we are the obvious foreigners who have no idea what they are doing.
Iām not sure Iāve ever experienced turbulence like that of an airplane on a bus but it is the best that I could describe it.Ā We were so exhausted that we tried to sleep even though flashbacks of biomechanics and force manipulation equations as we manoeuvred through distinct S-bend curves in the road were beginning to haunt me as I started to realize maybe now is the time to pray and ask God to send in some reinforcements.Ā Itās amazing how when exhaustion has set in to the fibres of your being thatĀ you can sleep through anything, even extreme heat from the lack of AC to add to the nauseated event.Ā Ā I had decided that I couldnāt do anything about it so I might as well sleep ā or pass out.Ā Iām not really sure which it was.
Iāve never been so happy to see a security check stop in my life.Ā I figured that maybe then the driver would slow down but that was wishful thinking, however prayers were answered when Ryleigh woke me whisperingā¦.
āmom, wake upā¦.. I think we are here?!ā
I look at the the time on the iPad as my phone had died at this point from the episode at the airport trying to find Alfonso and a new ride and it says 4:00 am.
āNo babe, go back to sleep we donāt get in until 6:00 AMā
A couple minutes later after a few more people have left the bus and in fact we are the last ones on the top level, I sit up straight and look around outside.Ā I see everyone standing out on the street thinking that they were all getting fresh airā¦ā¦but then I hear the driver calling out baggage claim tag numbers and I realize WE ARE TWO HOURS EARLY.
That crazy driver drove so fast he made a 7 hour trip into 5.Ā I knew prayer was a priority at this point.Ā You could tell there was mass confusion as some of us who didnāt speak spanish were searching for signs that said the location and of course we were all being bombarded by taxi drivers trying to vie for you attention for a ride, to which I turned away.
Eventually the owner of the house in which we were staying came to pick us up and drive us the 30 minute trek from David (pronounced Daveed) to Boquete to our temporary home.
The last few days have really been about getting our bearings in the ins and outs of things. the people have been kind and very friendly both locals and ex-pats.Ā Ā I donāt know if ātheyā call it a panic attack or exhaustion, but the first day we were here and now having time to decompress all that has happened mixed with all that is happening now, I could tell there was a moment where panic was starting to set in.Ā āMom, no one speaks english, thereās guards all over, and we are in the middle of now whereā¦ā¦what if something happens?āĀ i couldnāt really blame her for feeling that way as I too was feeling it as I lay there trying to sleep on our first day.Ā But this feeling slipped away very fast when we got to meet some fellow Grande Prairians just down the street.Ā It took the nerve off and allowed us to relax into our new home.Ā Ā This is where the adventure really begins.Ā Iāll be sure to up date you weekly and give a summary of our goings on hitting the highlights as we go along.
And of course thereās always my everyday check in on Facebook.Ā Stay tuned.
Ā Visiting orphanage and setting up a schedule
Pictures from this weeks outings:
Getting There Its been a couple days now that we've been in Boquete, after having arrived Friday morning tonight I guess would be considered our second official night in our home away from home.Ā
