Restrictions

Without a car in Panama, it left me feeling a little bit restricted. Here’s the thing. I am an all out city girl. I don’t mind hopping on a bus, hailing a taxi, riding a nasty subway, or… walking, walking, walking. I thoroughly enjoy those experiences because the “people watching” is on point and the culture of a place is on show. The wee three have been exposed to a lot of public transportation during traveling, however, there is nothing like jumping into your own car and just going for it.

Having a car gives you your independence, right?

During the pandemic, new habits formed that had my kids abusing that independence. These little gluttons (I’m including myself here) developed a strong magnet for the nearest public food sources. Tyson became a licensed driver and I immediately labeled him as my personal UberEats delivery guy. Gi and Roman rode their scooters and bikes to the Harris Teeter, about a mile away, to pick up treats for our traditional “Thursday Snack Nights” that QUICKLY turned into daily snack nights. Gi got on a roll making us chocolate chip cookies and it seemed like someone was running to the store every few days for sugar, butter, flour… cue the music from Waitress! How were they going to function in a world that they couldn’t go to the store or pick up food on a whim!?

Ultimately, what swayed me, was the fact that renting a car in Panama isn’t easy. I won’t go into too much detail except, know your insurances, get them all, and expect your rental car not to be there when you show up. Mas o menos! Not much intimidates me when it comes to things like complicated rentals, but having the emotional support dog to deal with, the Covid precautions, and the kids… all by myself…I didn’t think it was wise to add the car rental onto my plate. So we committed to taking public transportation.

In San Carols, legend has it, there are only two Uber drivers. I believe this, and I believe we have met both of them. Javier and Darwin.

Javier was scheduled to pick us up from Anton Valley and bring us back to San Carols, just to tell us he’d be 6 hours late. Oh, you know, just 6 hours! So we took a taxi back. Darwin took us to the grocery store a couple times. He’s much better at timing- maybe 35-45 minutes late on pick up times- but don’t I adore the fact that he drops us off, waits for us to shop, and then brings us back home. Darwin and Tyson have hit it off as well. I feel I scored big on this because my kid is speaking in Spanish. On the downside, it’s a lot to put our dependency on Uber driver schedules. Restricted.

Tuesday, we decided we needed to rip off the bandaid and get to the store by bus. Getting around by bus is way easier and cheaper, but kinda scary too. There is no waiting 974 minutes for your Uber to arrive, but you better know Spanish. You are completely immersed in the culture.

Our goal was to bus to the shopping center, and taxi back. Gi and Roman grabbed our grocery bags at 11:00am and we walked a quarter mile up to the bus stop. Our luck would have us hop on the bus within a minute of arrival. We successfully shopped at the Supper 99, bought 9 empanadas at the Riba Smith, ate tacos at Rockin Taco, and caught a taxi back by 2:00. This felt like a fun little excursion for us and we felt free and…unrestricted! (The bus ride cost a total of $1.50 for the three of us).

On our outing, we were mostly impressed by the consistent Covid restrictions. Before entering the bus, every passenger was sprayed down with alcohol and mask checked! I put on the required mask for obvious reasons, but also because I didn’t want to pick up sweeping duty or be fined for not wearing one! I stepped on the “foot sanitizing mat” and found something I need and want at my front door now! At any store entrance, there stands a security guard spraying alcohol and temperature checking. Seems like Panama is doing their very best.

We felt confident enough to do this bus thing again, and go out a little further. On Wednesday, we hopped the bus to La Chorrera, where my family lives. It took us about an hour to get there. My family was quite impressed that we handled the bus so well and that the kids were speaking better Spanish.

Seeing Abuelita Bella was the highlight of my trip. I love that woman’s stories and scandals. She is living with my Tia Diama during Covid and seems to be doing amazing. They served us some fresh pineapple and updated us on the new Covid restrictions that will be taking place this week.

Panama don’t play. Despite all their best efforts, Covid cases are still on the rise. In response, there will be a full lock down on Christmas and New Years Days (including a few days after each holiday), forbidden beach access, curfew starting at 7, and reduced group gatherings. And just when we were getting the hang of being resident Panamanians, we are restricted, again!

So, that leaves me in a spot trying to figure out what to do. Should I stay, or should I go now? What an appropriate Clash question! I certainly don’t mind being in a lockdown in this weather, however, I don’t want to spend Christmas without my family here. It may not be worth my family flying down here just to be in a lockdown. We shall see. Until I know, we will take advantage of the beach access, all day today!