Logistics, lots of laughs and Uber

Mom has always wanted to see the Panama Canal. I’ve been dying to get down here and take a look around. Panama has one of the best retirement visas available; and I want to check it out.
We had flight credits with Delta. Not my 1st choice to fly to Central America, but it was was it was. We had to connect in Atlanta, and ended up with an over night layover coming and going. There is no hotel in the airport, so you have to go off site. Again, shouldn’t be too bad. But it’s a lot of getting out of the airport , into a Uber, getting to the hotel late, then having to get up early and do it again in reverse. 2x.
Last night after we flew into Atlanta we learned a few things. 1) ATL is humongous; and their baggage claim in the domestic terminal , was vast and intimidating. Especially when said person needs an eye exam and they told me my Checked bag was on carousel 9, but was really on 2. I parked Mom, with her bag (found that quick and easy) and had myself a moment of slightly losing my shit. I was then able to ask a baggage agent for help, who steered me in the right direction.
I thought prebooking an Uber would make things easier. It didn’t. They cancelled me because I didn’t show and when I rebooked the ride, I entered the wrong hotel. So a very nice lady took us to the Marriott (where were are staying during the long layover home) instead of the Hilton (where we had reservations for last night ). We had a good laugh, rolled our eyes, and I called another Uber. We got into bed around midnight, and got up at 4am to bed out the door by 6 am. We had a nice 2 hr breakfast at the Delta lounge and were relaxed, tired and ready to nap on the plane.
The flight was lovely and the scenery on the way down was beautiful.
I had ordered a car service to pick us up when we got to the Panama City Airport. I figured having someone meet us there would be helpful. Except he didn’t. Turns out he was out by the ride share pickup. He and I were texting each other trying to link up. So he would te t me in Spanish, I’d take a screenshot and Google Translate it, type my response on Google Translate, cut and paste it into iMessages. At one point my phone said it could translate the te TS but I’d have to download it, and it took forever. All while, I’m in jeans, long sleeve shirt, and wool socks ( because it had literally been freezing in ATL this am.) walking up and down the length of the pickup zone, trying to find Sr. Perez.
Mom hung in there like a trooper. She would stand with the bags as I zoomed around trying to “go with the flow and be flexible” but really wanted to find this ride.
After a few more minutes, I looked over and there was a guy who looked like he was looking for someone. I waved to him, said his name, he said mine, and we were all very relieved.
I rented an apt on airBB in the old section of Panama City. It’s got high ceilings, big windows, a balcony overlooking the square and isn’t too fancy. It’s perfect.
We were too tired to go out and find dinner, so we ordered dinner off of Uber Eats and had it delivered. I found this hamburger place, and they had really good reviews. And the burgers were really good. And we were super happy.
Tomorrow we are getting up early to go get on a boat to cruise the Canal. It will be a long day, but we can rest literally for the rest of the week.
It’s so nice to be here. It’s been a long time coming.Read more