The 1st trip required us to drive to Charlotte,
NC, with a layover in Atlanta. Seems crazy
I know, but you aren’t always gonna find flight deals out of the city that you
live, so I am A-ok with booking out of a city that I can easily travel to. The good part about this trip is that on the
way back it had a layover in Atlanta so we could hop off (there is a website
called www.skiplagged.com that will help you find flights where you layover
somewhere that you want to hop off at. Oddly sometimes these “hop off”
flights are cheaper than booking directly to the city you want to go to.)
Anyway, when we were on the flights completing the customs
form there was a question that asked, “Are you a Panamanian citizen?” We didn’t know how to answer that, we now
travel with a US passport, don’t have any Panamanian ID, & weren’t sure if
we still hold dual citizenship. The
customs officer saw that I didn’t answer that question and since my US passport
says I was born in Panama, without me even asking, she said, “Tu eres Panameña! (You are Panamanian)” The smile on my face was priceless and with
that my day was made! So good to know
that my country loves me as much as I love it!
Upon leaving the airport, our dad was outside waiting with a
maxi (shuttle) to take us to Colón,
a bucket of KFC (or “Kentucky” as it’s called by the locals), and plenty
liquor. Although my dad did not come down to Colón with us, he did come down twice during our trip and invited
us to join him for drinks at his favorite bar.
You can see where I get my booze-ology from.
There was a lot of birthdays that
weekend (I think 4 or 5 family members).
My cousin Indi was celebrating at a club with friends and Paco and I stopped
by and bought a bottle of rum, this is the first time in my life that I have
ever bought a bottle in the club (I’m cheap, I like to hoard my $$$ and spend
it on trips). My very first nightclub bottle cost $25 USD, oh how I love
partying in 3rd World Countries, reminds me of partyin on The Ave in
Trinidad. Funny thing is that everyone
drinks beer over there, so Paco and I had to tackle the bottle alone and we
were feeling pretty nice before we even walked in the place. Needless to say that when we left, we were
tore up from the floor up.
If you don't have an alcohol bottle piñata at your party, you AINT poppin! |
Got to see my grandma who was in
the hospital because of injuries sustained in a fall. It amazes me that when she sees me she says,
“Iris??” (pronounced Edés)” with
shock. *Spoiler Alert* my first name is
not Angela and my last name is not Panama lmfao. Can’t just be throwing my government name
around with all the silliness I post. Anyway, back to grandma… She has so many
grandkids and great grandkids, can’t believe she remembers my face, especially
when I don’t come home often. *side
note* on my dad’s side my nickname is Girly, on my mom’s side my nickname is
Iris. Oh how I adore the sound of my name and nickname said in Spanish. *side
note* another moment that made my day was finding my nickname on a coke can.
Excuse my outfit, you have to put on sleeved shirts and pants to enter the hospital |
Colón is
really lacking a decent public beach, but Paco and I made our way to this tiny
beach in a gated community that we stumbled upon when we went home in 2013. When
I say tiny, I mean TINY. Being on this beach reminds me of a beloved childhood
book called the Little Prince about a boy who lived on a tiny planet of his
own. We had a tiny beach of our own. If
you are ever in Colón and wanna
check it out, it’s right next to the Hotel Washington. Although as much as I love my city I really wouldn’t
recommend going there unless that’s where you are from, you have peeps there, are
on a guided tour, or are there to partake in shopping at the Colón Free Trade Zone: the largest
free zone in the Americas and the second largest in the world.
Underwater yoga? |
It was just a whirlwind time of seeing as many family
members as possible & just chillaxing on the block where we use to live, and
where a few of our cousins now reside. I’ve had people ask in the past to come
to Panama with me and I say to them, “You wouldn’t like where I am going.” BUT I
had the frekkin time of my life. It’s no
wonder Panama is listed as one of the happiest countries on earth. They may not be rich with money, but they are
rich with life. Everyone and I do mean
EVERYONE has a crazy sick sound system in their place and they spend their free
time with friends and family congregating in random places, enjoying cheap
cervezas (beers), jammin, and enjoying
life.
For the majority of my life I was
the youngest, I like to still think of myself as the youngest. On our last trip, I met my little brother
Aymar & he stopped by to see us this trip.
I had a blast and can’t wait to see
you in 2016 Panama!!! Chow!
Everybody looks so happy in these pictures.
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