One Short Day in the Panama City

Day 2: August 8, 2015

My dorm room had long emptied by the time I regained consciousness at 10am, just in time for more antibiotics. Ben had left hours before on a bus to his site in the Darién, and the other travelers were off sightseeing. I moved upstairs to the sunlight to work my way through a champion’s breakfast of popsicles and coffee. Seneca, another PCV finishing his service, joined me and we discussed our major life changes.

After a lazy morning, I was starting to feel human again by mid afternoon as the dark clouds started rolling in. Knowing it was my last chance to go to the indigenous store, I mustered up my energy to brave Cinco de Mayo- a street bursting with stores, street vendors, and crowds of every age and ethnicity.

Resisting the temptation to buy another paruma, I settled on a Kuna headscarf, then dashed off into the rain to catch a bus to the mall. It had been three years since I had done any real clothes shopping. Walking into the fancy GAP, I felt like a fraud. At any moment one of the staff members was going to realize that I didn’t belong here and would kick me out. They didn’t. I bought a pair of sandals and a shirt.

Back in the hostel, I made mac n cheese with a side of popsicles for dinner and tried to pack my bag. It took me no time to decide to take my day backpack to the Darien and to leave the rest in the hostel for the week. Although I had been awake for less than twelve hours, I soon found myself snuggled back in bed. After a bedtime popsicle, of course.

Today I'm grateful for feeling well enough to be able to visit Cinco de Mayo one more time.