Contadora to Sona

Yesterday the electricity was out on Contradora from 8:00 until about 3:00. Mark and I played rummy to while away the time until our flight.

We got the the aiport at 4:30 for our 5:30 flight. Sometimes they leave late, other times they leave early. At 5:20 the inbound flight arrived, right on time, by 5:25 the 10 passengers aboard had disembarked and gathered their luggage. We had presented our checked luggage, which was duly weighed as were we and our carry on luggage.

By 6:00 we were at Albrook airport and took a taxi to the mall, in pursuit of fins, masks and a spear gun. The speedo store had masks but no spear guns. We found a store that sold both. The guns ranged in price from $75 to $600. We bought a middle of the line model with two bands, this would be good for fish in the hundreds of pounds. Unfortunately it was also four feet long, two big to fit in my pack so it protrudes out each end, occassionally into the testicles of someone who chose to stand too near to my obvlious self.

We decided to go to Santiago directly rather than spend a night in the hotel in Panama. The bus left at 8. The fare was $7.50/person the bus spacious and comfortable although it was over airconditioned. We arrived in Santiago about 11:30. Our hotel of choice was full, we ended up staying at the Chino hotel across from La Tucanes restaurant. The room was big but nasty. It had air and two double beds, one that looked like it could collapse at any minute. After a small dinner we went to sleep.

I awoke at 7:00 and decided we really needed to see a doctor. Mark asked me where the masks and snorkels were. Shit. I changed my routine. I left them on the bus.
We headed off to the bus station and showing our reciept from the day before attempted to find the office for the bus company. We were quickly directed to the proper place. We made inquiry and the woman went to the back room where the luggage and shipments were and came back empty handed. You ship stuff from city to city via bus down here. It works amazingly well. It is much faster and much cheapr than UPS or Fedex. A 5 pound package might be shipped for 2 bucks and arrive in three hours. I once had a 50 pound suitcase delivered from Bocas to Santiago, a six hour drive for $8.50.

In any event, I knew it was a lost cause. The woman made a few calls and told us that the bag was still on the bus and that the bus would be here at 8:30. We didn´t know if the bus was coming, or was parked somewhere and the package would be delivered. I went next door and asked for fried eggs and bread. They didn´t server bread, I was directed to the bakery three doors down. Returning with my loaf of french bread I ordered two fried eggs and a coffee, which came to $1.15 and returned to the bus terminal where Mark had our lost gear. He had stowed it in his luggage aware of the fact that I need adult supervision.

A taxi to Clinica Americano´s cost $1.40 and we were dropped in front of the place at 8:40. The driver declared that it opened at 9:00. We sat on the steps and some woman came up who told us that the place opened at 9:00. She rapidly decided that she was going to take care of us. When the place opened we were told that there were no doctors in house and were directed to go to Clinica San Juan were the same doctors were posted on the wall. We put our names on the waiting list and paid $6 for the two of us. Within 15 minutes we went together into the doctors office. She listened with a stethoscope and heard of our symptoms and sent us off with an order to get chest xrays. A short taxi ride later I handed the prescriptions to the receptionist and within 10 minutes had my xray taken. Mark returned from McDonalds, got his xray we paid our $40 for both and took a taxi back to the clinic.

Returning with the Xrays, we waited for another 10 minutes, the doctor looked at mine, declared that I had pneumonia, gave me a prescription for some strong antibiotics and expectorants, and gave Mark a prescription for a different antibiotic and a different expectorant. We were told not to go to Sante Fe, where it is cold (it drops to 60 degrees at night) so we decided to head out to Sona on our way to Santa Catalina.

My prescriptions and Mark´s expectorant prescription were fill in five minutes, they didn´t have his antibiotic.

We went to a second pharmacy. They had Mark´s drug but only in the 500mg dose. He convinced the pharmacist to sell him 50% more pills and figured he would give himself a dose and half and then explained to me why that could only be done with some drugs.

The total cost of the drugs was about $100.

We caught a bus to Sona where I sit, typing this blog waiting for the 4 oclock bus to take us to Santa Catalina.