Upon returning from the San Blas islands, we searched our pockets and laid out all the cash we had to call ours. It wasn't much, but we were hopeful it could get us through until Sunday, when our friend "Stanley" would be bringing us a few $20 bills so we could avoid high ATM fees the remainder of the trip. To pinch every penny, we knew we needed to find another hostel. As Micah mentioned before, Hostel Mamallena was a bit too backpackery for us and we were getting a bit tired of all the smokers sitting just outside our room, along with costing us $33/night. On our walk back from the mall on Wednesday, we checked out a few different hostels/hotels, hoping to also land in a new neighborhood we had yet to explore. Our winner ended up being just three blocks away, Resedencial El Rocio, saving us $8/night compared to current lodgings and offering a private bathroom with hot water, a TV and AC. We did some math when we returned to Hostel Mamallena and discovered if we stayed at RER for two nights before moving into our triple room we had reserved back at Hospedaje Casco Viejo on Saturday night, that allotted us $18/day for food and entertainment. This was less than we previously thought we'd have, but we had encountered a few unexpected expenses in the past few days: $10 for the doctor consult, $30 in medicine, and $25 for the swimsuits, which we had hoped to use a card for but didn't have our ID with us so had to pay in cash. $18/day for food, not including Sunday (but we'd have a free breakfast at Hospedaje Casco Viejo and Stanley arrives at 2:30pm), AND we were hoping to return to the movies for the $4 matinee special? Challenge accepted.
We feasted on leftover pasta and baguette Wednesday evening before calling it a night. Thursday we ate as many pancakes as our bellies would allow, then packed up and walked to our new dwellings. Micah fidgeted with the TV remote for the better part of an hour and our blurry picture suddenly became clear with more channels than we knew what to do with. The infected bug bite meant I was most comfortable with my leg slightly elevated, so we enjoyed the R&R for a few hours. (By the way, the meds did wonders and we caught this one in time: it never exploded like the last and is slowly fading away. I have 3 days of antibiotics left and am no longer needing pain pills so I believe we're in the clear! Yay!) Mid-afternoon we left with a few goals in mind; lunch, which we found for $6.75 at a sort of permanent cart pod: phone call to the US for Micah to inquire about a financial issue ($3.20 for 16 minutes): and a long stroll along the beautiful waterfront. All went well, with the exception of paying the lunch bill. I thought the lady said $7.75 instead of $6.75 so when she handed me back the change, I thought her math was wrong so I was honest and handed her back $1. Micah quickly asked what the price of lunch was and when she said 6, I sheepishly smiled and took the $1 back. I'm sure she thought I was tipping her, and had we not been counting every penny spent than we likely would have walked away and counted our loss. But we needed that dollar and I felt like a jerk.
4km long walkway along the waterfront, called the Cinta Costera
That evening, we set out in search of a cheap dinner. Word on the street was there were a handful of food carts open late in the day a few blocks from us, so we headed that way. We spotted one and decided it would have to do. The senora listed our options and when she said arepa, Micah did a little "ah, arepa" with excitement in his voice. I'd never had one so he explained the meat and cheese stuffed cornmeal pita that he had indulged in when traveling in South America. We ordered one arepa and two empañadas and for $5.50, enjoyed our feast under the street lights.
Friday, we again packed our rain coats and headed towards the Cinemark theater located in the mall. We stopped at a cafeteria that we had visited earlier in the week, and I enjoyed a full plate of "leg" with rice and salad and Micah ate soup. This happened the first time we were at this cafeteria also, when I asked the lady behind the counter what a bin full of meat was, she simply said pierna, or leg. Not chicken, or pork, or dog.... just leg. Whatever it was, it was good. I'm also pretty sure it was pork. We waited out a downpour under the protected roof of the cafeteria and when it finally let up, continued our walk.
Once in the mall again, standing at the counter to order tickets for Misión Rescate at 12:45, the young man let us down by informing us that although the reader board told us it was playing, there was a different movie being shown in its place. Not letting it get the best of us this time, we used the kiosk on the side to look at every movie showing before 2pm (matinee price) and not dubbed in Spanish, we settled on The Walk at 1:20 and purchased our tickets. Luckily we brought the debit card and ID just in case, as the movie cost $15 total since it was in 3D. We both enjoyed the movie, especially the comfortable rocking chairs. We also had a serious discussion after it was over as to whether we'd take the 2 nearly full bags of popcorn that the only other couple in the theater left. In the end, we didn't take them.
We had ideas for time occupying things to do and see for the afternoon, but decided we'd continue to save the touristy things on our list for when Stanley is here with us. We made it back to our hotel and had some more down time before dinner hour rolled around. There was a lovely local restaurant on the corner that we'd seen throughout our trip this year but hadn't yet tried, so we hit up this little spot called McDonalds for dinner.
Saturday morning we followed the same routine that had occupied the past few days in the city: think about where we could find two big, cheap meals for the day and walk somewhere and/or see something. Early lunch for us was at another cafeteria, as we've really found these are the way to go in Panama. The food is displayed in metal bins, there's a large variety of options, and depending on the time of day the food can be very visually appealing. A full plate of food usually costs $3.75. This was no exception- for $5.25, I had a plate of spaghetti and an empañada, and Micah had rice, beef stew, spaghetti and lentils. We can also drink the water here, which saves us a couple dollars per day in drink purchases. Our walk somewhere/see something task was to switch back to Hospedaje Casco Viejo, the first place we stayed in Panama City and thus far, the only place we've found has triple rooms. We walked, rode the subway, and checked into our room with a large balcony that we share with the dorm room. Later in the day, we were tourists at the Plaza de Francia, the southern tip of Casco Viejo that juts out into the bay. We watched some feeble surf attempts in the bay, glanced at the merchants with their jewelry and bags on display, and strolled by the large stone tablets depicting the French's role in building the canal. Dinner was purchased from a lady with a grill, selling chicken and yuca for a lofty price of $5 for the amount of food we ended up with. We ate on our balcony, enjoying the stained glass of the church across the street, the confusion of cars on the poorly marked one-way street, and Eminem blaring from the occasional teenagers car as they rolled by.
Old city wall in Plaza de Francia
More from the plaza looking toward the setting sun
Kuna crafts called Molas, on display
Now it is Sunday morning and we're getting ready to depart for the airport. We have our transit card that was purchased a week ago with enough money to get us to the airport and back, and an additional $9.60 in lunch money and emergency funds. Stanley is schedule to land in two hours, and we again feel lucky to have the chance to see friends from home while traveling and look forward to exploring more of the city with him.
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