The forty minute drive took a bit longer with road construction along the way. This however turned out to be a good thing since we didn't have time to stop for snacks before heading into the theatre. The price of a movie here is only $4.00 for adults but with our Pensionado discount we get in for a mere $2.00 each. At the ticket counter the clerk turned her computer screen to us showing us a diagram of seating. The green highlighted seats apparently were what she suggested, but we could change them if we wanted. We agreed with the selected seats and went inside since the movie was about to begin.
The theatre was fairly dark with lighting along the walls and steps. I noticed that the seats were crafted out of black velour with multi-colored, geographic designs on the backs of them. The design took on an almost glow-in-the-dark appearance that caught the light as we walked by. We found our seats and soon noticed that we were the only adults in the place. A row of loud, rowdy, obnoxious teenagers filled up the back row. To our left sat a few quiet kids still dressed in school uniforms. They kept turning around as if bothered by the loud bunch also, just as we were. Once the movie began the teens kept yelling, laughing, and moving around the theatre. For the first time since we've lived here I actually felt uneasy and felt a dislike for the Panamanian people. After a while the kids moved down a few rows closer to us and even sat along the steps leading up to their seats. I felt as if they were closing in on us and wanted to stand my ground. I couldn't help but think of options to escape this horror. Should I take a nap or leave Clyde there to watch and go shopping? Finally I mentioned to Clyde that I was amazed that he wasn't telling them to shut up. But we both realized that we were out numbered not to mention the only gringos in the midst of local kids who could care less what we had to say. Finally when we had enough and couldn't hear the dialogue of the movie any more, we decided to leave. At least we only wasted $4.00 on the price of the tickets and not three or four times that like in the states. Perhaps we should have chosen the movie about pregnancy that kids would have less interest in seeing?
After leaving the theatre I decided to do some shopping since we were at the mall anyway. But first we needed to drown our sorrows while sharing an ice cream sundae. While standing in line this little Panamanian boy came up to me, tapped me on the hip and began rambling on in Spanish. Next he went over to Clyde to continue chatting before his mother called him away. Already hyper the kid certainly didn't need sugar packed ice cream to add to it. He pushed his way in and out of line, stepping in front of us whenever he felt like it to look at the ice cream in the case. Finally after his mom handed him a cone he felt the need to call to us to say "adios." We laughed as he scurried away with his ice cream treat, glad that they went in the other direction.
The mall was packed with people and tons of kids as if this was a weekend instead of Friday afternoon. The locals do get paid twice a month and perhaps this was a payday and they were all out spending their hard earned money. I picked up a two cute tops, two night gowns, two pair of sunglasses, a pair of crocs shoes (the knock-off kind), and three bathing suit wraps all for around $30.00. Gotta love shopping in Panamá! We stopped for a burger at the new Carl's Jr. in the mall before heading home for the night.
Found this guy leading his horse
on our morning dog walk
on our morning dog walk
We think for a while we'll keep our movie watching to the privacy of our home without the annoyance of noisy kids. It was nice to come home to a quiet house, so tranquil and relaxing, just the way we like it ......along the gringo trail.
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This is something I remember Stephanie had written about the movies there. You can't control the unruly teenagers, so sometimes the cheap price just isn't worth it! Yet when we saw "TED" (now that's a movie to see lol), I LOVED picking out the seats and paying $4. Someday perhaps it will be $2. Too bad it was a bad experience BUT you got that shopping in!
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