Tacking Frontiersman

Yesterday was another restful day in Panama until the PanaGals asserted themselves for an afternoon run to the Costa Rican frontier.  Earlier in the day the wife and I took a drive into the center of David.  My wife’s elderly father has always played the weekly lottery but since his health declined he’s been unable to make the trek into town to get his beloved tickets.  Usually one of his kids will try to purchase his tickets for him and yesterday was our turn.

Downtown David - Lottery Vendors in Shade on Right

I’m not exactly sure how the lottery system works, my wife has tried to explain it to me with limited success.  All around the sidewalks of central David there are vendors selling lottery tickets for minimal prices.  My father in law has some favorite numbers so we had to visit a number of booths until we found someone with the right numbers; I still don’t understand it.

My Wife Finding the Right Numbers

The trip into town was interesting to show how much David has changed (along with the rest of Panama).  Traffic is much heavier and near the center of town most of the traffic lights have been removed.  When I commented that they could use a light at an intersection we’d been stuck at for a while, my wife said there used to be one.  No one paid any attention to the light so they removed it and there were fewer accidents.  It still made for some interesting and eyes closed (for me as a passenger) decisions.

Traffic in Central David

After returning home to recover some of my shattered calm my wife reported that we were going to take the short trip to the Costa Rican border in the afternoon.  I hadn’t been up there in over thirty years so I thought it would be interesting.  My wife also said we would be accompanied by her sister and two of her sister’s friends.  I thought this was weird and asked why they wanted to come.  My wife reluctantly revealed that there were some great shopping opportunities in the border area (warning claxons started pealing in my head at that moment).

Coordinating the activities of four Panamanian ladies is not a task to be taken on lightly.  We went to pick up one of the PanaGals only to find the road blocked by construction.  After several attempts to find a way around the block my sister in law grabbed my hat and told us to wait while she walked in.  The only problem is that she left us parked right in the intersection where people were trying to get around the detour. 

This was another failure in US-Panama relations based on the number of dirty looks this dumb gringo got by cars trying to maneuver around us. The gals eventually arrived and we set off in search of the final member of our traveling party only to hear a desperate shriek from my sister in law.  She had forgotten her cell phone which was cause for a minor emotional breakdown until we agreed to return across town to police it up.  Apparently there are some very important personal calls (mysterious pilots?) that she didn’t want to miss.

We then made our way once again back across town and met up with the final member who’s car we were taking.  We parked at one side of a parking lot and she was at the other.  After five minutes of waiting, a linkup was arranged and we were off to the border.  I was surprised as it was only a thirty-five minute drive from David, I thought it was further.

Costa Rican Side of One of the Border Malls

The border itself was very interesting.  A series of duty free malls that have grown up on either side of the entry point and these were surrounded by what could only be described as shanty towns of small vendors, bars, and houses.  I don’t think the Panamanians are that worried about Costa Ricans sneaking into their country and vice versa.  You go into a mall on the Panamanian side and can exit directly into Costa Rica.  Instead of greeters there were solders on each of the doors.  There are two roads paralleling each other along the border with numerous un-policed crossing spots along the way.  You can literally dodge between countries if the traffic is too bad in one. 

The Border - Car on Right is In Costa Rica While Picture Was Taken in Panama

The PanaGals immediately launched into shopping mode while I took in the sights.  We were so traversing a seemingly endless maze of shops that wound through and around the malls and was never really sure what side of the border we were on.  This endless warren of booths reminded nothing more than an Arab souk where vendors ply many of the same things to a constantly passing, over heated crowd. 

Inside the Souk

Overall it was pretty tacky.  Cleanliness was not an important aspect for the owners and there were some fairly ominous looking flows of liquid making their way down the street at times.  Each hallway we walked through also had beggars, women in native garb, holding out cups, usually with a baby accompanying them.  The hopeless look in most of their eyes was semi-rending and allowed a brief prayer of thanks for my own place of birth. 

Panamanian Side of Border

I had steeled my soul for the inevitable shopping time the PanaGals would require but had hoped there would be some more interesting sights to take in. We wandered around for a few hours with my wife sampling more than a couple of the food vendors.  At one time I was carrying a half finished coconut with a straw in it so she could consume a freshly bought and rapidly melting ice cream cone.

My Wife With Her Costa Rican Coconut

And Then Her Ice Cream Cone

We ended up walking into a bar that was also a children’s swimming pool resort that had a huge metal scorpion on the roof; that was kind of cool.  The day wasn’t a total loss shopping wise as all purchases in this border area are tax free and there were several places that had top quality stuff for reasonable prices.  This will come in handy when we have to stock up our future house hopefully next year.  There were even top notch selections of large LED TVs that I already have earmarked for the home theater.  The wife was more circumspect but did latch onto a certain refrigerator.  I had to throw cold water on her purchase plans by reminding her we had to get the house built first.

The Cool Metal Scorpion (Okay it might be an attempt at lobster but a scorpion sounds so much better)

My Wife, Assisted by the PanaGals, Selects Our Future Fridge

I was eventually able to extricate the PanaGals from their shopping mecca and we started back to David.  The PanaGals decided to try another route back which was fine since I would get to see more of the countryside.  The thirty-five minute trip evolved to an hour and half with their short cut but they are an entertaining bunch.

The Main Entry Point to Costa Rica

Costa Rican Side of Border

We passed through a number of small Panamanian villages and the vast sugar cane fields owned by the Carta Vieja rum company.  It was a side of Panama I don’t get to see very often but a reminder of a completely different life style.  We eventually reached David and went through the process of divesting ourselves of the PanaGals who had been so much fun to hang out with, even if we were engaged in the soul searing process that is shopping.