Panama Day 6: Drive back to Panama City

We tried to balance a relaxing morning with our desire to get back on the road. We took advantage of our adorable hotel, Hotel Santa Catalina, with watching some Panamanian TV, lounging in the hammock, and enjoying breakfast.

Knitting in a hammock at Hotel Santa Catalina

We took our little Kia Picanto, whom I dubbed "Picante," back on the road out of town. We almost ran over a tarantula, which was so big we could see him from the road, but don't worry, we swerved. He is our friend.

Dave wanted to stop at Nata, one of the oldest settlements in Panama with the oldest continuously used church in all of the Americas.

Nata Cathedral

The church was open air - no doors - which was super interesting. They also had a bunch of beautiful carvings that emphasized the blend of tropical and Spanish cultures, as well as a bunch of strange effigies.

Jesus effigy at Nata Cathedral

I had wanted to visit a supermarket for lunch, and we found one in Nata, but it was pretty bare-bones and kind of shady, so we went to the next town and stopped at a fast food cafeteria kind of place called Gallo Pinto. It wasn't the best, but the place we really wanted to visit was closed for New Year's Eve. (It would be a theme for the day, sadly!)

We also had seen some strange figures on our way from Panama City to Santa Catalina, and I managed to find them on the way back to Panama City - I don't know what they are, but they were on the news, so apparently they were unusual for the locals.

Roadside oddities

We did end up visiting a supermarket in Panama City, where we bought some staples and some fun local stuff to share with coworkers at home. We tried again with Buenas Pintas, but both locations were closed, so we gave up and headed to the hotel. I had gotten us a room at a hotel & casino near the airport, which was fine - we got a drink and played on one of those big chess boards but we didn't do much else. We didn't even ring in the new year because we had such an early flight. 

On New Year's Day, we got up at 3:30 a.m. to return Picante for a 6 a.m. flight. Oof. Not an ideal start to the year, but I had seen so many whale sharks, I didn't care.

Returning Picante at National

Returning the car at National, even that early, was totally easy, and the airport at Panama Tocumen is easy to navigate.

The whole trip was the experience of a lifetime, and I recommend anyone into scuba, Latin American culture & food, and adventure travel to give it a try. I feel like a lot of Americans get to the Caribbean and Mexico, but not to other countries in Central America (besides maybe Costa Rica). It's safe, it's partly Americanized (think Uber and smooth interstates), but still retains a lot of local flavor. Thumbs way up.