Bienvenidos!
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Estoy en Panama!
Here I am! It's just gone half seven in the evening, which must mean it's about half one am back home, on my second night in Panama. The flights were ok. I got a bit annoyed at Miami after waiting 45 minutes for my case before being told that it had checked straight through, and then not being able to get through to home or Mario on the phone (it turns out I had put one too many '0's in there, oops.) so yeah, I was slightly stressed when I got on the last plane, but I got here ok, cleaned my teeth and changed shirts in the bathroom before joining the slowest queue in the world to get through immigration check-in. Hmm. That sentence is a bit too long. I then went and got my bag, somehow managed to heave it onto the x-ray belt without dropping everything else, and went out to see my lovely Mario waiting with his brother at the arrivals bit. They were both wearing their Italy shirts so I told them they looked silly together. Jose (I can't find the thing for the accent) had also bought me an Italy shirt, but thankfully it is different to his and Mario's.
As soon as we stepped out of the airport the heat hit me - it was like walking into a sauna; I couldn't believe it was so warm. We went for something to eat and Mario's friend Marlo joined us. I tried ceviche, after all Mario's raving about it, and it is actually really nice. Going to have to get some more of that soon. I had a san cocha - this typical Panamanian soup thing with chicken, carrots, corn on the cob, rice and something that tasted like firm potato. I'm not sure if it was potato or some other tuber, but it was filling and a damn sight more tasty than the plane food. I think Virgin set the standard too high for me the first time I went on a long-haul flight. Their stuff was edible and recognisible and tasted half decent; the stuff on the iberia flight was just nasty. I had two new potatoes, half a handful of green beans, three bread rolls and a bit of some kind of tasteless cakey thing over the whole flight. And that was not counting the two short flights - I didn't get anything to eat on them! So you can guess I was fairly hungry by the time I landed. So yeah, had this soupy thing, and was feeling a bit dazed (I think I'd been up for about 25 hours by this point) so Jose drove us to Mario's grandmother's and after a brief introduction we went to bed. It was so hot last night we didn't need sheets. I'd taken a shorts and vest pyjama set to sleep in but put a t shirt and longer PJ bottoms on to go and have breakfast and I was sweating so much - and this was only half eight in the morning! Mario and I ate breakfast on the terrace, which was lovely. I went and had a very welcome cool shower, and we stayed at the house for a while before going over to the supermarket up the road to get a few things. While we were browsing the cereals Mario spotted his mum, so I met his parents there in the supermarket looking a bit tired and sweaty. They went over to his grandma's and we finished shopping, then had a lift to his parents' house where we had lunch. Their house is really nice, bright and airy with a small back yard. Mario's grandma's is a bit darker but has a bigger garden.
After about an hour Mario drove me and his grandma back to her house, then we went for a drive so he could show me around a bit. We went to the causeway at the Pacific entrance to the Canal, and I saw the Bridge of the Americas, black vultures and pelicans. We wandered for a bit then he drove us back and we had a look around part of the city. He showed me the children's hospital and a couple of the other publuc hospitals, then we went to the Panamanian equivalent of Boots to pick up a few bits. I unpacked a bit more and we're just about to have a bite to eat, so I'm going to finish my account here. I'm a bit nervous about starting at the hospital tomorrow, but will just have to take it as it comes. Mario's dad says if I have any problems to just tell him and he'll have a word with my supervisors.
Right, gots to go. Hasta luego! xxx
7:38 p.m. - 2006-06-18
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