Santiago yet again

Rode with Mike to Santiago with Gloris and Morris. Morris had to check with ANAM about some land he was considering buying, wanting to ensure that that the land was not situated within the bounds of a national park and needed to get a replacement chain for his bicycle. I needed to replace the SIM card for my phone to get my old number back. Mike and Morris had omelettes, something not available in Santa Fe. I had the liver and onions again while Gloris had steak and onion. After breakfast we headed our separate ways. I walked to Avenida Central and located the Movistar (cell carrier) office, which had moved since the last time I was there.

I don't understand why a cell phone store needs an armed guard, but he wanded me with a metal detector and opened the door for me. A few minutes later I was chatting with a lovely Panamanian girl, she had never ventured far beyond Santiago. I told her I was heading for Bocas. We chatted for twenty minutes, she indicated a desire to go with me for a few days. I got my replacement SIM for free after showing my passport. I took her phone number and walked back to the restaurant, saw Morris talking with the ANAM representative, walked over to the DOIT, a Panamanian chain for home improvement with a small sporting goods section, bought some fishing supplies, checked out the tents. Walked over to Super Carne, a supermarket and stocked up on hot sauce, something Santa Fe sorely needs.

Took a bus back to Santa Fe. Thirty three passengers on a bus with seats that accommodate 28 and not in comfort. Forty school kids stood by the side of the road twenty minutes into the trip. Eighteen were jammed into the bus for a half hour and got off as one somewhere between San Juan and Santa Fe.

The day was heating up but I walked up toward Alto Piedre and then down to the river and back into town. When I returned to Tierra Libre the usual suspects were playing cards. Mike drove me to his house, I gathered most of my stuff, save a pair of socks that I hope to retrieve today. A retired couple from Vermont touring Panama, looking for a small plot of land for a small retirement house. I described Arturo's land in Alto Piedre and introduced them to Ed, the builder and Janet, the real estate agent when they showed up for dinner.

Cards, chatting, another quiet evening.