We are in Austin now for my younger daughter’s graduation, and then we are headed to CA to meet my older daughter’s new son. The next couple weeks will be more about these experiences, and not so much about Panama except for a few left over things I never got around to posting.

A couple pics of the food court in the Panama City bus terminal:

The food court had all kinds of fast food options

McDonald’s was very popular with a constant long line.

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Yesterday we had breakfast in a hotel in Panama City, and today we had breakfast in a hotel in Austin. It’s an interesting contrast.
Panama – lots of fresh fruit (melon, papaya, pineapple, watermelon), yogurt, scrambled eggs, a couple meat products (ham, stewed hot dog/sausage slices), cheese, pancakes, toast, coffee, tea, fruit juice, water
Austin – hard boiled eggs (very hard), scrambled eggs that were a bit odd, very sweet muffins that tasted like chocolate brownies, low fat yogurt, white toast, plain white bagels, waffles, cereals, coffee or tea

A couple pics of Panama City:

the view of Panama City from our hotel window

We could see lots and lots of houses outside of Panama City

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US people seem so much bigger, so much taller, but also heavier. The Panama breakfast seemed better balanced than the US breakfast which was so sugar and white carb heavy. I know not all breakfasts are like this in the US, but it sure made for an interesting comparison. We’re also not used to people who smoke so it’s been odd to smell smoke in many places.

But overall, the trip so far has gone very smoothly. We took the bus from David to Panama City. It was a bit chillier than usual even with a sweater but it is a comfortable trip, and now that we are getting more used to the trip it didn’t seem especially long or tedious. I did notice that central Panama still looks quite dry and brown though. Send in the rains!!

We stayed at the Hotel Costa Inn in Panama City – Avenida Peru and 39th St. It had mixed reviews but we thought it was fine. It’s older and showing it’s age, but it was very clean and comfortable, the staff was very pleasant, and it was certainly nice enough for a decent place to sleep. At $66 with free internet, breakfast included, and a ride to the airport included (which would have been around $30 in a cab), we thought it was an excellent value. We would definitely stay there again.

We had a layover in Houston. What is it with the 10 mile hike from the international flights to the domestic flights?? It’s that way in Miami too. Thank goodness we had a 1 1/2 hr layover because we needed every bit of it. We were the last to board our flight to Austin, but we made it and all was well. The TSA inspected one of our bags though, which caused enough delay it didn’t make it on the flight so we didn’t get it until this morning. United gave us a care package of toiletries and had the bag delivered to the hotel, so they did what they could to make it easier. We know to have a couple days of necessities in the carry on’s, so we’re fine.

We’re at the Quality Inn in Austin (6911 N Interstate Hwy 35 78752). It’s also a less expensive hotel, older and showing its age, but it’s perfectly comfortable, clean, and adequate for our needs so we’re happy here.

Tomorrow is graduation and related festivities, so there will be news and photos! It’s going to be an exciting weekend and a great couple weeks in the US.