El Diablo Rojo

Panamá currently has two types of buses that can be used in the city.  One is the new, air-conditioned, slightly more expensive (though probably safer) metrobus, that looks pretty much like a lot of inner-city buses in the States.  It is comfortable with your own defined seat and lots of standing space.  The other is a large redecorated school bus that has been painted with murals on the outside and decked with feather boas and streamers on the inside.  The only air flow comes from lowered windows, the seats that normally sit two school children now sit three adults, and people cram in the aisle.  But despite the discomfort, El Diablo Rojo, as this type of bus is called, has a lot of character – it is an awesome and visible part of Panamánian culture.  It is also being phased out so that the new and safer metrobuses can lead the way to a more modern Panamánian infrastructure.  As a side note, Panamá is also working on installing their own metro system, which is causing a lot of construction and a lot of traffic, but in the end will probably make Panamá City a lot more easily traveled.  

This past weekend we had to go on an adventure in the big city, Panamá (here they just say Panamá when they are talking about the capital) to help us learn how to use the public transportation system as well as learning where important locations in the city are, such as the hospitals, clinics and hotel where we will normally stay as volunteers.  My group finished around 11am, and we were allowed to wander around as long as we returned to our community by 6pm, so we decided to go to Casco Viejo, or the old part of the capital.  This part of town is beautiful, with crumbling ruins and old cathedrals next to restored colonial buildings that house new and fashionable stores, restaurants and cafés.  It is also found on a small peninsula that juts into the bay and offers an awesome view of the city, the ocean, and all the boats waiting to enter the canal.  (I tried to get a good picture that captures Panama city – apparent modernity with high-rise buildings and cool commodities, but underdeveloped infrastructure and poorly maintained buildings.  Panama City is definitely growing and developing everyday (a new metro and a huge project to widen the canal), but it still has a while to go.)  I greatly enjoyed Casco Viejo.  The only thing was that there were a bunch of tourists.  While I recognize that touristy places will have lots of tourists, it was really weird to be back in that environment after a week of living in the country with a latrine and bucket shower.  I already feel like I live here and belong here.

To get to Casco Viejo, we had an interesting encounter with a cab driver.  We were advised to take a cab but not pay more than $5 for four people.  In Panamá, the cabs do not have meters; instead you have to agree on an amount before you agree to take the cab.  Well, the first cab that we hailed asked for $8, but when we said no, he lowered his price to $5, so we agreed.  But after we got into the cab, the driver began ranting to us about how gringos always think they need to go with the cheapest price, but the taxi drivers that offer the cheapest price will rob you and kill you.  Someone in my group argued with him about how we were told by another taxi driver (her host father), our Peace Corps contact, and a policeman not to accept more than $5, to which he responded that a taxi driver who can survive by undercharging is probably trafficking drugs, and policeman don’t know anything about being a taxi driver.  Of course, he was lying.  $5 is considered standard, if not generous, by pretty much everyone I have told this story to, but it was really fun to listen to him rant and scold us in Spanish, and then turn around at the end and offer to give us a ride back to the terminal when we were done in Casco Viejo.