Why I Think Chitré Taxi Drivers Are Superheroes!

Public transportation is abundant in Panama. We live in a popular city called Chitré, where many stores, restaurants, and entertainment exist. Local buses will haul you around town and to the next town several miles away. In town, it will cost under one dollar to get anywhere. The bus to the next town which is about 6-7 miles is about $.65. The most frequented grocery store to our house is less than a 15-minute walk. With 3-4 full bags of groceries, we’ll flag a taxi that’s waiting outside the store. In most cases, the average cost to get us home is between $1.65 and $2.00. We’ve lived in Panama without a car for seven months now. It’s wonderful!

A couple of days ago, we did some grocery shopping at a store that was a bit farther than usual (a $2.00 taxi fare). After shopping, a young man in a bright yellow cab approaches us. It’s customary to place the grocery bags in the front seat and floor, or the trunk if there are many bags. Everything fit on the front seat. He looks at us, and Jackie says, “Brisas de los Guayacánes, por favor!” All the taxi drivers know where our subdivision is located. When we enter the subdivision we’ll tell him the street name, “Calle Primera Norte.” If they don’t know the names of the streets, we’ll direct them to “derecha or izquierda” until we get to the house. I asked, “Cuanto?” The young man says, “Dos.” We unload the car, and off he goes.

We take the bags into the house and put the groceries away. I wear a sling pack that contains my phone, wallet, visa, and passport. All the essentials required in case you get stopped by the police or immigration people (which happened only once in front of the bus station). I have a special place in the house where I keep my pack. Before putting it away, I noticed my wallet was not inside the pack. I started to panic. Maybe I stuck it in one of the grocery bags. But the bags were empty! I check the pack again. I check my pockets (I never put my wallet in my pockets). I really started to panic! I yelled at Jackie, “Did I put my wallet in your purse?” Nothing! Oh shit! I looked at her and said, “I left my _uckin’ wallet in the taxi! What do we do?”

There are several taxi companies in Chitré. Do we call all of them? We called our friend and mentor, Bob. He said he would call his taxi company and ask them for advice. We waited, and I was starting to pee my pants (just an expression, of course). I was pacing and thinking all sorts of things. The next person that gets into the taxi will find my wallet, and I hope he/she is honest. What if a thug picks it up, I thought? I was really having a panic attack. I had never, ever lost my wallet!

While pacing the living room, I heard two beeps of a horn. I looked up and outside, and there was our taxi driver. I immediately ran out to the car. He had his passenger side window rolled down and waved my wallet. He had the most wonderful smile on his face when he saw how jubilant I reacted. I grabbed the wallet and shook his hand. “Muchas gracias, muchas gracias!!!” I pulled out all the money in my wallet, which was only $11, and handed it to him. He shook his head and handed  $6 back. I insisted that he take it all. I would have given him $1,000 at that point if he would have asked me. He was happy. I was elated! After he left, I felt very selfish that I didn’t get his name, or take a picture of him, or take down the name of the taxi company to report him and his good deed. The taxi drivers have always been kind to us. But I now have a special place in my heart for them. Chitré taxi drivers are SUPERHEROES!

Note: These are actual t-shirts that I made for our favorite taxi superheroes.