Near the end of our vacation, I asked the group what things they noticed about Panama whether good or bad. Things that just seemed to stand out that we may not have read about or realized prior to our trip. I am just going to list them in no random order.
*Rainy season on the beach--never really seemed hot to us. Only when walking back to the condominium did I notice it was a bit humid (We were walking through the neighborhood and not on the beach, so this made sense--no real breeze.)
*It wasn't buggy during the day. Here the bugs splat against the car. There, I only noticed bugs at night (I wore bug spray and wasn't affected much.)
*The ice melts fast. The frozen drinks don't stay frozen for long. Ice in soda turns to water quickly. Is the ice ever really that solid to begin with?
*Chocolate that I had in the condo was soft (we were asked to turn A/C units off while we were gone for the day, duh.). Have to learn to put chocolate in the refrigerator.
*There are a ton of sandwich-type cookies. Not too many Chips Ahoy style cookies on the shelves. And where are potato chips Not brand name such as Lays or Utz. Where are Panamanian-style potato chips? I accidentally picked up many bags of pork rinds. The bags were labeled barbecue and natural, and the pictures looked just like chips. I failed to notice the big letters on the bag that Ray told me meant "pork".
*Places may have hours posted such as 8am-8pm when what the owner of the establishment wants you to realize is "when I get here, I will open the store and then I will close it when I decide to for the day".
*If the website states "Open for breakfast", the restaurant isn't necessarily open for breakfast or at all that day. Always have a back up especially during rainy season.
*The frozen yogurt place (Yogen Fruz) in Coronado Mall appeared to be open (we checked often during drive bys) late in the day, and it closed early in the day.
* The road (once through the gate) in Coronado that leads to Coronado Bay and Coronado Golf Resort is really in bad shape (Ave Roberto Eisenmann). Perhaps they will lay asphalt down in the dry season?
*It is definitely lush, green and tropical with flowers blooming everywhere in October.
*The Panamanian people are very friendly, and they try to help. Even just by smiling when we haven't a clue as to what we are trying to spell out to each other (use hand gestures).
*Panama doesn't really have a food type. The food is bland. But there are many different cuisines there, so we weren't at a loss of what to try. Empenadas and lasagna show up often on menus.
*Driving. Not too much horn honking where we were, and they drove a bit more aggressively than in DC. Motorcycles love to pass cars traveling the road to El Valle. We expected it to be curvy and steep. That didn't surprise us, but those motorcycles passing on the curves--wow.
*Penny slots. More of those than nickles and quarters. Mostly just penny machines.
*And finally, the policeman yelled at my sister, but not at the Panamanian women that ran across the PanAmerican Highway.
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