A Fiesta On Wheels - Panama's Party Buses
(costaricapages.com) The very purpose goes against everything North Americans have been taught about safety. You are not supposed to drink alcohol while in a motor vehicle; you are not supposed to be jumping around a moving vehicle; it is frowned upon to be obnoxious while leaning out the window of a automobile. All rules go out the window when it comes to Panama’s party buses.
You are most likely to hear these discos on wheels on a Friday or Saturday night in downtown Panama City or on the Amador Causeway. They are blasting Reggaeton music while the overhead lights are flashing like an oncoming ambulance.
Though they may look incredibly similar to a Diablo Rojo (Panama’s city buses), these party buses or chivas are driving well below the speed limit, unlike the Red Devils who navigate the streets of Panama City at lightning fast speeds. The party buses always go slow because if you are paying good money (about $15-$20 per person) to ride one of these moving discos, you want to be seen.
The bus is basically a moving bar. You are picked up at a predetermined meeting point, handed copious amounts of seco or rum and that is when the party begins. Some chivas have a DJ, others have a murga (a live, jazzy band). Though there are some seats on these reverted school buses, you are encouraged to dance the night away while trying to stay upright in a moving bus.
These are old school buses, but certainly not the kind you’d want to send your kids off to school in. The “windows” are holes that have been cut out of the wood-panelled sides of the bus. Since there is no glass on the many windows of the bus, people walking down the street sometimes though bottles or sticks into the bus in an attempt to put a damper on the party taking place inside.
A trip on a party bus lasts about 2 hours. That gives you plenty of time to enjoy the sights of Panama City at night while consuming a bus-load of alcohol. The experience certainly is a lot of fun, but probably not suitable entertainment for the older folks.
