Big news. Yesterday, we DROVE to the grocery store. Yep, you heard me correctly. We drove. We gave not a single thought to how many liquids we put in our cart or how awkward something might be to carry back to the apartment because all we had to do was put it in the trunk and DRIVE back to the apartment! We’re so fancy! Amazing. I even bought extras of things that we’re not going to use in the next two days. It may be 5 days until I use some of the things that we bought! Can’t tell you how exciting this is.
After that, it got even more exciting. We strayed even further from the apartment. We went all the way to the furthest island along the Amador Causeway, which is circled in red. Our apartment is circled in green. Our approximate route (on the way there, at least…I think…sorta) is in blue.
Our trip to Alberto’s – an Italian restaurant on Isla Flamenco.
For the record, yours truly drove. It took about 35-40 minutes to get out there (one wrong turn and some traffic b/c of a big concert at the convention center) and 26 minutes to get back. Silly for a 7 or 9 km drive. But whatever. I learned, first, that our tinted windows are heavily tinted. I always thought that meant that it was hard for people to see in. Um, evidently it makes it hard to see out too. Especially when it’s already dark outside. Tricky.
Eric was a patient and helpful navigator, even though I’m sure he had to be very nervous. We didn’t know the roads, it was our first big outing with these crazy drivers, I was nervous, the tinted windows were driving me crazy, the streetlights aren’t great everywhere, the lane lines aren’t clearly marked in most places, and everyone seemed to know where they were going except us. But we did it. We conquered driving in Panamá. It can be done. I think it was important for me to do it first, for me not to relegate that responsibility to Eric immediately. And even though he rolled his eyes a bit as he did it, he took a picture of his proud wife after I got us to the restaurant in one piece.
We knew about this restaurant from our trip here last year; it was where we ate with the UNC alumna that I emailed out of the [Carolina] blue. We walked along the waterfront for a moment, saw incredible yachts like this one:
then had a nice meal in the open air, complete with Julie-approved people watching. The star of the evening was this amazing get-up:
Yes, folks, it’s a lacey black onesie of some sort. I gotta say, the woman had confidence. Panamanian women work what they’ve got with pride, and I like it. The confidence, that is, not the onesie. Don’t be crazy.
We took a different route home which took us through “an area,” as Eric put it. I called it “the ghetto.” Eric told me not to stop for anything, although I had trouble with that strong suggestion, as cars kept stopping ahead of me. I asked him what he expected me to do and he responded “Ram them!” I declined to do so, partially for fear of causing a gang riot of some sort.
He pulled up a map today and showed me that we were on the edge of Curundú, a place we never wanted to go. The other side of the street, however, was no better. Just another neighborhood that we had heard was no good. It was really pretty scary when we took that turn between the two neighborhoods. There were tons of people out, most actually in the street that we were driving along. I don’t know exactly what I was afraid of, but I knew that I just wanted to get home. Quickly.
We made it, and thanks to my parents, Apple TV, and some kind of crazy rig that my dad set up through FaceTime, I had a perfect seat for the UNC/Dook game. I enjoyed some of it. Winslow is dirty and kung-fu has no place in basketball. Go Heels. We’ll leave it at that.
My day ended with receiving photos of my sweet Laine on her first trip to Disney World. She looks like she’s in heaven! Can’t wait to hear all about it!
Thus ends our second month in Panamá! Come see us – time is flying by!
