02/16/23 - ПАНАМАГА ӨЧЕН!

The adventure begins!

But from the beginning... The idea of ​​traveling alone for a few weeks came to me last summer. After a few days alone in Mallorca, I got a taste for it - and this time it should go further than the Spanish (and almost German) island. The original plan that came to mind was a trip to Vietnam in October/November. But plans change as we know. Maybe this is my personal biggest learning in recent years and - without wanting to reveal anything - 'plans change' could also become the motto of this trip.

The planned travel period was quickly moved to February/March and somehow Vietnam turned into Panama. A few weeks ago, I spontaneously booked the flight because it just felt right. With a click on the "Book Now" button, I suddenly wasn't so sure anymore if it was the right thing to do. 3.5 weeks alone in a country that I hardly knew anything about? I hardly know anyone who has traveled to this country? Travel blogs and reviews about this corner of the earth are rather scarce? "At least you have some knowledge of the language," I comforted myself over the initial doubts. But I quickly realized that not much of my (already limited) school Spanish remained and the vocabulary urgently needed to be refreshed with Babbel. Because even if you don't read much online about Panama and tourism on site - one thing the reviewers agreed on: English doesn't get you very far in this country. Spanish and communication with hands and feet are required.

The weeks between the decision for Panama and the departure flew by. Those who know me will not be surprised that I did some reading in advance, but the specific travel preparations were limited. Fortunately, I have wonderful people in my life who apparently have dealt with my trip at least as much as I have. I received a travel guide as a Christmas present and useful gadgets for my birthday, which complemented the already optimal backpacking equipment that I was allowed to borrow again from my experienced globetrotter friend Jule for this trip.

So, nothing could go wrong! However, I still surprised my friends by having my backpack packed and ready to go by 10 p.m. the evening before the departure. After all, there were still 7.5 hours until I had to leave... So this time I didn't leave the last-minute packing to chance - maybe a sign of growing nervousness? Or is everything really different at 30? So, on Thursday morning at 05:45 a.m. (with the usual few minutes delay - apparently not everything changes), I started off towards Munich. The excitement was too great to have a cozy coffee at home with my airport taxi driver Anna in Erding, so we continued on to the airport. A short farewell in the kiss-and-fly area and there I was alone. And more or less ready for the adventure in Panama.

The check-in went smoothly and with a half-hour delay, we headed to Madrid. The already short transfer time, the delay of the first flight, the distance between arrival and departure gates in Madrid, and the fact that German passports apparently cannot be registered in the Spanish electronic systems, made the layover exciting and made me sweat. Literally, because it took a good 30 minutes to walk from gate to gate. Once there, I went straight to the plane and then immediately took off. Next to me was a young Panamanian woman, Katy, and an older lady from Colombia, Teresa. Despite me making it clear to them right from the start that my Spanish is terrible, it didn't stop them from speaking to me (almost non-stop and) at breathtaking speed in their native language for the next few hours. I nodded, smiled, roughly understood most of what they were talking about, could somewhat follow what they were trying to explain to me, and answered in fragments. And at the latest when the two of them exchanged their life stories and tears flowed, I realized for the first time that the culture that awaited me is different from ours. Katy and I exchanged numbers, she made sure I got safely into an Uber after landing, offered her help whenever I would need it during the next few weeks, and we made plans to meet up in Panama City for the next few days. After the ten hour flight, I took an Uber to the hostel - cheap, convenient, and uncomplicated. Once there, I longed for a shower and around 10 p.m. local time (with still 28 degrees), I went out again. Just around the corner, I stumbled upon a nice bar with a wide selection of Panamanian craft beers on tap and I tried the recommendations of the friendly owner in small glasses in the almost empty place at this time, which he obviously enjoyed introducing me to the results of Panamanian brewing art.

So, the start of my trip in Panama couldn't have gone better - everything went smoothly and the helpfulness and friendliness of the Panamanians impressed me. So after more than 26 hours on my feet, I could finally go to sleep and look forward to the next few weeks...