No need to hurry getting out of the city, I told myself this morning. You'll sleep in a bed somewhere west of here tonight, so take advantage of what the city has to offer before you leave. Phone service seemed to be my pressing issue, not so much to connect with the states since the internet access was working well for that, but to call around Panama....to call the house manager about a router being down, or to call ahead to my Air B 'n B in Las Tablas to let them know that I'm coming a couple of days early. So I went in search of an alternate phone, or a card I could use on mine, or a way to unlock my phone and put in a local chip. Coffee first, though.
Same place as yesterday, but a different set of beggars, these being quite a bit more aggressive. The first old man, who seemed to have no afflictions other than poverty, came to the opening of the covered patio area, caught the waitress's attention with a hand signal, and stood waiting...presumably for his daily gift. He asked me for money a couple of times before giving up and waiting again for food.
Next came a skinny guy pushing his buddy in a wheelchair on an elevated portion of the sidewalk, lined with the restaurant's potted plants. He spotted a partially-eaten breakfast on a local's table and stepped onto the planter wall, almost onto the man's table, to grab it. They had a short, heated conversation that I couldn't hear after which he wheeled his buddy over to the entrance to the patio so that he could approach the breakfast from close range in a different direction. Another heated exchange, finally being joined in by a waitress who told them to leave. They did so, at their own reluctant pace, leaving the outcome in doubt for a long minute. Then they joined the old man standing beside my table. Fortunately I had only a glass of water and a half-cup of coffee, so they weren't interested. Finally another waitress came out with what appeared to be a burrito and gave it to the guy in the wheelchair, causing the old man to go into a tirade that I didn't stick around to hear.
But Senor Chair with Wheels had given me the reminder: Have patience (Ten paciencia). It served me well, this reminder. I got a new phone at the second store after a 45 minute wait. The phone came with 2 hours of prepaid minutes for a grand total of $26. I am now connected to Panama. And I am on the express bus heading west on my next adventure.
Calmate, hombre! Ten paciencia.
I see them, those beggars and waitresses. I feel them, hear them, know their vibration. The sidewalk outside I imagine to be stained with all manner of history. What is the texture of the air there?
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