so i get 4 hours sleep! yeah! go downstairs and eat a healthy breakfast.

yes, not too healthy, but healthy for all you can eat buffet as i only ate this plate. usually i go back for round 2 and 3 but today i didn’t want to overdue it.

everybody told me not to take the yellow cabs on the streets. i asked the hotel cab to take me somewhere and he said $14. i said forget it. then paid $3 from a yellow cab. it was kind of exciting to be honest.

asked him to take me to the Mercado De Mariscos fish market. gosh, i could smell it as we pulled up. smelt like rotten fish.

so i take a walk through and the fish didn’t seem too fresh for some reason. the eyes were white, and the smell pretty bad. but i enjoyed checking it out anyway.

then i got hungry and wanted to try the ceviche.

cheviche is made by lime juice cooking the raw fish and killing all the bacteria. so it must be safe right?

if i was going to get sick, so would everybody else right?

so i order the tako cheviche. it was so good! $2 and a great snack.

i flag another cab down and as he was taking me back to the city, i told him to turn around and drop me off in the local downtown area. he asked “why?” i said, because i want to see it.

this is the dangerous area the hotel and drivers told me to avoid. they call it the black market area. it didn’t look too dangerous to me but i’m sure it is scary at night.

i walked around some dark alleys and pretended i knew where i was going. but really, i had no idea. it was a great experience going to places where no tourists go. it’s just the way i like to experience countries. dangerous, but exciting.

then tonight i took a walk looking for a local restaurant. i turned down a block and seen thousands of people waving flags yelling and screaming. there happened to be a president elect campaign rally. it was crazy!!!

then i came back and turned on the news and seen what i walked onto. i wanted to go back and stand in the middle and enjoy the excitement!

yeah, the hotel i’m staying at is pretty much luxury. feels safe here but at the same time, unsafe. if there is any kind of government demo, this hotel will get hit first.

and yeah, hope to get a good night sleep of at least 4 hours. tomorrow will be a long day. yesterday and today i was alone, but from tonight, i’ll be with our group from hawaii and i’m looking forward to it. should be arriving at some remote island tomorrow before lunch so see you then. good night from the sleepless city of panama!

Last flight.
The long journey continues.
I want to jump in the ocean!!!

this is the 4th book i’m reading since i started reading again. it’s been less than a year since i started to get interested in reading books. it’s good for my mind and a good way for me to find some quality time away from the wifi world. so relaxing, so stimulating, and so crazy at times. the books i read so far are all excellent and i know that because i actually get pulled into the story. it feels so real and sometimes i have to pull myself out before i start doing crazy things. South of the Border, West of the Sun is another awesome book from Haruki Murakami. i’m on my last chapter and am looking forward to a happy ending.

getting back to last night. i walked out of my hotel and stumbled upon a casino. i didn’t know there were “las vegas like” casinos here. i go in, get checked by the security for guns and weapons. good thing i left my dive knife back at the hotel. i turn the corner and see all the slot machines, the black jack tables, and the poker faces. beautiful people all over the room. tourists, locals, and lots of Jennifer Lopez lookalikes. well, actually much prettier than J. Lo. the women here are pretty dam beautiful! i go to the bar, order a “Atlas” beer, sip it down while stalking the black jack tables. finally i get an open seat, i take it, i change $50 to poker chips. i start with the minimum bid of $5. the waitress comes and brings me a free beer, than another one, then another one. i end up sitting at the table for the next 3 hours gambling and gambling. my chips go up and down. i was up to $300 on the good decks, and down to $10 on the bad decks. it was getting late so i started to gamble foolishly, just trowing in chips at the wrong time, and taking chances i wouldn’t usually take. i was down to my last $20 so i shoot it all at once. i bust and loose it all. i walk off the table with a big smile. why? because as i was winning, i was sticking $10 chips in my pocket for insurance. come to find out, i had $90 worth of chips so i cash out. 3 hours, 6 free beers, great entertainment, excitement, and i didn’t cost me anything. in fact, i walked out the casino $40 richer! maybe try my luck again tonight!
sorry for not taking more photos. there were signs everywhere saying no photos allowed. i was feeling great after beer 4 so i just took this one for the image shot. imagine me sitting there, making friends, laughing, thinking, and putting on my las vegas poker face. that’s not the real me. i hate gambling but i thought i’d try to blend into the scene. if you seen me, you would think i’m a professional gambler. but nope, i just watch a lot of movies so i know how it works. maybe i’ll wear a suit tonight. haha.