I finished the last two days of my blog for San Blas .  
It's almost 10am. Time to get packed and head out to El Valle.  
After my recent dorm experience, I went ahead and booked four nights in a 6-person dorm!  
Anxious to see how that works out!  

Last thoughts on Panama City.  
Worst things: traffic; not as bad as some places, but worse than most. Honking; half the drivers have no patience at all, leaning on the horn at the slightest occasion; then there are the taxi drivers honking to let you know they are available: if I need you, I'll flag you down; otherwise leave me the hell alone!  
Best things: fairly modern and clean. The metro is great; they just need to keep expanding it.  

Overall: many have remarked that Panama City is much like Miami; the same thought crossed my mind. But once you've seen the sights, I don't think there's that much to do; I like Oaxaca, Mexico much more than Panama City, Panama.  
 
Left my room at 11am. Got on a bus at noon. Arrived in El Valle at 2pm. The van driver made a lot of stops; it should have been a shorter ride . The 6-person dorm turned out to be a 12-person dorm, which is okay by me. See the pics: this place is fairly new and they're still growing. Four people in the dorm so far.  

The temperature is perfect: in the mid 70s. It's the reason I wanted to come here in the first place. The surrounding mountains and valleys are picturesque, but I couldn't get any shots from the van.  

The town is only about 2 mi by 1 mi. I went out to get a bite and stopped in an Italian restaurant. I didn't want to spend $12 on an entree, so I got a 9" pepperoni pizza for $10, and had a $3 beer while waiting. Went a little further down to the local market, and I was surprised: it's about a medium sized store (most I've seen lately have been rather small). I picked up some rum and coke.  

Returned and started talking to Darrell, one of my roommates. We went and sat out on the patio and had a couple rum and cokes. Darrell is a cook from Alberta, Canada and is working at some kind of business on an island in Gatún Lake; he works two weeks, then off one week. His gig is nearly up, so he's trying to decide on the next one.  

Started getting chilly, so I went inside, got ready for sleep, and read for a while.