Panama City, Thursday

7pm. Humm.

I actually got up about 10:30am or 11, which wasn't too bad. Earlier on I either woke up (or dreamed I did) and somehow my phone said it was already midday. So the next time I woke up it was all "oh fuck, I've wasted the whole afternoon by now, I can't bring myself to look at the time". And then when I finally did, it was about 7am. So I had two hours in bed even with my vague plan to get up at 9am. Obviously I drowsed on as usual but I guess probably due to the time zone difference I got up relatively early for me.

It sounded like it was pissing it down when I was in bed in the morning, but since I didn't get up to look out of the window I can't be sure. It may just have been me getting confused with the noise from the ceiling fan.

When I paid at reception they told me the room was cheaper than hostelworld.com had said. So I paid them USD64 instead of USD72 or something like that. I didn't ask why, but I might guess this is due to the ensuite thing. So while it is a bit deceptive I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

I went out, fleece tied around my waist, and tried to wander a bit and find something to eat. I was insanely hot and uncomfortable and everything seemed to suck. There also seemed to be far too many people sort of lurking around in the street and it made me feel vulnerable.

After maybe 15 or 30 minutes I gave up, navigated back to the hostel via GPS (I had no map and had got hopelessly turned around), dumped the fleece (which meant shoving the GPS into my already rammed trouser pockets, but I figured that was the lesser of two evils), had another look at the map and went back out.

This time I managed to locate some down at hell pseudo-Chinese restuarant where, not knowing what "miniestra" was (it appeared in a vast majority of the menu items, in the rather odd form of "rice, miniestra, a-named-meat *and other things*" - surely it's never a good sign if a menu says "and other things", although I guess at least they're being honest), I had a moderately portion of chow mein. And maybe that helped, because I stopped feeling like every person on the street was just lurking there waiting to grab my camera if I took it out.

(I just tried and spanistdict.com doesn't know the word "miniestra", nor did my pocket dictionary at the time. But a quick google turns up a few sites which have it on, and one restaurant review in English implies it means "lentils".)

I went to the "Museo De Canal Interoceanico" and ended up being there about three hours. It was quite interesting, although mostly text and nearly all in Spanish, so I spent ages reading it all. I did start giving up towards the end and skimming a lot, partly as I'd just about had enough and partly as it was getting on for 5pm when I suspected they might shut. There was also  (probably temporary) exhibition of a set of photos of Taiwan which were very cool.

After that I wandered round by Plaza de Francia, feeling a bit jittery at first but improving over time. Some quite nice views of the city skyline and of the Bridge of the Americas there. I had a quick look at a jazz bar mentioned in the guide book on the way, it was closed but looks a bit up itself/like a restaurant which happens to have music on.

I then had a wander in the vague hope of finding some restaurant mentioned in the guide book. I went quite a long way north(east) up Av Central, way past the Iglesia de la Merced which the guide book says marks the safe border for tourists. It was essentially a long street rammed with shops and stalls and didn't feel particularly dangerous, though maybe I was naive. No "proper" restaurants, either of the slightly down at hell quality I prefer or pretentious ones. There were loads of local fried chicken and hamburger type places, plus a McDonalds and a KFC. In the end I went to KFC, where I had three (rather small) pieces of chicken and fries. I took advantage of it being a big chain to get change for a twenty.

I then took some cash out and came back here. Since the only bars I know of round here are that jazz bar and one on Av Central which you can't see into from the street apparently called "Lady's", and which has neon signs and a handwritten poster advertising a stripper at 1am on Saturday morning, and I am not going in there for anything, the vague plan is to loiter here at the hostel writing crap like this and surfing til about 9pm, walk down to that jazz bar and see what it's like and if it sucks get a cab to somewhere else in the city which I am supposed to pick out from the guide book now before I go out.

I am not overly optimistic of finding anything decent but we'll have to see.

I still have no idea exactly "how" I am going to get to do a boat tour of the locks. Maybe tomorrow I will splurge for a cab over to that place (if the cab drivers know it) and buy a ticket for Saturday if possible. I did see in the guide book this morning that there are hourly (?) trains from here to Colon taking about an hour each way, which run by the canal and have glass-domed carriages (I must have that wrong, it sounds too Jetsons-like) so you can see the jungle, so I may well have a look into that. It also (I am going from memory here) would provide a convenient way for me to see the Gatun locks, which I gather are very large and somewhere near there (though the maps I saw today in the museum sort of imply it's a bit of a distance). The guide book really lays it on about Colon being dangerous, so if the train plus a taxi provides a convenient way of viewing those locks then that would work nicely.

Actually, if memory serves the train is not hourly, there's one out in the morning and one back in the afternoon. But I guess it's the same principle, the trip to the locks would provide something to fill in the time with.