travel

Nothing unusual this Friday afternoon on Via España

Well, maybe the way that the photographer saw fit to depict this typical scene on Via España at around four in the afternoon was slightly out of the ordinary. But then, traffic like this affects the senses and aggravates one's mood.

If you are new to Panama, learn to ignore the guy who's leaning on his horn demanding that you get into an accident, pay attention to the people who are going to swerve right in front of you (or into you) and appreciate the advantages of letting a taxi or bus driver get you around the city. Traffic is a mess in the capital, the incidental noise and pollution are awful and none of the politicians are serious about doing anything about it.

Do you beg to differ, and cite the plan to swap the diablos rojos for a new bus company with modern, articulated buses? Believe as you wish, but what that plan's really about is transferring the income that many lower middle class bus drivers who own their vehicles make to some lucky person or small group of persons with enough wealth and the right political connections to own or manage an urban mass transit monopoly.

Photo and Photoshop manipulation by Eric Jackson