I'm in a hotel in Santiago, Panama. It's very ... colorful. But let's backtrack for a minute.
We started our trip at 12:30 on Thursday. The bus took two hours to get from Yokosuka to Narita. That left us three hours to kill before our flight left. Airports can be Purgatory. But the Narita airport was like a playground for grownups.
The check in desks were housed in two gigantic, echoing wings. The ceilings were so high you felt like a bug. The Japanese people were, as always, kind and efficient.
Our three hours of exploration time were not wasted. We found an oxygen bar, but didn't try it. We found a origami museum and shop. The museum part was full of the most intricate origami scenes ever created. Towns, samuri, cherry trees complete with tiny pink blossoms. It was incredible. We found a lounge with 100 yen for ten minute computers, recliners, and monitors that showed each gate in that wing.
The flight was awful. It was long. We were exhausted. Poor Grant stuffed his long legs into the tiny leg space granted by the airline.
Landing - rocky. Customs - slow. Baggage claim - slower. Taxi - expensive. Night in a New Jersey hotel - nice but way expensive. They wanted to charge me 9:95 for 24 hours of internet, which is why I didn't update you earlier.
We watched cartoons all morning and since all they had was Disney Channel the cartoons were all aimed at pre-schoolers. So we watched the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - which, by the way, has no grasp of physics - and Little Einstiens, and Grant's personal favorite Handy Manny, about a Mexican handy man with a box full of talking tools.
Another plane. Another long flight, though less than half as long as the first. Landing in Panama - smooth. Imigration - quick. Baggage Claim - long. Customs - also long. Walk outside and play find the gringos.
Panama smells like a greenhouse, and it feels like one two.
We stayed two nights at Abby's house. Abby is an amazing woman who befriended MIL and FIL in Spanish school. Her life reads like a travel novel. She served as an Au Pier in Europe, directed a dance company and edited magazines. She and her husband Bill retired to Panama. They live in a beautiful house on the old military base.
While there we made a few side trips to the Panama Canal and other places. More on those later when I have enough bandwith to upload pictures. You may have to wait till I get home.
Now I have to go back to my blue and salmon walled room with the pink curtains and the sun and moon sink tiles. Don't worry. I'll take pictures.
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