12 Hours in Panama City

I´m obviously a bit behind in the posting now, but I´m recording what I can in my trusty notebook for future posts. Because I was bored during my layover in Panama City I wrote up a brief tour guide to Panama according to the various attractions inside the airport which I never left.

Entering Panama, the first thing one notices is the climate''not sticky jungle air as you might have expected but a cool 60 degrees Farenheit with a light breeze coming from the ceiling vent. There were no visible flora and the only visible fauna were the wall advertising, exhibiting trendy new mobile devices and designer clothing.
The atmosphere was suffussed with stirring Muzak puped in from hidden loudspeakers. The Panamanian sound is apparently geared towards instrumental renitions of popular American music. Listen carefully and you may dicern the strains of ´Hotel California´as performed by soft classical guitar and synthesizer. Another popular Panamanian standard is ´Time after Time´which complimented the selection of middle school dance-themed melodies blaring through the cavernous seating areas and shopping venues.
In addition to its music and wildlife, Panam aoffers the traveller a slew of fine-dining options including Subway and Dunkin´Donuts. Max and I decided to be adventurous and visited Mapisa, a local restaraunt where we sampled native fare such as papa´s fritas--or what you gringos know as french fries. Expect big surprises when you dip into the ketchup, which is sweeter than any that you´ve had in the USA. New expereinces like these can be intimidating, but after all, that is why we travel: to grow. As is my custom in visiting a foreign land, I sampled the local alcohol, in this case "cerveza" a bubbling amber substance that tastes not unlike a miller highlife. The fine Panamanian lager came in a golden can and offered a heady dose of carbonation. For three dollars a can, it was a far better bargain than the eight dollar glasses available at Newark.
As it was already close to midnight and Max and I wanted sleep before the 9:30 flight the next day, we searched to see if Panama had any sleeping arrangements. We found a set of padded benches near gate 29 and paid excellent rates. Sleep proved challenging with the blaring Muzack and the AC coming through the overhead vents. Eventually, I drifted off to awake refreshed three hours later to the chorus of airport loudspeakers and screaming children. I had a bracing Panamanian breakfast of cream filled donoughts from a local vender before bidding farewell. Though I had only seen the country for a short time, I felt as though I had made a meaningful connection to the land and that a part of my heart would forever dwell within the Continental terminal at Tocumen International.