Santiago

We left Panama City this morning in a rented Kia Rio en route to our next destination, David. As we got on our way, the sun was shining and it looked like we had a great driving day before us. David is about 470 kms from Panama City so we planned on stopping half way, at about the 250 km mark, and spending the night in Santiago.

We stopped for lunch at a little Mom and Pop restaurant in Rio Hato where, despite the fact there were not even any vegetarian options on the menu, we were treated to a nice plate of vegetable fried rice, a green salad and fried plantain, all for $4.00 each.

After lunch, to stretch our legs, we wandered through the Super 99 supermarket and bought some cookies for dessert and a bottle of Morande Pinot Noir from Chile for $5.50! That may sound ridiculously inexpensive, but you have to consider the fact that a can of local beer costs just $0.59.

When we got back on the road toward Santiago, the skies literally opened and, in some places, the highway was flooded with water at least eight inches deep. During most of the ride, the rain was coming down so hard I had to have the windshield wipers running at their fastest speed just to see the road.

We finally arrived at our hotel at just about 5:00 PM and, with the rain not letting up one little bit, decided it's going to be ordered in pizza and Chilean Pinot Noir for dinner tonight.

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