11/15/2025
¿Puedo tomarte una foto?
It's a phrase I saved in my translate app and only asked maybe 3 or 4 times.. My time in Panamá had what one might call a rough start, literally just having left the airport. I'm met at the car rental place with an extra insurance fee not stated in the reservation- turns out this was much needed, but in total the car ended up costing a little over $2k more than I was expecting and severely limited the duration of my stay..
Night 1 after having secured the car(made of tissue in a meat grinder of a country's traffic) i have a bit of a bit of a panic attack after a stress inducing text comes through then no service for some reason (thanks ) while the GPS is taking me all sorts of directions. I reach the old part of town and have what, for insurances sake, we'll call some car issues. Thankfully my man Camilo who id just met was on it and helping me find my hotel. After parking by his house and grabbing some authentic Colombian dinner he introduced me to Abdiel and discussed the situation- Turns out Expedia can book rooms in what are essentially "love" hotels
Day 2 onwards was way better- I met up with Abdiel and meeting Camilo's family, we went to what I found out later is a UNESCO site for breakfast, the Coca-Cola Cafe, and found an awesome spot that allowed me to be able to walk literally everywhere(woe to anyone looking to park) After dropping off the bags we took advantage of the clear weather to walk around the Metro Parque before a much needed afternoon Siesta.
The days following that kind of blur together with having gone all over. Finally, after getting out of the city, I drove to El Valle de Anton and made the climb up La India Dormida, which was both daunting and extremely rewarding with the views. On the way, I encountered the lovely model and her brother, and then an awesome couple who let me take their picture at the top.
I didn't get a lot of pictures of people like I was hoping, but I know things now for next time to make things smoother, the awesome people of Panama have made me determined to come back for more. When I do return, I plan on asking "Puedo tomarte una foto" way more