Leaving South America

I woke up this morning and knew that I had a few hours before my friend C' would arrive at my hotel to share a breakfast and to meet me before my flight to Panama via Bogota.

I had just enough time to have a shave, sort myself out and get packed before C' arrived, so I was confused and a little off balance when the hotel reception called me to say that my other friend M' had arrived, as I had thought that I had managed to contact her last night and tell her of the change of plans, but apparently she had not fully understood.

Realising that C' was going to arrive at any minute, we just chatted in the reception for a few minutes until M' and her cousin arrived and then we all four went to have breakfast.

As coincidences go even I was unexpecting C' and M' to be not live in neighouring streets but both have teacher mothers who work in the same place, and so it is likely that they might have seen each other in passing without even realising it before now. C' speaks a little less English than M' but still more than I speak Spanish, and as her age of only 23 I feel even more determined to learn Spanish when I get back.

As I was with M' there was no problems finding the restaurant for my continental breakfast, which we shared but they must have changed how they make their hot chocolate cos the one I had today just wasn't as good as the one I had the last time I was there, but for 27 mil pesos for 4 of us so I was not complaining that much.

It was a pain that the hostel would not accept credit or debit cards and furthermore for some reason my normal bank card was now being refused when I try to use it ATM machines, so I was forced yet again to use my credit cards to obtain money enough to reach the next destination.

I had to check out at midday, and I was very upset that they not only charged my the 50 mil pesos instead of 40 mil pesos per night, but they also charged me for having M' in my room even though she never stayed over night and only stayed in my room during the day while we watched the movies or television while the rain was pouring.

The thought also occured to me that as I arrived with my friends A' and A' I did not book it in advance and thus there is nowhere easy that I can leave some form of neutral or negative feedback of these facts.

The weather outside was not only above 30 degrees but also it was the clearest skies I had seen in Cartagena, and I thought that it was just my sodding luck that on the best day weather wise I would be on a flight out of there, and unable to enjoy the sun.

After breakfast we moved on to the Airport and it was here that things started to get really interested, as M' met a few friends in the aiport and spent a few minutes talking to them while I was trying to talk to C' and then I let them all go, sharing a cab home before I tried to check in as I was about 2 hours early.

I decided to get rid of all my lose change and swap over the last of my pesos to dollars, and got back US $ 62 for my 140 mil pesos, which was a fraction less that I had hoped for but never mind, this was an airport after all.

In the queue for the check in I was standing in line with a couple of nice American travellers, and we quickly got chatting about travel and all sorts of things, and they said that their flight was in a few hours and was a direct flight to Panama City, not indirect to Bogota like mine.

The leaving customs officials were very thorough and went through all my baggage by hand as well as passing it through their scanners, but even they did not go through my parcel of letters for home!, but in the end I was told that there was a mix up and I was meant to check in with a different airline as they booked me on a different flight, but as the luggage control took so long I was too late to catch that flight so they instead bumped me up to the next direct flight, which turned out to be the same one that the American couple were on.

I had to get pay a leaving airport tax, which blew my mind as it was also exactly US $62, which seems very high and left me nothing with which to pay a taxi fare, coffee or anything at all when I arrived in Panama.

Once through the check in I met up again with my American friends, told them that I would be sharing the flight with them, and together we all left for a nice chat while waiting for the direct flight, which was not til 5pm but still arrived a little earlier than my second flight would have.

During the wait they told me that they were a member of the Travelling Centinary Club, having visited more than 100 countries together, which certianly put my mere 35 or so to shame, but they also said that one of the members had visited all 350+ of the worlds recognised countries which is definetly a claim that few people can boast.

The are also very up to date with the latest scams and tricks that the locals try to pull, and only a few days ago had barely managed to get away without being robbed by the bird-poo scam, where they get someone with a squeezy bottle from above to pour in on a tourist, and they they 'helpfully' try to clean you down while frisking you for wallet, camera, etc, at the same time. In those instances it is better to be dirty than let the street locals clean you, and they had their shirts half way up their chests before they managed to beat them off and continued on their way.

The flight itself was quick and at the other end they insisted that If ever I go near their home city that I had to pay them a visit, which of couse I was very glad to accept, as I have yet to visit the USA properly, and they were kind enough to even let me ride with them from the airport to my hostel.

The hostel I was in did not appear very friendly from the outside, being in the old town centre, and as I had come a day early, depsite giving them notice they were full up and were unable to let me just doss their the night and find my lodgings in the morning.

The rain was coming down heavily by now and I really didnt want to have to spend the night on the streets, but thankfully the hostel receptionist used his little book of numbers to find an alternative hostel for me for the night and organised a taxi for me, which cost me US $5.

The new hostel was closer to downtown, but even in a more ugly looking neighbourhood, and the dorm room was just four beds in a row segregated from the tv room by a set of french doors, and no lockers or anything to store your stuff in, certianly not a place that I would have chosed for myself had I the time or other alternatives.

With the rain coming down heavy, and nowhere to store my stuff, I watched a movie til I was tired, then still clothed slept with my laptop, wallet and camera in my bed hoping that should anyone try to rob me in the night that I woudl wake and be able to stop them.

I woke up next morning with no emails or phone calls from my Panamanian friends, despite it being a Saturday, and the rain was still coming down, so it looks as if my time in Panama will not be one of the best days of my trip, but hopefully not one of the worst.