Hard Rock Surpises

It’s my party and it will rain if it wants to....

Rain if it wants to....
 
Rain if it wants to....

You would cry too if it happened to you...

 

Okay nice lyrics, but no one was crying, especially not in the Hard Rock. It was my birthday and I was in my favorite mid-range hotel. I just felt so thankful with Saturday and the beginning of the day. When you add on the luxury, I become so thankful because I worked towards it. People stay in the 4 to 5 star hotels all the time and sometimes don’t leave.  This was not my life and staying just sometimes made it pretty special.
 

When I arrived at the front desk, they were dressed in adorable Michael Jackson uniforms. The front desk agent was a sweet girl from Colombia who lived in Miami. We had our nice little conversation and I was extra nice to her, especially to get the room I wanted. I did mention it was my birthday and I was staying alone(hey good to pull out all the stops-it was the truth). I had just paid for a standard room, but all I really wanted was a great view from the 15 floor or something.


She smiles at me, “Okay I have your room. I hope you like it.” She gives me a wink and I was thinking, “Hmmm.”

I take my heavy, travelers backpack (not common luggage for the Hard rock) and I take a look at my card to check the floor and it says “56.” 

Excitement is coming over me as I rush through the elevator doors. 20, 30, 40, 56. I walk out the elevator doors to the end of the hallway. The door opens and there is a Junior Suite with sofa, kitchen, table, and television. 

The balcony immediately attracted me as it appeared to be pretty big. I couldn’t open the door, probably out of pure excitement. I went in the bedroom to open it there and “Voila.”

It was a Penthouse view that went 360 all around. I felt like Pretty woman and I jumped on the bed like a 10 year old. It was my birthday and I had this spectacular view. It was exactly what I wanted. It was truly mesmorizing and if I lived with that view I would write everyday and all day-amazing.

It sounds sad being alone for your birthday, but I’m never alone with my higher power. Also, with my personality and character, I can always make friends with staff and guests. It happened to be the weekend with all the Colombians visiting-perfectly satisfied with that and met some great Colombians. In this hotel, I was never alone. I spoke with pretty much every staff that worked there-the Colombian staff and a couple of them from Panama.

                      Lychee soda yes please  

Exploring the hotel......

Pre-dinner   Photos

 

When it came to the night, my friend Marco from last night insisted on meeting me for dinner and I accepted. 

There were 5 or 6 restaurants at the Hard Rock and I checked out a few before he came. 

    

When I walked into the beautiful buffet room and saw the selection, I was set on eating there. It felt like all eyes were on me and that’s the way I like it on my birthday. The star attention and compliments-Leo enjoys this very much. I spent some time talking to the adorably cute manager and making friends with the staff. They weren’t aware of my birthday until it slipped out that I turn 30 today. 

As we became more comfortable, I was joking that we can take a full cake from the desert table with a few candles (I would settle for a few). The staff would come around and I would say to him. “What happened did someone took a bite from my cake?”

“Make sure you guard it or bring me a full one.”

Then I would tell the manager that someone ate my cake and he would just smile. "Tell these people to please stay away from my cake." I was definitely interested in making him smile. 

At this point, I am still waiting for my friend, but I am eating and talking so I am content.  Crab, Sea bass, capri mozzarella, roasted potatoes, and all kinds of salads/gourmet cheeses-yeah I’m good. What was a bit annoying was that he kept saying he would "come in five minutes"(this just triggered my Moroccan experience) This expression pretty much sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me...so I focused on the present moment and ignored my phone.

Anyways, he finally did show up an hour late, but he was on the other side of town. I totally forgave him and was thankful he did make the effort to come. He is truly like a teddy bear and his face is so sweet and kind. He makes me laugh and we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner together. 

At the end, they all come up for the cake and “Happy Birthday.” They sing in Spanish and English. It’s a happy moment for me. These people are so wonderful and not just some random people, but people I took the time to get to know a bit.

              

Off we went next to the Rock and Music lounge where they had amazing live music each night. This night was “The Old Times.” The place was filled with Colombians and I was rocking out as if I was one of them. Everyone was typical Latin America singing along with the lyrics, hands up with glasses inside their palms. 

There were two of the Spanish songs I recognized and loved. Marco did not seem very interested, but he said he was just watching the music.  Perhaps, he was watching the girls because these Colombian girls are b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. They all have this long, straight dark hair that is down to their butt. They wear huge platforms and tight jeans or pants with a dress top. The men are not as attractive, but if this is a taste of Colombia I like it. 
 

The band ended about a half an hour after and we called it a night. With or without my friend Marco, it would have been a great night for me because I loved the people I was around and that’s what matters on a birthday… okay, okay and sometimes the ritz and the glamour.=)

Jesus Driven Day

The Don Bosco church had such a full service and a glorious one. There I stood in this beautiful church for the first time. It was Our birthday and I was so proud of all we accomplished. Having such powerful spiritual moments I weeped tears of joy and thankfulness. No one had been there for me more and loved me more-how could I not give my life and serve him?

The pastor spoke in a clear Spanish I could understand as if he was speaking that way just for me. The church was overcrowded with people standing in the back near the door and on the sides. It was clear that other people were touched by this church and it's meaning. People were friendly with "La paz contigo" and sincere looks(Believers more friendly and kind in Panama).


At the end of service, I like to be around and meet people of the church. I enjoy talking and learning about their community and the problems they face and the strengths they hold.

There was a man who worked for the church standing in front handing out flyer's. We got to talking and it turns out he had been helping out with the church. He informed me that the neighborhood behind the church was one of the worst in Panama City. This refers to that previous post where I discussed how those who are suffering, lost, poor, angry, confused-they are place nearby the church. God keeps them safe. This is how he wants it. 

He wanted to introduce me to the pastor who was in the back and he showed me around a bit. The church held an after school program three days per week and I met a few of the kids (age 12-17).

This was not just distribution of food rather I felt the community that was present. They had a futbol field, basketball court, different rooms for activities including an art room with bean bags.  

I was impressed with this and I wanted to participate with the short time I had, which was only a few days with this tight schedule. I was suppose to have more time here, but each country was an extra couple days and that created less time in Panama.   

It turns out the Pastor had to leave-it was pouring I should mention and he had to go across town. It would have been nice to meet him, but I was speaking with someone who had the most hands on work.


Sharing our ideas and sadness among those who die so you, it was refreshing to hear a common voice. The gangs were some of the worst and trying to address this problem is always challenging. In Belize, in East LA, in Chicago-this problem exists larger than ever. For me, the solution is group therapy, building community supports, afterschool activities, increased amounts of community programs, and serious education on gang violence. It’s not a simple problem to fix, but education and community action can save lives. 

The pouring rain was coming down hard and people were starting to leave. I looked at the time and it was almost 3pm. I said my goodbyes and ran out the door. My South American friends were leaving at 3pm and I would feel incomplete without a proper hug and final goodbye.

When I ran back out of breath and soaked, I was asking Popola, “Where is Carlito and Mary?”

“Girl, you went through some serious rain. They are still here.”

Phewww, we said our sad goodbyes and then it was time for me to leave.

I am putting my things together and Popoyla says, “Join me for lunch.”

I look at my watch and he tells me that we can take the bus together. He makes an awesome vegetarian lunch (he’s vegetarian) and very picky with his food- like me. He made a Carrot, tofu, and curry dish with rice. He kept apologizing and I was eating every bite up.  We were discussing the whole hostel situation and how it’s not really for us, but sometimes it just makes sense. If I didn’t go there, I wouldn’t have met him and then what? There is reason not just coincidence.

Off I went and I decided to just take a taxi and he took the bus. It was my arrival at one of my favorite hotels The Hard Rock Hotel. 

The Birthday Direction 1

While I planned to be waking up in the Hard Rock hotel with a Sunday breakfast buffet, things did not work out that way.  There is that expression

 “Life is what happens while you are making plans.”-Unknown-

It’s just exactly how life works because you aren’t always going in that same direction. A person, place or thing changes your direction for the better or for the worse.

In this case, it was definitely for the better.

 It wasn’t just my South American friends, but it was the staff, my dear Popoyla, and the church.  It was such kindness, sincerity, and acknowledgment of my birthday from new friends. 

The plan was to possibly go to Blarney Islands, but the boat was full. He said if someone canceled he would wake me up.  It ended up that Oscar and I were up talking and making arepas in the kitchen. He said that he wanted to go to the islands, but with the group.  This was an expensive trip, but I agreed. The other trip was not confirmed.  We decided to stay up and wait for the 5am departure. At about 3:30, we just couldn’t wait anymore and he stayed at the desk partially working and I went to sleep.

Jesse came by my room at 4:30 to wake me because they had an extra spot.  He said I was sound asleep and he didn’t want to wake me.  He was super sweet, just a nice stand up guy.

 

When I woke up at 930-clearly not going to the Blarney Islands. Everything went it's own God given direction and that meant being present at service. I wanted my birthday to be a Jesus driven birthday and service is the best start. Not going to service when my birthday falls on a Sunday is wrong beyond my belief. Missing the boat and falling into God's arms was just what it was suppose to be. 

 

Before church, I was hungry and wanted some of Carlito’s pancakes. I didn’t have to ask because he had them ready for me with a smiley face made of chocolate sauce. It was quite adorable. They were leaving at 3pm to head to Colombia and then Brazil. Carlito was on that 2 year travel journey just exploring all over including the states and the rest of South America. He mentioned selling his house in Argentina to someone new. I told him, “You have an owner right here.” The tenants are still in there so he would have to let me know. When he described the garden, the Jacuzzi, the four large bedrooms, the rooftop terrace-he sold it well.  

He informed me that they were leaving at 3pm, which gave me time to go to service, talk to some people at the church, and come back for official goodbyes.

4 Amigos

For the rest of the day, we went walking through town, had lunch at the fish market with some local crowd. The fish was excellent and Carlito decided to take a walk. He enjoyed smoking cigarettes and having his time alone with a beer and the beach. This fish market was right on the beach. He didn't like crowds and these were some serious crowds. While he was a vegetarian, they had veg options, I was kind of wondering why he did not sit with us. He was my buddy and he left me alone with the love birds. 

Story goes they met in a hostel and they have been together ever since. I stared at them with half of me thinking "Oh that's so great." The other half was thinking, "Oh I wonder how long that's going to last." It's just a bitter woman speaking out. I should be with a certain person, especially on my birthday, but I'm not.  It didn't matter because I had great company and good fish with plantains, fries, and corn-happy.

We went for a walk along the coast and it reminded me of Miami-not just the skyline, but some of the fit people. We climbed down some rocks and sit staring in the sea, we sang in the rain, we climbed up a giant wire playground with a beautiful family of kids, we ate some potato balls filled with cheese, and there were other local delights. 

and we actually found the bus to get back. 

Then the couple decided to stay back and Carlito took me out for the night to El Casco Viejo-the hip, beautiful, and happening place of Panama. It was also the oldest with fantastic architecture, churches, and new buildings. 

                

              

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adorable, adorable family we played on the jungle gym with climbing up to the top. Easy for monkeys ie Me lol

Stopping back at hostel to change 

We just walked around looking at all the apartments and condos. It would be so nice to rent something there except it's Panama.  Panama is not a place I would live and I can say that with confidence. 

We stop by some nice places. One of them reminded me of this awesome lounge in Gauthier if Morocco. It was so nice, but Carlito did not like it. He knew it was my birthday celebration so he went for a walk and I hung out for a half an hour. 

   Rooftop lounge with Movie 

We then went upstairs to a rooftop bar and we ran into our Domincan friends-what a small world. We were talking about boys and getting advice from Carlito. It turns out one of them is divorced and has two kids. It's always a shock when people look so good. They went home and we went to stop at a food truck for Carlito. 

We stopped by a food truck for Carlito to eat a veggie taco and they made me a special birthday Arepa with extra avocado, white cheese, and tomato.  I was talking about how America isn't much different than Panama except the people can be questionable. The one guy said, "Hey I'm from Colombia." He was a break dancer and Colombian. Instead of sitting in front of the counter, I decided to go back and watch them make the food. This was causing a lot of commotion on the street and I loved it. 

While hanging out, I met a new friend Marco, who was a friendly teddy bear. He ended up taking Carlito and I to this club-the last place I wanted to be. The DJ was from Germany and the beat was pretty good, but I did not want to be in a club. Granted it was a nice club with a line to get in and he took us straight in the front door, which made it not so bad.  

While standing there for 15 minutes, I look at Carlito and he looks at me-let's go. We had a long day and we were ready for sleep-separate sleep people-not what you think just because he is a male.