Alarm set for 3.55 am as we were leaving the hostel at 4.15 am to take the 4.30 am chicken bus to David. Well the bus came and left at 4.20 am … some 29 minutes later arrived in David. Sometimes it takes 90 minutes with many stops on route picking up passengers. But not on this trip. In fact I believe that our driver was racing another chicken bus! Anyway at 4.30 - 5 am there were literally NO other vehicles on the road anyway. With the new dual carriage highway, this would have cut back the normal travel time. How far is David from Boquete? 41 kilometres / 26 miles!

Getting to the bus terminal so early, we were able to take the 6 am bus. We were scheduled to take the 7 am which is a double decker one. Never mind …. But I must admit I was looking forward to the view from up top!

Three hours into the trip was a 30 minute food and toilet stop at Santiago De Veraguas (free unsecured no password wifi again). Looking at my Google map on my phone, I realise that at this speed we will get to Panama City around noon which we did.

Panama City is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of Panama. The city is the political and administrative center of the country as well as a hub for international banking and commerce. It is considered a Beta - World City and one of three Central American cities listed in this category. 

With an average GDP per capita of $11,700, Panama has been among the top five places for retirement in the world, according to International Living magazine. Panama City has a dense skyline of mostly highrise buildings, and it is surrounded by a large belt of tropical rainforest. Panama's Tocumen International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Central America, offers daily flights to major international destinations. Thanks Mr Wikipedia.

We arrived at Central America’s biggest bus terminal at 11.45 am. That was say 5 hours 15 minutes driving time to cover the 323 kilometres / 201 miles, well ahead of schedule. It would have been much quicker if we took the short 45 minute flight from David to get here.

So big was the bus terminal that it felt like an airport with the arriving buses off-loading passengers up on the upper level with departing buses loading on the lower one.

Then the heavens opened up! Into taxis for the short transfer to our hotel.