Pretty Woman (Panama City, Panama)

Pretty Woman, you know the movie, the one where the pretty street girl gets treated like a queen in a big fancy hotel.  That is what we have compared our last couple of days to, a bit of a fairytale moment.  So there's Trey, Stella and myself.  Trey flies out of Panama City to go back to Colorado today and so he wanted to splurge on his last night and ended up renting a room at the Radisson Hotel here in the big city.  And of  course, as Trey explained, what fun would a fancy hotel stay be without my good friends? So Stella and I had a free stay at a gorgeous hotel.

As you can imagine, as a traveler who has been living out of backpack for the last 10 weeks and sleeping in dormitories with nasty shower stalls and toilet garbage bins filled with poopy toilet paper that is not allowed to be flushed in the actual toilet, the Radisson Hotel was a palace in comparison.  It was almost a little embarassing walking into the lobby in our shabby, smelly clothes with our rugged, stained packs on our backs, asking to check in.  And getting kicked out of the lobby cocktail bar due to wearing shorts, was almost reminiscent of Juila Roberts getting kicked out of that fancy clothing boutique.

The hotel room gave way to my new video project that I am embarking on, about traveling and personal growth. I have now interviewed 4 people on video, including Trey and Stella yesterday.  Stella truly is a pretty woman, and the other day she purchased one gorgeous sumbrero to protect her precious face from the sun, also very reminiscent of Pretty Woman.  Enough of these comparisons!  Anyway, these interviews are profound to me, to hear the thoughts and feelings of my fellow travelers.

Ironically, as we lavishly enjoyed being on the swanky 27th floor room, Stella spoke of how humbling and liberating it is to escape the materialistic world of North America and know that we can survive with just the small amount of belongings we have in our bags. "Empowering," I believe is the word she said.  And Trey, he went on to say how traveling is not about the destination, but about the journey and creating new perspectives on life.

And so after our long day of sight seeing the manmade, expansive wonder called The Panama Canal (much more interesting than I ever would have thought), interviews, photos, and hot showers, we ended the evening at a Hookah Restaurant. Over our meals of fetuccine alfredo (I know, right?) falafels, and a round of sheesha, we continued our deep conversation of traveling, personal growth, religion, diversity, and life.  A common occurrence as it seems in my on going journey.

So once more, only 1 hour ago, the three of us parted ways.  Stella and I have now traveled together for more than two weeks, and Trey, maybe 9 days.  The morning had that similar somber feeling in the air that reminded me of my last day in San Jose with Luis, the day I said goodbye to Cesar, the day I said goodbye to Manuela, the multiple other times I've said goodbye to travel mates, and the many days of goodbyes I had back in Calgary with my dear friends.  Leaving the hotel, the glam, once again reminded me of Julia Roberts and her departure in the film.  

And so how do I feel? Does it get easier each time? Do I become jaded little by little each time? I don't know how I feel really... I will continue on the journey I suppose, alone once again, face to the wind as they say.

On our first night in Panama City, this guy named Carlos, 5 minutes after our introduction said that he is "following the yellow brick road" and then asked me how I interpret the moral of the story in the Wizard of Oz.  Hmmm.... a question mark... or perhaps just a quest.