Bienvenidos a Panama!

We’re here! We finally made it to Panama City! And what a day it has been…



Gen looking fab... notice the hammock and funky colors. We're in paradise!

 

Our flight was delayed an hour in Houston this morning thanks to a nasty thunderstorm that decided to unleash its fury right as we were preparing to leave the good ol’ U.S. of A. But not even Mother Nature could keep us away from our destination — Tocumen International Airport.



Me being "a hot mess." Notice the sweaty pits and hair... so glad I remembered to pack dry fit shirts!

The minute we stepped off the plane, we were hit with a wave of relentless 90-degree humidity… and I’ve been sweating (and trying to ingest as much liquid as possible) ever since!!  Seriously, being fat in humid weather is like being a never-ending sweat fountain. Laying in bed? I’m sweating. Walking down the street? I’m sweating. Writing this blog post? I’m sweating. The only relief is that five-minute cold shower. But the second I get out of the shower? Yup, even more sweating. (My dry skin has to acclimate soon, right?)

Panama City's towering skyline. Something tells me we're not in Albuquerque anymore...

Perspiration aside, we’re loving Panama City so far. And that’s weird, because I’m a small-town kind of guy.  When we exited the plane, we were awestruck by the sheer number of skyscrapers.  Our kind driver, Alberto, pulled over to the side of the highway and let us snap this shot of “the twisting building.”  Panama City has a population of 1.2 million, and it’s great a great place to start our adventure.



The Twisting Building... need to research and figure out what the hell this really is!





What’s the first thing Gen and I did after arriving at our hostel, Mamallena, in the Perejil district of Panama City? Why, we grabbed a cold one — of course! We’re especially enjoying Panama’s selection of local brews — Atlas, Balboa, and the aptly named Panama. Atlas, to me, tastes just like a Bud Light from back home. The Panama brand is a light lager similar to Dos Equis, if I had to compare. Balboa, which happens to be my personal favorite (and coincidentally only $1.25 at our hostel), is a darker brew that we’ve admittedly already taste-tested more than a few times. (At $1.25 each, how could be we not?)  It’s funny how back in Albuquerque we pay $2.50 for a pint during happy hour and think it’s a deal…

Brandon and Gen's first beer in Panama--a Balboa, which is named after the Spanish conquistador Vasco Nunez de Balboa.

Anyway… more to come soon… have to get out and explore the city some more! Right now it’s raining out, and I thought it would be a nice chance to update you all. Love you muchos!