About the first thing you notice when you get out of the inner city is that you need to know where you are going. This selection of sign boards seems straight forward enough, and it is, provided you are okay with no lane dividers and no further notice. The turning for your route might be in 100 feet or a quarter mile. Overall, I think these sorts of things make for better drivers. If you are forced to pay attention or miss your turn, maybe you will pay a little closer attention in your other driving habits, like using your turn signal.
In this instance, we were being driven by a 40-something cab driver who was very familiar with the roads and the signs. I think we were headed for Albrook and the turn was somewhere beyond the multistory building ahead on the right.
The first thing we did was stop at the gas station. Panama gas stations are just like ours but with self service. They also have the little stores where you can buy about exactly the same things you can buy at the ones
attached to our gas stations. It didn't occur to me until later, but our taxi guy didn't put in much gas at one time. I first thought is was because he didn't have much money. Then it occured to me that he might have thought he didn't want his car to break down with a full tank of gas for someone to siphon out while he was gone looking for a tow. It happens that breaking down was a real possibility, but we didn't worry about that. Finally, I thought that the real reason he didn't put in much gas (and also the reason the cab that took us to the airport didn't have much gas in it) was that an empty tank didn't attract siphoners at night when the taxi was parked at home.
After the gas station, we headed north on what we would think of as a county road. Part way along, with no warning, there was a police roadblock. They were stopping every car and questioning the people. Our driver got us through without any problems. We did notice that the three guys in front of us in an old Toyota pickup received much more scrutiny than we did and they seemed much more nervous than we were.
We finally, after maybe ten miles entered a freeway that was really a toll road. Panama is way ahead of us in advertising opportunities. We sell little signs at exits that tell you where the McDonalds is. They rent the space on overpasses.
The next photo is one I've shown before. It gives the two speed limits. Not one for cars and one for trucks, but one for dry weather and one for wet weather.
 |
| The Chagres River |
 |
| Roadside Vegetation |
 |
| Toll Booth With Soldiers and Rifles Standing By |
 |
| Billboards Near Colon |
 |
| Part of the Free Trade Zone From Outside |
 |
| Free Trade Zone Guides or Hustlers |
 |
| An Interesting Road Cut |
 |
| Terraces |
We stopped at this grocery store for bottled water. There were about ten people shopping inside in a space of about 200 square feet total. There wasn't much room to move around.
I can't remember if I showed this photo before or not. We didn't see one lawn mower in Panama. We did see many men mowing with weed eaters. Wouldn't one riding lawn mower be more efficient than six guys with weed eaters?
 |
| Roadside Scene |
 |
| Roadside Scene |
 |
| Roadside Scene |
 |
| Roadside Scene |
So, now you know what Panama looks like from the inside of a car, between Panama City and Colon. I'll post more photos on Facebook that show even more really neat countryside scenes.
JCE
About the first thing you notice when you get out of the inner city is that you need to know where you are going. This selection of sign boards seems straight forward enough, and it is, provided you are okay with no lane dividers and no further notice. The turning for your route might be in 100 feet or a quarter mile. Overall, I think these sorts of things make for better drivers. If you are forced to pay attention or miss your turn, maybe you will pay a little closer attention in your other driving habits, like using your turn signal.
After the gas station, we headed north on what we would think of as a county road. Part way along, with no warning, there was a police roadblock. They were stopping every car and questioning the people. Our driver got us through without any problems. We did notice that the three guys in front of us in an old Toyota pickup received much more scrutiny than we did and they seemed much more nervous than we were.
No comments:
Post a Comment