I am stood in one of the longest immigration lines I have seen, I have been here maybe 5 minutes and it hasn't moved. I may have had something this bad in Mexico once before but this probably takes the cake.
There is clearly no way I am getting in a taxi before dark. Not that I can see the sky, but my phone tells me it is sunset now. Maybe the touts will all have fucked off by the time I get out (I also have to clear customs with my fucking instant coffee, I should throw that damn stuff away). Except for an American couple immediately in front of me everyone else seems Spanish speaking and I have a horrible feeling this may be locals only. There is another channel marked 'residents' but this channel is unmarked. I just have to assume I guess.
We did get some food on the plane so at least I am not starving. I don't know if I will dare venture out of the hostel tonight but I guess I probably will. I have to get there first though.
I am obviously flying too much. I was able to guess before I saw it that the second meal would be a warm ham & cheese sandwich. This one rang the changes with some slightly pickle-like stuff in, but at least no mayonnaise so I ate it.
Oh good, the Americans are NOT MOVING ALONG so I suspect people will start pushing past them and me shortly...
There are two immigration points at 'either end' of the airport. This one has a long snaking line, the other has a long straight line. I only know this as on encountering the long straight one I decided I would have to go to the toilet before queueing and then I thought I'd try the other one as it couldn't be any worse. I don't think there's much in it anyway.
Oh, the American woman went to check on the other line just now and she says it's even longer. I think baggage claim is past immigration, I damn well hope I haven't missed it Most people in the line seem to be with hand luggage only so probably. I hope my bag doesn't get nicked, it is presumably sitting on the carousel already. Or for that matter shoved away as unclaimed.
Cleared immigration at 19:05. Bag was on the carousel and customs was easy, though they asked me if I had a lot of coins in my bag after 'X-ray'. I said yes and that was fine.
Now in a minibus with one other guy for USD25. It is taking me to some church next to the hostel, as per their own directions, so I will have a chance to get mugged while wandering that square no doubt.
Oh, it's warm and muggy. My glasses steamed up the instant I set foot out of the airport.
20:00. Just got to hostel. Taxi/bus was USD25, I had only twenties, driver had no change, hostel guy had no change so I had to give her 40. And the hostel guy says it should have only been 10 in the first place. But what could I do, my guide book (now on (Shoestring guide to Central America by the way) says 15 if memory serves and is two years out of date as least so 25 wasn't totally implausible and then the 25->40 bump was obviously sucky but seemed unavoidable. I guess I could have done lots of things (like bought a token item at an airport shop to break a 20) but I have got away without that until now. I guess it's some combination of nerves and tiredness, the former exacerbated by arriving after dark.
I suppose it's something to be aware of going forward, to use the business vernacular.
Room quite nice (for a hostel, I mean, it's nothing special) but THERE IS A MASSIVE CONVERSATION GOING ON IN SOME COURTYARD ON THE FAR SIDE which the glassless (shuttered, but they are open) window looks out over. So I am going to get doubly hacked off at the noise and feeling like a sad fucker.
Oh well. Oh, it's raining too. So I am doubly dubious about popping out for something to eat/drink.
20:20. Call me an old fuddy duddy but I just went to reception to get the wifi code and it's full of more people hanging around, including one fucking woman sat crosslegged in the passageway.
There's lightning as well. Man this bites. I am not too worried about the area and I don't want to go far, but I think sitting here listening to bleating conversations is going to do my head in. I am not starving by any means but I could eat something, and I could certainly drink something.
BBC web site has only a 5 day forecast and says clear skies tonight. Heavy rain showers for the next four days, which does offer limited hope this is a 'shower' and will stop. But I am not optimistic.
weather.com shows clear for all hourly intervals tonight. So maybe, just maybe, this is merely a localised weather glitch.
I could have a shower and change but as I suspect I will end up getting soaked if I go out, I am not going to 'waste' a change of clothes on tonight.
20:55. I can only go on what I hear, but it sounds like it's pissing it down. I fucking hate being imprisoned by the weather like this. Especially after spending all day in transit.
The only consolation is the group outside my window shut up or moved a while ago. So I now only have the distant hum of voices from reception.
If I had an umbrella I might go out, but I don't. Also I suppose since the sole of my right shoe is half off I will get wet feet walking on any but the driest pavement. The weather here may force me to buy some new shoes but we will see how it goes.
I suppose one 'consolation' is my body clock is two hours ahead of actual time here. So I may be able to go to sleep relatively early, if I can't do any of my wildly unrealistic ideas like EAT SOMETHING or DRINK SOMETHING. I am yawning a bit, although I am not sure I should take that too seriously.
Oh, for the record, it started to rain while I was in the 'taxi' over here. It's 21:30 now and it's still at it. I hope this isn't going to be another Rio or Sao Paulo.
21:50. JFC. I don't know what happened, I think there was just a massive burst of thunder (I jumped) and now loads of alarms are going off. Not 'in' the hostel as far as I can tell.
What is actually most annoying about this weather-imposed isolation is that I have about 300ml of Sprite Zero on me and that has to last me until I leave here tomorrow morning. (I am pretty sure I can't drink the tap water.) It sounds like it's pissing it down so much that even if I knew somewhere just round the corner I couldn't go there, and since I don't have a clue about the area there's no chance.
22:10. I am just so fucked off. It's still raining and it looks like viewing the canal is FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE. To go to the viewing points you change buses about three times, or hire a cab and get it to wait while you are there. The tour company recommended by a friend and the guide book don't give a recognisable street address on their web site, just burble about the 'Nunciatura'. They say you should call to book. Yeah, because I can do that, my mobile work a treat here. And the guide book doesn't give an address but says they are at 'muelle 19' which, if I can find a taxi driver who knows where it is, will cost me USD12 for a return trip just to 'ask' about trips and maybe book, plus another USD12 on the day of the trip.
What a steaming pile of crap. You'd think, I dunno, it would be MADE EASY to GIVE PEOPLE MONEY to see THE MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTION IN THE COUNTRY. But no, you want to see the fucking thing you have to work at it.
I am not getting off to a good start here. Immigration queue from hell. No food, No alcohol. 200ml (I looked) of non-alcoholic drink to last the next 12 hours. SHIT weather. Ripped off by the taxi driver to the tune of about twenty quid. Now I find that a) whatever I do to see the canal, I will doubtless miss out on something I 'should' have done and b) arranging to see the thing in any way shape or form is about a half day's activity in itself.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.
I sent a slightly snotty web form submission to the tour company. For all I know Nunciatura is a street after all. But fuck it. Why can't they either take bookings online or have an office (or at least do a deal with some tour agency) in the damn centre?
Oh, and I can't go over there tomorrow direct because I will need to take some more cash out first. So that's yet another taxi trip to a cash machine, since I doubt there are any just here and I am not sure it's safe to walk through the northern bit of the peninsula Casco Viejo is on.
I haven't felt this fucked off since my first night on Easter Island. I think. I do feel fucked off a lot.
22:35. OK, I just popped out to have a look, more to get out of the room than anything, and it is indeed pissing it down. But I noticed a fridge in the corridor so I bought two bottles of beer and three small bottles of water for about USD4/5, the guy got me some change from one of the guys loitering in reception. I feel a bit weak for passing up this 'easy' opportunity to have an alcohol free day but sod it. It's not like I'm going to get pissed.
22:45. One beer down, I am feeling a bit better though still decidedly hacked off. I am feeling a bit time pressured, on the one hand I have 14 days here but on the other I sort of feel it would be good not to spend the whole time in Panama City so, well, I dunno.
Oh, the skyline on the drive over in the taxi was impressive. But not worth an extra twenty quid. :-)
I have a horrible suspicion I was a touch brusque with the reception guy when I bought the drinks. But sod it, I probably wasn't and it's not like I was out and out rude. He hasn't done anything to me so beyond my general hacked offness I suspect I would not act particularly badly towards him.
23:05. Still pissing it down. I suspect nights out here will have to adopt the "pick somewhere and you're stuck with it" model.
23:45. Out front again, still hacked off but I can appreciate that in a better mood this 'tropical storm' would be cool in a way. The lighting silhouettes the famous church opposite dramatically and some of the thunder has that classic 'krakoom' sort of sound. But I am not in a great mood all the same. Maybe it's just been a bad day.
The big thing with the canal trips is I think they only happen on Saturdays, so I kind of need to book ASAP, especially if I want the flexibility to not be in Panama City next Saturday. I guess I just need to be more laid back but I can't help it. I keep mentally comparing myself with some "Urban Spaceman" traveller, I guess. I do suspect most people would be having more fun than I am, but I guess by my own standards I'm not doing too badly overall. Ups and downs and all that.
I guess I will try not to get too worked up tomorrow, have a wander and if I have to be here a week on Saturday then sod it. I need to formulate some rough plan as to how long I will stay here so I can arrange accommodation here or elsewhere ASAP, as I am only booked here for four nights. I did want to see Casco Viejo and I figured the best way to do it was stay here, but for variety of setting and/or different accommodation (either somewhere I might meet people, or somewhere more luxurious) if I do send more than 4 nights in Panama City, which I probably will one way or another, I don't necessarily want to stay at this hostel all the time. I think where you stay has a big influence on where you go out at night, since the ability to wander without having to get a taxi to a specific place is nice/important. (Yeah, you could get a taxi to some street in a promising area and then wander, but it never seems to work like that.)
It is still pissing it down, though I think that was implicit in my earlier storm comments.
It being nearly midnight local time and 2am body clock time, plus the fact I got up at 8am after about six hours sleep suggests I will probably go to bed soon and should manage to get to sleep fairly easily. (I didn't sleep on the plane. I got the drowsy feeling once or twice but it didn't catch. Maybe I fought it slightly, I'm not sure.)
Oh, one of the cars parked outside has Texas number plates, which struck me as a little odd, though obviously you could drive down here from there.
00:05. Was going to have a shower but it turns out there isn't one. I just checked and my booking is indeed for an en-suite room, but there is just a sink and toilet. Clearly their definition of en suite is different from mine, and I rather suspect from everyone else's. I do have a double bed rather than the single I booked so I don't like to say anything, but that is pretty deceptive in my opinion.
I am probably a bit rank so I can't put it off, so that means I will have to fart around with the shared shower tomorrow morning, with all the tedious shit that entails in getting dressed to go to the shower, drying off in there, putting the dirty clothes back on to go back to my room then changing. Not a massive deal but I have enough trouble getting up and out in the mornings anyway. Oh well. An imperfect end to an imperfect day.
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