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Date: 09 Feb 2008 22:50:00
Title: Sights and Stories of Panama - Disco Party Bus
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08:54.785N 79:31.288W

The last Friday night we were in Panama (2/8), the agent (MatchShip) World
ARC used to make the arrangements for our canal passage (including the
rented lines that seemed to be so short in supply), assist with customs
and immigration and provide taxi and tour services, put on a party for all
World ARC participants to thank us for our business. The party started at
a nightclub called Bamboo just down the causeway from Flamenco Island
where drinks and appetizers were served while MatchShip handed out plaques
to everyone commemorating our successful trip through the canal. All of
this was very pleasant and we had a chance to meet and chat with rally
boaters that we hadn't met before.

We had been told that the second part of the evening would involve buses
that would take us to downtown Panama City so that we could experience the
nightlife there. Ok. We aren't big nightclub people, but we hadn't had a
chance to see downtown Panama City, and were looking forward to
experiencing the city and the local nightclubs. The buses showed up at
about 10:45pm and we all filed out of the nightclub to board the buses.
We soon realized that these were not your ordinary tour buses. First of
all, they looked like school buses - the old fashioned variety. However,
they weren't painted yellow. Instead they were painted in a variety of
colors in the form of flowers and vines and animals. Quite nice. It
wasn't just the outside that was different than expected, the inside was
not like any school bus we had ever seen before either. The seats were
not set in rows facing forward - instead one long bench seat was situated
on each side of the bus so we sat facing each other. Also, the windows
were framed nicely with varnished wood and they were open air with no
glass. We sat, glanced around, and were surprised to see a complete bar
and sound system set up in the back of the bus. Hmmmm, definitely not
your ordinary tour bus.

The buses started moving and our 'party host' picked up a microphone in
the back of the bus and informed us that we would not be sitting for long.
We were to partake in the free drinks from the bar and dance while the
bus moved along. She pointed to the ceiling where there were thin nylon
ropes draped cross-wise on the ceiling for hand holds. There were also
cup holders above our heads on the bus walls and a railing to hang onto
along the ceiling on the side of the bus. After that short introduction,
the music started blaring (US and British 60's, 70's and 80's) and the
drinks started flowing from the bar forward. At first everyone blinked at
each other from across the bus and looked a little bewildered. Then some
of the less inhibited in the crowd (the younger boaters) followed
instructions and started dancing. Next, a few crazy older Polish boaters
joined the mix. After a bit, even the entire average age 70 crew of the
British Andante stood up and started swaying. What could we do but grab a
rum and coke, stand up and join the fray?

After an undetermined amount of time, the buses stopped and everyone filed
out onto a promenade that skirted the shore just outside of Panama City.
There, traditional Panamanian musicians and dancers performed for us for
45 minutes or so. Sorry, no pictures. I didn't want to have to worry
about the camera knowing we would be going to nightclubs. Speaking of
which, after the traditional musicians and dancers finished, we all filed
back on the bus and headed towards downtown Panama City. Now we were
really revved up. There were three buses, and when we passed one of the
other buses, a shower of rum and cokes and rum punches came in through the
open air windows. Oh man, shades of food fights from our high school
days. This time we were being pelted with sticky drinks by an
international group of boaters ranging in age from 20 to 75! Who would
have thought? The pinnacle of the night occurred when the song YMCA came
on and all the older Polish, German, British and American boaters managed
to complete all the proper arm movements (forming the letters Y,M,C,A at
the appropriate times) while bumping along the potholed road through the
streets of Panama City - all done without using the hand holds. After
that we took a breather and managed to look out the windows and realize we
were in the heart of downtown Panama City.

Many of the dancing revelers continued on while Don and I stared out the
windows. Downtown Panama City was not all that different from many big
US cities and although it should not have been surprising, we were
surprised to see all the same upscale designer clothing shops, etc. that
we would have seen at home. We watched out the windows for quite a while,
noticing that the time was slipping away (1am, 1:30....) and we weren't
stopping anywhere. Hmmmm, what about the night clubs? What if we have to
go to the bathroom? We continued to stare out the windows as downtown
Panama City started to slip behind us. Hey! What about the nightclubs?
2am....we continued to watch out the windows as the buses headed back out
of the city, through Balboa and the music switched to a blasting
Panamanian beat. It became obvious that we were headed back to where we
started at the first nightclub just down the causeway from Flamenco
Island. Which is exactly where we ended up at a little after 2 in the
morning. So much for the nightclubs of Panama City. Must have been an
inter-language communication misunderstanding. When the bus stopped, Don
and I peeled our sticky selves up from the bench seat, thanked the driver,
exited the bus and walked back to the marina where we went to bed with
ears ringing.

That was our experience on the Panamanian Disco Party Bus. The only thing
I can think of to compare it to are the booze cruises in Boston Harbor
back in the days of college (which involved a fairly big boat, a band and
a bar). The Disco Party Bus was maybe a little more like a booze cruise
gone slightly berserk with an international flair. At any rate, we did
have fun, although we, as well as many of the other boaters, were
disappointed that we didn't stop at any clubs in the city along the way.

The next day was our last in Panama, so it was also the day that all the
boaters received their bill from MatchShip for the various services
provided. Maybe not such good timing on MatchShip's part as everyone had
a hangover and many of the bills, including ours, were not correct. We
were overcharged a fair amount for some of the services we used and some
services we didn't use. MatchShip was also handling the clearing out
process with Panamanian customs for everyone and were basically holding
our passports hostage until we paid our bill. Needless to say a shouting
match ensued between Don and one of the MatchShip guys and the World ARC
rally people had to intervene. We finally got it straightened out and
received our passports back, but the whole episode soured us a bit on
Panama and we were happy to leave the next day.

That's it for Panama stories. An interesting place with plenty of
friendly people and our first real experience with a foreign country other
than the Caribbean Islands and Canada.
Anne

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