The Beginning
So, my journey started back in June of 2021 while I was working a seasonal job in Alaska. I really had no idea where I wanted to go. There were so many fantastic options on Workaway and it just seemed like I could not make a decision. I also had never truly traveled completely on my own before, so that was also a daunting prospect for me, but it was a challenge I was excited for. Eventually I settled on the Lost and Found Hostel in the Chriqui Province of Panama. This place had everything I was searching for. It has great hiking trails nearby, wonderful reviews, beautiful views everywhere you look, and a great social atmosphere. So, after some back and forth with the owner of the hostel, I decided to just go for it. Yet there was one issue, I spoke practically no Spanish, and since Panama is, of course, a largely Spanish speaking country, I knew this might be a problem.
Onset of Confusion
In order to try and learn as much Spanish as best I could, I downloaded the DuoLingo app on my phone to see if this could help. After a month or two of using the app, I thought I was in pretty good shape. Boy oh boy, was I wrong. I hopped on the plane at Los Angeles International Airport at 12:20 a.m with just my daypack and my larger backpack. Already, everyone was speaking fluent Spanish all around me and I did not fully understand what was happening. However, I knew I was on the correct plane and I knew where I was going...kind of. Once I got off of the plane, I headed straight to the exit to catch an Uber to the Albrook bus station in Panama City.
As I entered the exit area, all of the taxi drivers swarmed me and began speaking Spanish. I told them as best I could that my Spanish was very poor and that I could not understand them. I knew from doing some research that an Uber to the bus station from Tocumen Airport should cost about 15-17 dollars. The taxi drivers were trying to charge me 30 dollars, so I politely told them I was going to get an Uber instead. Once I got in my Uber, my driver Ernesto was very kind and told me how to get the correct bus. I knew that I needed to get to David, Panama and that it was going to be an 8 hour long ride. I was also wearing long pants, warm socks, and a puffy jacket, so needless to say I was HOT and definitely looked like a fool.
The Bus Station
As I navigated Albrook bus station, the sounds of the cars and the buses was quite daunting as I was trying to find the bus to David. After five minutes of searching I found the correct teller for the bus to David. I had memorized one full sentence in Spanish so I could get a bus ticket to David. I told the lady selling the tickets, “necesito un boleto a David, por favor.” That just means, “I need a ticket to David, please.” She said something back to me and I could not understand her, nor could I hear her, especially considering she was wearing a mask and because of all of the surrounding noise. Eventually after some struggling she printed me out a ticket. I honestly was not super sure what ticket I had just bought, but I knew I had bought something.
Yet, once I looked at my ticket I knew something was wrong. The ticket said the bus I was taking was at 11 p.m and it was 11 a.m. I thought about sticking around Panama City, but I didn’t like the idea of carrying around everything to my name around a new city with no place to stay. So, I promptly got back in line and turned around to the person behind me and asked if they spoke English. She was a local Panamanian who was very nice, but unfortunately, did not speak English. So, I whipped out google translate and typed in what I needed, which was an earlier bus ticket. She understood me, so she kindly walked up to the teller and told her what I wanted and after some more talking, I got the correct ticket.
As I sat in the waiting area, I noticed people were using these metro cards to walk through the turnstiles, but I had no idea where to get one. So, I asked a worker where I could get one of those cards and she said something very quickly to me in Spanish. Of course, I had no idea what she said. She did, however, gesture to where I was supposed to go. Eventually I found the machine, but all of the instructions were in Spanish, so I had absolutely no clue what to do. As I was standing at the machine for a few minutes typing in the instructions to google translate, a worker stopped by and helped me. I finally got a metro card and then got on the bus.
Arrival
It was pretty much smooth sailing after that. I just rode the eight hours on the bus and watched some shows. Be prepared with your passport though because we went through two police inspections and they did check my passport. Once I got into David, I walked to the Hotel Madrid, which was only a three minute walk away, and checked in. The next morning I walked back to the bus station and eventually found the Changuinola bus, which took me to the Lost and Found Hostel. The bus was packed to the max, so they sat me down right in front of the door. I was a bit uncomfortable, but it made sense because I was the first one to get off. Once they dropped me off, I hiked fifteen minutes up the hill to the hostel and was immediately greeted by smiling faces, coffee, and some super wonderful people.
