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  Sunday 15th of December 2024 and my alarm goes off a couple of minutes after 4 o'clock in the morning. I have time for tea and cheese before going out to the parking lot at 6 o'clock. My Driver arrived and it took about 5 minutes to reach the airport. Coming inside the check-in and there is a long queue, not to the check-in. But I asked what the queue was for, security they informed me. Check-in was very quick, but the people in front of me took like forever. Seems like it was the first time flying for them. Documents had to be filled up and I was behind waiting.  A long line to the security
 A long line to the security
 A long line to the security
I sit down enjoying the last of my DIET drink chatting with a lady from Bahamas. She is going to Miami for holiday, or shopping. I take it easy and this turns out to be a mistake. I go to the security when the line of people is not visible anymore and I discover that the security is full when I come around the corner. I get through and now I have to line up to the US border protection. My gate close 15 minutes before departure and I am there 13 minutes before departure and I just make it onboard. My carry on, they want to me to check my luggage, the flight is full and the overhead bins are full. I take out my camera and I rush on board and nowhere to leave my luggage so I bring it on board. I find space for my computer and lens and the Stewardess inform me that they are space for one more carry on in the last row. I go back and I have a chat with the Stewardess in the back, she told me that it is the same every time and several passengers are always missing the flight. - OK, I stay here to see if the row in the back will be empty, I said She checked her phone and the window seat in the last row is empty and I take that seat. Lo and behold, when we are pulled off the jet bridge, I have 3 seats all by myself.  Leaving a rainy Bahamas
 We are ready to take off
 I have an empty row of sets
 We are taking off
 Leaving Nassau, New Providence behind
 Leaving Nassau, New Providence behind
I am getting hungry and I buy two sandwiches and some DIET drinks while waiting for my flight. departure in 90 minutes from gate D23 so there is time. I buy eSIM for Panama and Costa Rica while waiting. Before leaving for the gate, I buy a few more bottles of DIET drinks to put in my luggage, can come in handy in Panama. I am sure coke is available, but I am not so sure you can buy the real thing. So, a couple of bottles will be good to have available.  Coming in to Miami International
 We are at gate D7
 Coming off the plane in Miami
 Good morning snacks
 Coming to the gate and it is full. DARN! No aisle seats available and I had asked for aisle seats when checking-in on Bahamas. I am in group 5 and they informed us that passengers in group #9 might have to check-in their carry-on luggage. For sure, I do not want to check-in my carry on with camera and laptop. I board the flight and I end up between two gentlemen, one in my size and one in a size smaller than me. I open one of my DIET drinks and the only good thing happening is that the inform us that the flight is 2 hours and 30 minutes. Very good, I had expected 3 to 4 hours and we will arrive to Tocumen International Airport in Panama City around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Good, I will have time to go to Os Segredos Da Carne, the same restaurant I visited Panama City. They have excellent Churrascaria, something I have been looking forward to since I booked my tickets to Panama City.  Boarding American Airlines flight AA 1407
Two and a half hours, well, time passed quite quickly and it was not as bad as expected. But  imagine 12 hours in that seat, I would have gone to the lavatory to end my life. But it was a quick flight, not so quick to reach the immigration and custom. A long walk but there was not many people at the immigration. They scanned my passport and started to scream, MARINERO! She called the other Custom Officers. - MARINERO!!! They had my name since I signed of m/t Nord Supreme here in Panama. They cooled down when I told them that I was here on holiday. Suddenly it was a totally different tone, VERY WELCOME Taxi to MARINN PLACE Financial District where I will spend 5 nights before continuing to Costa Rica. MARINN PLACE Financial District is a nice place in a good location and I was staying there when I signed off m/t Nord Supreme. So, I know that I am going to like my hotel and I know that I will have a great dinner (late lunch) as I have been having churrascaria at Os Segredos Da Carne before.  Arriving to a Christmas decorated Tocumen International Airport
 Going through the custom and they scan all the luggage. There is a line of people waiting and they put their luggage to go through the X-ray machine. By then the next passenger is handing over the custom declaration to the Custom Officer. They study your declaration and you put your luggage on the X-ray and the next passenger hand over their custom declaration. Well, who cares about this? OK, when your luggage is going through the X-ray the Custom Officer is busy with the next custom declaration. So, unless it is Superman working behind the counter there is no chance in hell that they can look at  the X-ray monitor and the custom declaration at the same time.
The whole process just seems to be a way to annoy the arriving passengers  On the way to my hotel
 On the way to my hotel
 Approaching Panama City
 Christmas in Panama City
 Christmas in Panama City
I found a taxi and I was soon on my way to MARINN PLACE Financial District. We ran in to heavy traffic reaching Panama City. Last time it was protests when I was in town with closed roads. This time it is a Christmas Parade.  Roads are closed and the streets are full of people wearing Santa Claus hats. Obviously, the people are a bit backwards here in Panama. In Europe we have already realized that Christmas in not including and the invaders may feel excluded. In short, Christmas is pure racism.
 Getting a taxi might be a problem and I asked the driver if he would take me to Os Segredos Da Carne. He would wait for me while I was checking-in and we would go to the restaurant. We had to make a long way around the Christmas parade area as Os Segredos Da Carne is located on the other side of the Christmas parade. And I got out of the taxi approaching the restaurant, the traffic was at full stop and it would be faster to walk. I was worried about getting back to my hotel again as there was no taxi to be seen in the area. Never mind, now it is time to have Brazilian BBQ. And I was really hungry by now, had have nothing to eat since Miami. Well, they served something on board American Airlines flight, the size of an aspirin. 
 Churrascaria at Os Segredos Da Carne
 Churrascaria at Os Segredos Da Carne
I was full after the meal, the whipped cream did for sure nothing to help me obtain my V-shaped torso. I had asked for the chocolate cake I had seen them bringing to the tables. They told me that this was for birth days only. - I had one last time, I said I went to the “sweet” table and there were different cakes, but nothing that looked like I would enjoy it. So, I filled a plate with whipped cream and blue berries topped with chocolate sauce. They brought me a chocolate cake when I had finished my “Blue Berry Surprise” and I went to the “sweet” table to take the remaining of the whipping cream.  Sweets
 Sweets
 I have to add whipped cream
I asked for the bill and a taxi. They came back and suggested that I should walk down the road to find a taxi. The call center had told them that no taxi could come here because of the Christmas  parade. I do not really care about Christmas, but now I started to hate Christmas.
I was lucky and I found a taxi, one of them small Scooby 750 and I got in to the back. (Took longer to get in to the car than to reach my destination) and I asked him to go to the Albrook Mall. Albrook Mall had been suggested by the hotel staff when I checked-in earlier today. I need one poncho and I will look for the JBL Quantum Stream Wireless USB Wearable Wireless Streaming Microphone. With the microphone disaster on Bahamas fresh in mind arriving to Panama and I looked a microphone at the tax-free shops when I arrived to Tocumen International Airport. The second tax free shop had JBL Quantum Stream Wireless USB Wearable Wireless Streaming Microphone and it looked to be OK. JBL should guarantee some kind of quality.  Now I know that JBL have a microphone, but I decided to have a look in town. So, now I am in the back of a taxi on my way to Albrook Mall to have a look for a poncho and a microphone. I ask the driver to take me to my hotel Marinn Place - Financial District, with this traffic we would not reach Albrook Mall until midnight. We came over to the other side of the Christmas parade and the traffic turned from BUMPER TO BUMPER to light and I changed my mind again. New destination “Albrook Mall” and my Driver dropped me outside the mall and I went to look for my stuff. No poncho to be found and I was very surprised. Poncho is Spanish and no one understood me. I even translated it from English to Spanish, exactly the same spelling. I found a few pictures on internet, now they understood, but no one had any ponchos. No microphones and I went to the supermarket to buy diet drinks and cheese for breakfast in my room as I will be looking for birds before they have opened the breakfast.
I had to walk across the whole mall to get to the taxi stand. I went to Panafoto across the street to have a last look for the microphone. And I was swearing and sweating carry 2 big bags with cheese, water, ham and diet drinks. And all for nothing, Panafoto did not have any microphone so I had to walk back to the mall entrance to look for a taxi. I was surprised, it was quite easy to get a taxi, not like outside any  mall in Bangkok.
I filled the back seat with my cheese, water, ham and diet drinks before squeezing myself in to the back. It was late by the time I was back at my room at Marinn Place - Financial District Panama City.  My room
 My room
 My room
 My room
 My room
I enjoyed a bit of the diet drinks before going to bed with my alarm set to go off at 4 o'clock tomorrow morning. My Guide will come to pick me up at 6 o'clock for bird watching. So, I will have some time for tea and cheese tomorrow morning before going down to the reception. Click HERE to find out if we see any birds.
    
  You are visitor no.
To www.aladdin.st since December 2005
Visitors from different countries since 26th of September 2011
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