Arriving in Panama City

After being checked very thoroughly by Colombian police at the cartagena airport (presumably for drugs) we arrived safe and sound in Panama City. After repeatedly trying to give directions to our hostel, (they are extremely complicated) we eventually arrived at our hostel. A slight problem with our booking but the hostel owner was so lovely and we had air conditioning in the room so we were happy enough. Went to an American influenced restauruant for dinner and ate really well for cheap and slept soundly that night.

Next day went to the biggest shopping mall we've encountered for many many years with quite competitive prices – much better than buying goods in South America. Our taxi journey was a bit difficult – the guy picked up other passengers along the way and so Bernard gave him less money – and he went wild. It upset me a bit, but all the locals were laughing when Bernard said “son of a bitch” to him in Spanish, so the guy drove off and the matter was resolved. Took me a few moments for my heart rate to return to normal, but once it did I thoroughly enjoyed myself shopping. We bought a camera we can use under water, I bought a new bikini and flip-flops, Bernard bought board shorts. Spotting a theme here? That's right, most of our highlights throughout central America is the snorkelling and beaches, so we have equipped ourselves appropriately.

Whilst at the shopping mall the heavens opened and monsoonal rain started (and lingered for the rest of the day) so no other sight seeing for us. We made our way to another hostel to pay for our tour to San Blas islands, then got another cab back to our hostel. On the way the wheel came completely off its axle and so we were stuck in the pouring rain in the middle of Panama City. Fortunately it wasn't really a problem – the city is pretty safe, we hailed another cab without too much difficulty and made it back to our hostel to dry off. The guests at the hostel were super lovely, so we ended up chatting to them for the rest of the day, we ordered pizza for dinner, packed our bags for San Blas.