Día 9: Destinado a Estar con Héctor

This morning, we arrived at Casco Antiguo for Spanish class and were promplty greeted with a pleasant surprise: we have been moved back to Héctor's class! I was beyond excited, and Sutton was also excited to get to have a class with someone she had heard so much about. We also met our new classmate, Felizando, who is giving Lisa a run for her money in the languages category. He is from Mozambique and speaks Portuguese and French, but is already pretty good at Spanish and says he plans to learn English next. Our class began with learning some grammar and rules around the use of accents (or “tildes”) on nouns. There were many rules associated with this grammar rule, but luckily there weren’t too many exceptions and irregularities. After learning and practicing with the syllables, we went back to review preterito infinitivo and ser and estar practice, and did some worksheet pages before answering question prompts. This ended up being very fun because we got to learn a little more about everyone and talk about funny memories or experiences. 

After class, we went back to the apartment for a quick lunch of tasty quesadillas and fresh pineapple before heading out for our afternoon activity. 

To balance out a rather sedentary morning, we decided to get some exercise by taking a hike through El Parque Natural Metropolitano. This doubled.. well, tripled as our daily cardio, sauna, and sightseeing experiences. When we arrived, one of the park rangers talked us through a map of the park which included the four different trails that connect to make a large “2-hour” loop. The Greggs and the Walshes, however, happen to be some of the highest level walkers on the planet, so we were confident in our ability to blow through the course in an hour flat. Josey and Sutton set off, but the moms soon reminded us that we needed to be on the lookout for wildlife. Slowing our pace, we observed tiny armies of ants heaving leaves across the trail, various birds, and the howler monkeys yet again. The furthest point of the loop features a dramatic lookout over Panama City. On our way back down, we saw a coatimundi. If you are not a Panamanian wildlife expert, a coatimundi looks like a blend of a fox, rat, and anteater. Why be one strange looking fella when you can be three. 

We ultimately completed the trail in around an hour and a half, and the taxi driver we have befriended (Carlos) arrived just in time to pick us up as we were finishing. While we are sure he appreciates our business, we could see his nose scrunching beneath his mask as we squeezed our sweaty bodies into the taxi. We drove by Albrook Mall and the supermarket on our way home to La Isabela Suites, and the four flights of stairs that lead to our apartment were especially painful after the afternoon of hard work.

After draining La Isabela Suites of their hot water supply and Josey of her shampoo and conditioner, we urged our tired legs to carry our hungry bodies to our 6:30 reservation at El Diabolico. It was a short walk, complete with street dog sightings and sunset street lighting. We were seated outside and encountered some drama with ordering on the online menu. Eventually, we enjoyed a mediocre meal of chorizo empanadas, arroz con pollo, shrimp scampi, and ropa vieja. It took us nearly an hour to flag down the waiter and get the bill, and some additional time to do some unnecessarily complex math in dividing the cost. Tummies full, we skipped (for Sutton, literally) back to the hotel and enjoyed some dairy free chocolate with almonds (do not recommend) before getting some much deserved rest.