Keith's Panamanian Travel Ramble

The wanderings of Andrea and Keith around Panama

Posts tagged ‘destination’

Have Your Dentist Pay Your Airfare

Hi Travellers,

Medical Tourism is a relatively new phenomenon that is becoming well-known.  Many people have heard of medical tourism but let me show you some really simple and practical examples of how it can work for you in Panama.

Everybody wants to travel as inexpensively as possible and we are no exception.  We love to travel to exotic destinations to build my image library so it is important for us to travel as efficiently as possible so we can stay longer and return sooner to another destination.  Each time we come to Panama we try to offset our traveling costs in as many ways as possible. It is an easy thing to do here because so many things are relatively inexpensive when compared to costs at home in Canada.

We always pay a visit to the dentist while here in Panama. At home a trip to my dentist for a simple one hour session of descaling and cleaning will cost me around $400. The last crown I had replaced a few years ago was $1,000.  In Panama, my English speaking dentist is located in a new modern facility in the Coronado mall, where the Super 99 grocery store is located. When I arrived for my appointment I was greeted warmly in English by the dentist, who led me to a modern well equipped treatment room. The descaling and cleaning process involved the same equipment as used at home and took just over an hour to complete. The work was done by the dentist, Dr. Wong, and not a dental assistant, as it would be at home. During the work, the dentist found a cavity which, due to its place, would need one of my crowns to be replaced. The cost for the descaling and cleaning, along with one x-ray was $50 and the cost to replace the crown was $450. The $800 savings is enough to pay for my return airfare to Panama from Calgary.

Eating out at restaurants here is always an interesting experience. Our preference is to try the local restaurants as much as possible. The food is always great and runs a little less than half of what it would cost at home. It is not uncommon to pay a little less than $25 for dinner for two including a bottle of wine and desert.

Before we came to Panama this trip, I had an eye exam that determined I would need new bi-focal glasses.  I costed them out at home and found that to get what I wanted would cost me around $1,100. My English speaking Panamanian optometrist, Boyd Optical, in the Coronado mall with the Rey grocery store, sold me identical lenses as I had chosen at home along with frames that were much less expensive. Total cost for the transition bi-focal lenses and frames was just over $250.

We are wine drinkers and love the wines you find on the store shelves in Panama.  The selection of Chilean and Argentine reds is to say the least, impressive.  We get some of them at home but the costs are usually in the $20 or more per bottle range.  Here, you can find a great choice of South American red wines for under $10 per bottle, with many under $5. It is a great opportunity to try wines that are a bit uncommon and pricy at home but are priced for consumption here.  In Coronado, we found the best selection and pricing at the Rey grocery store, although the new wine store also has a good selecction and is priced similar to the Rey.   We just don’t know about the Super 99.  They have a nice corner of the store with a smaller wine selection but none of it is priced.  If you want to know the price, you have to walk it up to a cashier who will scan it and tell you.  Way too much trouble!

It really is quite easy to save enough to pay your airfare or more.  It just takes a bit of planning before you come to decide what you can have done while you are here.  Give it some thought and maybe you can have your dentist pay your airfare as well.

The Safety and Risks of All Inclusivism at Royal Decameron

Hi Fellow Travellers,

Have you ever wondered about how to go to a new destination for the very first time?  People will make many choices.  On the one extreme, some will do extensive research and know exactly what they are getting into before they book their trip while at the other end of the spectrum there are those that look for something easy that they know will cover off their basic needs of travel, accommodation, and food.  These are the people who choose all-inclusive resorts.  While there are many reasons why people will make such a choice, there is both security and risk in that decision.

All inclusivism provides the necessities for your stay so if you are just trying to kick back and relax they are a great option.  On the risk side, you may be tempted not to leave the resort and experience the wonders of the country you chose to visit.  Sometimes these resorts are located in out-of-the-way places where it is more difficult to get into town or go anywhere.  I think that makes the risk higher because it is easier to just stay put at the resort.  Why go out and experience the local restaurants?  You already paid for your food at the resort!  I know places where the resort will actually tell guests asking about going somewhere that it is dangerous and that they should stay at the resort.  That recommendation makes resorts money and detracts from your stay.

Well, enough of my rant.  I guess you can tell we are not fans of all inclusivism.  Yes, they have there place, but not for us!

Today, we went to Farallon which is on the Pacific about a couple of hours west of Panama City.  Farallon is home to the best known all-inclusive in Panama, the Royal Decameron.  Farallon has  pretty much just this resort, which has grown exponentially over the years.  There are golf courses and a brand new international airport, Panama’s newest, which is nearing completion and will accommodate international charter flights.

On the history side, Farallon also is home to the now decrepit Noriega beach home where the Americans first came to get him.  If you ignore the no trespassing signs, you can see the shell of what was once an opulent multi story beach home that was one of the many Noriega properties in Panama.  This one still has the bullet holes in the walls that tell the story of the American invasion.  Local folklore spins the description of a highly secure compound with a small air strip, which is now being expanded into the new international.  There is a small island not too far off shore that has a large cross.  The story has it that Noriega had this built as a navigation aid to his Columbian drug friends who made deliveries to the small air strip here.  Be it true or not, this makes almost as good a story as the pirate stories associated with other parts of Panama.

So, back to the Decameron.  For years, this place has brought charters full of Canadians from eastern Canada.  It is also part time share but it is difficult to get into through RCI due to the location’s popularity.  We decided to have a look around so just walked in.  As I said, it is a huge resort and we met a number of people looking lost and scratching their heads.  There are three different lobbies.  There appears to be six or seven different restaurants.  We saw a couple and they were each the size of a gymnasium.  The grounds are very well-kept.  The pool was busy and looked to be in good condition.  The beach provides some nice views out to the Pacific.  I wondered what people who stayed there thought about it so checked it out on Trip Advisor.  I think I would summarize the ratings as about average.

Well, there you have it.  If you are looking for an all-inclusive in Panama, this one should know how to do it.  They have been here for years and with the new airport nearly finished, the travel time at the end of your flight to the resort will only be a few minutes.

Impressions of Santa Fe

Howdy All,

Sadly, today we leave this beautiful place and head for our next destination which is at the beach in Gorgona and is about a three-hour drive without stops.  After another great breakfast, we packed up and hit the road.

Yesterday, I mentioned a blockade of the Pan-American, west of here closer to David.  It turns out that the local Indians (Ngobe-Bugle) had blocked westbound traffic on the highway for several days.  They were protesting the changing of some legislation around mining and the Cerro Colorado mine, which has one of the largest copper reserves in Latin America.  There have also been some short-term interruptions to traffic eastbound headed for Panama City.  The westbound blockade has held the second largest city in the country, David, hostage and there are reports of stores being short of food stuffs and fuel stations closing as they are out of fuel.  The police were directed to clear the road last night and the ensuing scuffle resulted in a number of injuries and one death.  Several police were hospitalized.  Further investigation into the death found that the bullet was of a caliber not used by the police.

President Ricardo Martinelli has blamed the opposition and “foreign elements” for inciting chaos.  I did a little Internet research and oddly found that an Indian band in Ecuador held a protest at the same time over a similar issue.  When you look at the pictures of the Panama protest, I cannot help but draw the conclusion that this was organized by someone or group other than the natives that knows the techniques of how to successfully protest today.

Now our friend Octav that left Santa Fé a couple of days ago, was headed to Boquete.  He took the bus from Santa Fé to Santiago where he found out busses were not running due to the blockade.  He had some quick scrambling to do but managed to secure a place back at the Bayview Hotel in Santa Clara, the other direction.  As it is on our way, we decided we will stop and see how he is doing.

We have only been in Santa Fé for a few days and most of that time was spent at the Casa Mariposa Boutique Hotel.  Our top 10 impressions of Santa Fé are:

1.  Book a few days here at the Casa Mariposa.  You won’t believe the experience.  See the link at the bottom of the right column under Businesses We Support;

2.  Don’t miss the “Lunch with the Toucans” at the Mariposa. You will love it;

3.  Be sure to top up your gas tank in Santiago before leaving for Santa Fé. There are no fuel stations in Santa Fé;

4.  Santa Fé is a hilly mountain frontier town, full of friendly locals, around 3,000 of them;

5.  This area is starting to develop, thanks to publications like International Living Magazine.  There is a growing expat community and people from all over the world are starting to settle here;

6.  There is lots of hiking and things to keep you busy in the area;

7.  Check out the Santa Fé National Park.  If you are a birder, your hotel can help you pick up an inexpensive guide to make sure you get to see what you want;

8.  Expect the place to be a bit remote.  There are only cell phones and a high-speed internet connection is still in the future;

9.  On the way to Santa Fé, don’t miss stopping to see the restored old church in San Francisco.  It dates back to 1621; and

10. Be open to all the rugged natural beauty and incredible variety of birds that you will find here.

The trip back to Santiago takes us through Santa Fé and the rolling hills as we proceed southbound back to the Pan-American. Along the way we met a herd of cattle being driven right up the road to us. The guys were friendly and waved as they forced the cattle off the road on the far side to allow us through. One of my favorite pictures so far is this one of the rider on his horse climbing the hill after crossing the bridge. It really kind of describes the character of this area; slow, casual and laid back.

Further down the road, we spotted a hawk flying beside us.  We went around a corner and Andrea said the hawk had landed and was standing beside a blue bag on the road behind us.  I grabbed my long lens and got out of the car as quietly as I could.  This is a Yellow-headed Caracara, a beautifully marked bird.  He was very cooperative.  He posed on the road for a bit then took off away from me and circled back.  I think the markings on this bird are magnificent!

After negotiating Santiago we were again eastbound on the Pan-American, headed for the Bayview.  Watermelon is now in season and it is starting to show up in markets and roadside fruit stands.  We stopped at this place to stock up on some fruit for our next week and bought one cantaloupe for $1.50, three pineapples for $1 and a good-sized watermelon for $3.

We found him on the deck of the Bayview, entertaining a couple of young women from the US!  Octav wasn’t expecting to see us but was glad we stopped by to visit with him on the way to Gorgona.  We made plans to get together over the next couple of days for dinner and a visit then were off to Gorgona to find our new home, Sueno Mar, which means sunny beach.

Cerro Azul Final Impressions

Hi Fellow Travellers,

Today, we leave the beauty of Cerro Azul and the perfect climate we have experienced for the last couple of weeks.  We have decided to move a little further west to El Valle, a beautiful small mountain town that is a popular day trip destination for locals and tourists.  It tends to be cooler than the city, at 800M elevation, and there is always a pleasant breeze.  There is a popular farmers and craft market here that bustles with activity on the weekends.  During the week, this sleepy little mountain town is slow-moving and enjoyable.  There are lots of walkers on the street and bicycles are a popular method of transpiration.

We have one last stop to make so I can get a couple of shots of, what I think is a spectacular property here.  It’s an old property that l think was built in 1985 and is supposed to have won an architectural award.  It is beautifully sited on six almost totally level lots and provides an unobstructed 180 degree view from the wrap around deck that includes the City.  There are two apartments in a separate building and one other out building.  It has been well maintained and includes beautiful heavy wood furnishings.  Apparently it has been on the market for a long time and we think the price is at about $235K.  Amazing value if its true!

As we pack up our little Toyota and say good-bye to our now quite large group of friends, I would like to leave you with a few of our impressions of this area.

1.  It is an area that many, unjustly, consider to be quite remote, even though it is only about 45 minutes drive from Tocumen airport.  It will take you longer to driver across the city than to drive here;

2.  If you are going to visit here, you need to have a car and be comfortable driving mountain roads;

3.  Remember that you are in a National Park and conduct yourself accordingly;

4.  Accommodation here is difficult to find before coming to Panama.  There are no hotels except a hostel that we found in our Moon travel guide but it is outside the park and it looked closed when we drove by it.  Try the Canada Panama Realty website, as they have rentals available (See the Business we Support list at the bottom of the right column of this blog for a link).  You can also contact Antonio, who has a couple of suites available in his home with Internet (See the post called “Another Place to Stay in Cerro Azul” in this blog for information);

5.  Be ready to cook most of your meals while in Cerro Azul.  The only restaurant (of sorts) is at the Club, but it closes at four PM daily and is not open on Monday.  You can pick up lots of supplies at the Super 99 or Super Extra markets at the bottom of the hill before you come up.  Of course, you could drive the road into town for dinner but the road is not good to drive in the dark.  It is narrow, hilly and curvy and there are very few street lights.  Locals walk on the side of the road and they don’t seem to be aware of the need for light-colored clothes to be able to be seen at night.  Drivers here tend to drive in the center of the narrow road and are slow to move back into their own lane when they approach traffic going in the other direction.  Be careful;

6.  Don’t come here if you are looking for a partying infrastructure.  There are no clubs.  If you want to party, bring it with you.  This place will appeal mostly to people who love the outdoors and those that enjoy nature and hiking;

7.  Take a few moments and get to know some locals.  We found them to be extremely friendly and helpful in providing information about the area and suggestions of things to do.  There are lots of Expat Canadian and Americans here so English-speaking people are relatively easy to find;

8.  If you need an Internet connection, there is one available at the restaurant in the Club.  It works great when it is working but has been subject to a bit of down time;

9.  Do take advantage of the beautiful big pool in the Club area.  It is quite cool, as Panamanian pools go, due to the elevation here; and

10. We have seen many places in Panama and this one is our favorite!  Partly because it is a well-kept secret and is not busy and partly for the perfect climate.  Be sure not to miss it when you come to Panama.

Our trip to El Valle takes us down the mountain and across Panama City to the Pan American Highway. This is the highway that runs from here all the way to Canada! We met some people here that drove down from Quebec… 9,700K. We cross the canal on the newest and only other bridge, the beautiful Centennial Bridge and head west on the recently improved modern four lane divided highway. Be careful of semis hauling containers. We passed two along the way where the container tipped off the chassis on a curve. Its 175K to our destination but it takes us about three hours due to traffic and a lunch break in Coronado at one of our favorite restaurants. We left the Pan American Highway and headed up the newly paved two lane road for 25K to El Valle.

Andrea booked our accommodation over the Internet.  It’s a place called Cabanas Potosi and the rate was $44.50 per night.  Oh, and you also get the seventh night free when you book a week.  Now I don’t know about you but that rate made me nervous until we read the client reviews and found that almost all of them raved about the place.  After finally locating it and turning through the main gate, you could tell the place would be fine.  The gardens are elaborately planted and manicured perfectly.  There are four units arranged in two buildings.  The grounds are massive and there are little round concrete tables and benches scattered around the property, each set in a perfect place such as sheltered in the shade under a tree, nestled in the center of ring of tropical plantings, out in the open or secluded.  There is a covered patio with a ping-pong table and hammocks are stretched between trees in groups or singly.  The place is neatly painted and the rooms, although not elaborate, are neat and clean and contain a fridge.  The place is casual and everything you see suggests relaxation!  I love it all ready.  What do you think?

The Death of the Diablo Rojo

Hi Fellow Travelers,

No, Andrea didn’t go on another killing spree and Diablo Rojo is not a South American red wine.  This is a piece on Panama City transit that may not seem to be a fascinating thing but I believe you may find some bits that capture your interest.  People here in Panama City have complained about their transit system, or lack of it, for years and fixing the problem was one of the platforms in President Martinelli’s election four years ago.  Transit in the City has evolved over the years, as in most places, but it was deemed to be so broken that it was necessary to replace it and not fix the old system.  Today’s feature image carries both an old Diablo Rojo bus and a new Metro Bus.  I have to admit that I like the Diablo Rojo best for its individuality, color and character.

The old bus system was structured similar to our taxi commissions at home.  Individuals would get a license from the government to run a bus on a particular route.  In some cases they would get a license for several buses and hire drivers for them.  Some would hire drivers who owned their own bus and others would buy busses and hire drivers.  All of the busses required a staff of two to run.  One to drive and the other to take the money and to jump out at each stop, yelling the destination of the bus and herd as many passengers onto the bus in as little time as possible.  You see, drivers were paid by the number of fares they obtained.  Fares were a flat $0.25 each way, no matter how far you travelled.  This caused fierce competition among busses to scoop as many fares as possible and, of course, made it necessary to drive as fast through the traffic as possible to get the next group of fares at the next stop before the other buses got them.  Busses became known as Diablo Rojo (pronounce Diablo Ro-ho)(red devils) by the locals not because they are red, few are, but because of the way they rocketed recklessly through traffic on their rush to their next stop.  They used their size to intimidate all other traffic, on the way to scoop as many fares as possible from the next stop.  Now with all of this bad in the system, you can see why something had to be done.  The safety issue alone has been claimed to be enough grounds to change the system but yet there is a sadness to the passing of the old Diablo Rojo because it is the passing of an era.  The beauty of the totally unique appearance of each bus as an art form will morph into a sanitized orderly modern transit system with each bus identical to the next.  As these old retreaded Florida school busses roar into history, sadly one of the icons of Panama City will disappear along with a form of art that is unusual and colorful.  Where else can you see a portrait of Osama bin Laden etched on the side of a bus stuffed with people barreling through traffic?

Each bus has been individually decorated to varying extremes.  No two are the same!  The hood is typically covered with as much chrome as it will bear and beautiful air brushed images of heroes or villains that hold some significance to the driver or owner.  There is often a display of art on the sides of the bus and, of course, more decoration on the back.  These diesel buses are purposely made as noisy as possible with the removal of any muffling devices and the addition of two four-inch chrome straight pipes up the back of the bus to the roof.   They have been called a major contributor to the pollution of the City.  You can hear them coming from blocks away!  Many have been equipped with strobe lights to make sure people can see them coming at night.  Here are a few examples of the art of the Diablo Rojo.  I’m sure you can see the beauty of these aging relics just as I can.  I found a couple of great examples at the end of their route and the drivers insisted on my taking pictures of their buses.

The Panamanian government put the new transit system out to bid to private companies.  The successful bidder and new operator has implemented a zone fare system that basically lets you ride for around two hours on a single zone fare.  Fares to the transit company are now at $0.47 but the government subsidizes those fares (after some public protest) so the ridership continues to pay the same $0.25.  Now there are transfer privileges which did not exist under the old system and all the buses are air-conditioned.

Implementation of the new Metro Bus system is being done on a route by route basis.  Many of the major routes have been converted but the system has not yet been completed.  It is a work in progress.  As the new air-conditioned Volvo buses become available, the government buys each of the old Diablo Rojo licenses and vehicles back from the license holder for $25K and parks the old buses in a large yard at Playa Bonita.  Many of the drivers of the old buses have been retrained and are now driving the new buses and working on an hourly basis.  It’s amazing to see how that simple change has affected the way buses negotiate traffic.  We passed a Metro Bus today that was patiently waiting with turn signals on to enter the traffic flow.  The driver was wearing a neat uniform and wearing a seatbelt, all things that would never have happened under the old system!

Another platform from the Presidential election was the construction of a subway system here.  Although not yet open, it is well under way with two boring machines called TBM “Martha” and TBM “Carolina” both working.

So the face of transit in Panama City is being sanitized to look like the transit system in any other North American city and although passengers have gained air-conditioned comfort and transfer privileges, I’m sure there are those that will miss the roar of the straight pipes and the adrenalin rush of rocketing down the road in a cloud of black diesel smoke on the hot stuffy Diablo Rojo.  I’m sure there are others who will miss the Diablo Rojo as an art form.

A Whole Lot of Nothing

Hi Travellers,

It was a dark and stormy night, or so the cliché goes.  Here, it was dark because the power was out and it was stormy because of the wind and rain that pounded down during the night.  It all fit perfectly together as Andrea had just started another book, this one by Stephen King!  If you know the author, you will know he can tell some brutal stories.  I guess because it was so stormy the moths, which there are lots of, all wanted to come into the house.  Screens do not fit very well here so  a few got in.  Andrea went on a killing spree during the storm with our brand new $0.79 fly swatter.  I’m glad not to be a  moth judging from the body count on the floor the next morning.

By morning the sun was out and the gentle breezes had dried off our big stone deck.  We had thought we might go for a hike in the jungle but after the downpour last night we thought we would wait a day or two for the mud to dry out.

We had been lot looking with Paul and he showed us a number of lots of various quality and price.  We wanted a second opinion so asked Antonio if he would take a drive with us and look at some of the lots.  The lots we were looking at had all the brush removed so you could see the real lay of the land.  This one has a beautiful view of Panama City in the background.  They were also fenced along the lot lines so you could see how large they are.  We spent several hours wiling away the afternoon looking at various lots and discussing the pros, cons and pricing.  An interesting afternoon, for sure.

Back at the condo with the big deck, I was grabbing some sun when I noticed the little ant with the big flower that is today’s feature picture.  This little guy was the epitome of determination.  The flower is several times larger than the ant, as you can see, but even when the stronger breezes blew him back the direction he had come, he held on to the flower and pressed on to his unknown destination.  I wonder if he was taking the flower to his girl friend?

There is quite the little Canadian community on our street.  New folks arrived during the storm last night to occupy the other suite here.  This morning, we met Brent and his sidekick Gary.  Brent came out of his apartment and walked over to me saying “You must be Keith and I know you like bacon!”.  He had read the blog before coming to Panama.  The little group grew last night to include John and Paul who all know each other from way back.  It was like a reunion.  Everybody owns here!

Also of interest to me was that Antonio had received a rental inquiry for one of his suites as a result of the information posted on this blog, just yesterday!

I did get a comment on the blog about not showing pictures of the food and the pretty girls serving it… err umm, its Andrea and her cooking!  Now I know this person has seen her cooking and that this person knows how camera-shy she is.  Maybe he is trying to get me in trouble?

The Hills of Cerro Azul in the Chagres National Park

Hi All,

Today is move day and there are almost no pictures.  I must apologize but it took much of the day to make the move and when I finally pulled out the camera, the light was gone.  We moved from sea level up to an elevation of about 950M.  Now that doesn’t sound like that much but it will lower the temperature by around 10 degrees during the day.  We rented a little apartment from Panama Canada Realty and it is in an area called Cerro Azul.  Panama City money used to build homes here to escape the heat of the city on weekends and during the summer.   It is close to the city and is about a 40 minute drive from the airport.  Property here is within the Chagres (pronounced Shaw-gress) National Park and is the only place in the country where you can actually buy property with full title in a National Park.  Today’s featured image is shot from our big deck and is of the lights of the city.

We knew we would be somewhat isolated so we stopped at the Super 99 grocery store (the chain is owned by the President of Panama), to lay in some supplies before we left town.  We dragged eight bags of groceries out of that store for a total of $55.35.  Now I don’t know about you but when I go we go to a grocery store in Calgary, I don’t get anything like eight bags for 50 bucks.  Some of the better buys were a dozen eggs for $1.05, Balboa beer for $0.49 each, and three bottles of imported wine for $6.15, $4.09, and $3.60.  Now the wine is no two buck chuck!  We would be paying $20 to $30 each at home for these Chilean imports.  Panama has a very kind taxation structure on alcohol.

From the bottom of the hill, we travel about 25K to our destination.   At first the paved two lane road has a steady gentle uphill grade but that eventually gives out to a paved two lane road that either is going straight up or straight down.  It is not very windy but there is a lot of up and down.  Nothing is level.  The vegetation changes to forest with mostly pine trees.  Every once and awhile, you come upon a place with an elaborate iron gate and fence enclosing a sprawling well manicured property with a large elaborate stone and brick home nestled among the trees.  Most of the property has to be leveled before it can be built on.  It is an interesting community as pretty much all the well kept structures are tucked into the forest.

Getting to our destination was not without some challenges.  I had a street address, but my GPS could not find it.  The owners sent us a hand drawn map that would take us to the security gate and then a two page narrative to get us to the house.  I could use the GPS to get us to the intersection where we left the main road so we ended up using all the tools we had to actually get to our destination.  The directions were pretty good and we finally got to where we were going.

We are in a house with the main floor occupied by the owner, who is away.  There are two suites on the lower level, one of which is ours.  It is pretty typically Panamanian but it is clean and has almost everything we need.  There is a full length deck across the back of the house that is about 20 feet deep.  It overlooks nothing but forest and hills.  When we look one direction, off in the distance you can see the skyline of Panama City through the haze.  The other direction has a view of the canal.  Other than that, trees, hills, clouds, and blue sky.  You cant even see any of your neighbors.  You could run around naked here and you wouldn’t scare anything but the birds!  There is a pleasant breeze and the temperature, I would estimate to be in the low 20sC.

Our directions said that the door would be unlocked and the key would be on the table.  Just as we determined that there was only one towel, there was a knock at the door and a young woman handed us towels.  There is supposed to be a complex containing a restaurant, tennis courts, and a pool so we thought we would check it out.  When we arrived the security gate was down so we walked in.  We found a sign directing us to a restaurant so followed it to a neatly pained building that was locked up.  You could see all the tables properly set for a meal but there was nobody around.  The front door contained no sign indicating the hours of operation.  We headed back towards the car when we came upon a man walking toward us with a laptop under his arm.  We spoke to him and found out he was married to a Panamanian woman and living there part of the year and in Colorado for the rest.  Interesting character!  He is a lawyer with a practice in Colorado but was one of the authors of the document that described the US turnover of the canal to Panama.  He left Panama with the other Americans on 31 December 1999, when the canal became Panamanian.

He was headed to the restaurant to use their WiFi signal to check his email.  We pumped him for local information and determined that the restaurant was closed today because of the holiday yesterday.  Rather than driving back to town, we elected to get by on our recently purchased groceries and go back for breakfast.

Our house has no Internet, or TV so I will have to use the restaurant WiFi to update the blog.  I can write the content offline and upload it once I have a connection.

Finally, On the Ground in Panama

Hello travellers,

As we stepped through the exit door of the Boeing 737-900, we were hit by that wonderful blast of heat and humidity that tells you that you have finally arrived in Panama City.  Our four-hour flight south, from Houston, was interesting in that this seems to be the last schedule operated by US air carriers that actually provides a hot meal to people in economy class!  Amazing!

Best Seats on the Airplane

If you are flying into Tocumen International Airport (PTY), and want a great view of the city as you approach landing, then get seats on the driver’s side of the plane and keep your camera close until you are on the ground!  The featured image for this post is of the locks at the Caribbean end of the canal.  The approach from the north takes you roughly down the canal to the Pacific where you will make a hard left u-turn over the water and head back to the airport from the south.  During the turn, and for most of the rest of the flight, your view will be incredible.  This city of one million has a downtown filled with high-rise towers that makes for one of the most spectacular skylines you will see anywhere.  I couldn’t remember which side had the view so flipped a coin and chose wrong.  Now there are no pictures of the city from the air for you.

We arrived on schedule at around two in the afternoon and, after the immigration formalities, picked up our luggage and headed to the car rental desk to pick up our car.  I had forgotten how long it takes to go through the car rental process here.  We were close to an hour even though there was no other customers at the desk when we arrived.

Car Rental Insurance Nightmare

Renting a car here forces you through a complex and frustrating maze of insurance decisions that you must make.  It’s the only place we have ever been where the car rental companies (all of them) force you to pay for every bit of insurance.  They only provide the car!  Now this a pretty good revenue generator for the car rental companies and some milk it more than others.  We read the small print for one car rental company and found, according to their website, that you HAD to buy their Collision coverage.  They would not accept the collision coverage that many credit cards give.  Next, you HAD to buy their Liability coverage.  Lastly, you had to buy a personal accident coverage which makes little sense now as the Panamanian government provides all tourists with 30 days of free accident and medical insurance, but more about that later.  That particular company always turns up as the cheapest car to rent in Internet searches.  Some are as little as ten dollars per day, but once you arrive at the desk you are informed about all the extras which drive the cost of the rental up to a ridiculous amount.  We used Budget this time and they presented me with a legal size sheet paper full of insurance options.  The page was margin to margin and in about an eight point font.  There must have been a dozen or so different options.  At least they allowed us to use the credit card provided collision coverage after signing a complex looking waiver document.  Liability insurance was $12 per day, which seems pretty standard for all the companies.  I read the small print and found that it gets you a whopping $25,000 of liability coverage.  You can buy it up to $300,000 for an extra $6 per day.  It is foolish to drive here without a liability insurance, as it is against the law and you don’t want to end up enjoying your vacation in a Panamanian jail!  If you are renting a car here, be aware of the insurance situation.  Your Internet confirmation will quote you a price that does not include the insurance and you have to dig pretty deep to get the information from the Web.  You can’t get around it although if you are from the US and are an AMX card holder, you can apparently buy some kind of insurance package that will cover your liability for a few dollars.  We Canadians aren’t that forward yet.   Oh, one other thing… always book your car ahead!  If you just walk up to the desk of any rental agency, you will pay more.

Best Kept Insurance Secret

Here is another reason to put Panama on your bucket list.  Pay attention seniors!  Can you think of any country in the world that provides each visitor with 30 days of free accident insurance?  I can’t but Panama put such coverage in place last year.  It covers all visitors arriving through Tocumen.  After you get out of the airport secure area, just stop by the information booth and ask for information about the travellers insurance.  They will give you a brochure.  Don’t worry, there is nothing to fill out.  You don’t hear anything about this insurance from anywhere else either.  Because we are going to be here for 76 days, we needed coverage to take us from the end of that free coverage until we left the country.  Now try to find an insurance company in Canada that will start your coverage mid trip!  None of them knew about the Panamanian coverage and none of them would sell any coverage unless it started on day one of our trip… except one!  Want to know who?  Well it is Royal Bank of Canada Insurance.  There… I just saved you some money!!

A GPS is Necessary if You are Driving

Driving here in Panama is a bit, shall I say, challenging!  One of the problems with getting around here is that there are no good maps available.  Also, many (read most) roads are not signed either!  The rental agency will give you a map that you cannot really navigate with because it is one of those stupid tourist maps that only had some of the streets on it and nothing is to scale.  Now if the streets are not signed, and the map doesn’t show all the streets, you are in trouble!  You can’t even count blocks until your destination because they may not be on the map!

Enter the GPS!  You can rent them from your car rental company for I think $20 or so per day.  If you own a Garmin GPS, go online to http://PTYGPS.com.  You can buy a Panama map that will work on your Garmin.  Now driving as a visitor is possible.  If you don’t have a GPS, you could probably buy one for less money than you would pay to rent one from your car rental company.

After I finished my above rants, I climbed down off my soapbox and we got into our nice new Toyota Corrola and followed our trusty GPS to out first hotel, the Country Inn Panama Canal in Amador.  I picked this hotel for its location.  It is right on the canal close to the entrance and the Bridge of the Americas.  If anyone is not familiar with the city and wants a great spot to get your feet on the ground, this is located very well to get you into the spirit of your trip.  Now this is not the Westin and they are doing renovations here but our room has been modernized and is clean, quiet, cool and they have a pool.  It will be perfect for our first three days.  I will give you some pictures tomorrow to show you why this place is so special.

After being cooped up in plane for the last couple of days, it was good to walk some distance to dinner.  We headed out the Amador Causeway, some 3 Km to the Mi Ranchito restaurant.  This is a good-sized place with walls open to the sea breezes from the Pacific and a huge palappa roof.  It was beautiful to see the view of the downtown change as the sun set behind us casting darkness over the city.  We had a great seafood dinner for two with a couple of drinks each, along with desert and coffee for $37 including the tip.  This place gets a thumbs up from both of us!