Not knowing the ins and outs of Panama City, I paid a cab $30, top dollar, to take me to my hotel, which he had to hunt for to find. Had to wait 'til 8am to check-in, which was only an hour because Panama is on Eastern time (Costa Rica is on Central time). Went to McD's for breakfast.  


Got checked in. Kind of a dumpy place, but it had ac, for $15 per night, no internet though. Thought I'd sleep all day, being tired and with a cold. I figured I'd read myself to sleep, but I couldn't find my Kindle: I left it on the bus! Went down to the lobby, asked the desk clerk how to get a metro card; she spoke no english, and I didn't even know if she understood what I was asking, much less did I understand what she was saying, but a guy checking in spoke a little english and told me what to do.  

Got to the metro station that I could buy a pass. I didn't understand what the clerk was telling me except to use the machine: there were two of one kind and two of another kind. Another clerk was out there helping another customer, in Spanish. I tried to follow along but couldn't. When she finished with this other guy, I got her attention and she helped me out, even speaking a little english.  

So I took the subway to the bus station. Don't think I've mentioned subways yet, but I really like them. My first experience was in NYC: great, easy, fast way to get around; buses and cars are near impossible; you can take a cab, but you're likely to end up at the hospital with a heart attack before you reach your destination! Pty (Panama City) got their metro started just a few years ago, so it's still new and clean, and they're opening a new station each year. But the buses are even good here: they're new too, use the same pass, and are air conditioned! 35 cents for the subway, 25 cents for the bus.  

 
Every kind of bus in or entering/exiting Pty goes through this terminal: as you can see, its pretty large!  
Talked to the lady at the Ticabus ticket window; had trouble communicating with her. She called her boss; then I waited for about 25 minutes. We went out to the bus: it had been cleaned, but the manager called the cleaning guy (aren't cell phones great?!) and he came over in about 15 min, and pulled it out of one of the bags of trash (I think he was going to keep it for himself, maybe thinking it was like an ipad). So I thanked them all, and went back to my room.  

Now my nose is running pretty good, so I went out and picked up some tissues, drinks and snacks. I read and slept the rest of the day.