Today we woke up in Bonaire, said goodbye to Bob from the dive shop, and hopped aboard our tiny, again sold-out flight to Curacao. We had a 9th passenger today, and he got to sit next to the pilot in the copilot’s seat. Just don’t touch anything dude. From Curacao, we boarded a jet for Panama City.
Awaiting for us at the airport was Eddie, the owner of a shuttle/tour company. I had prearranged to have a driver meet us at the airport, take us to the canal, and then drop us at our hotel. When I was emailing Eddie from the States, he warned me that it was expensive ($90) and we could probably get an Uber to do it cheaper. Not wanting to deal with the hassle of our baggage and communication once we got to Panama, I just went ahead and booked it.
Since we have been to Panama City before we know about the trials and tribulations that are Panama City. The culture shock is real, and English is nonexistent. No problem if you’ve been speaking Spanish on vacation, but in Bonaire they spoke English and Dutch. We would be out of practice. And traffic, boy, you’ve not seen traffic before til you’ve driven through Panama City!
Eddie was the most wonderful tour guide who has lived an amazing life. Not only did he drive us to the canal, but he came inside, took us around the 6 story visitor center like a pro, and explained the locks and history as we watched 5 boats pass through. He waited while we entered the museum and watched the little movie. All of this was his idea, and so much more than an Uber would have provided to us.
From there, he drove us through the city where we got to learn a little about his extraordinary life. Born in Panama, engineering degree in Spain, by chance got a job interview with the tv show Survivor right as he was graduating. He spent 13 years traveling the globe with the show designing challenges and testing them before the contestants. After that, he met and married a Dutch woman, and together they live in Panama with their transportation company and her yoga studio.
