Keith's Panamanian Travel Ramble

The wanderings of Andrea and Keith around Panama

Posts tagged ‘Panama’

Martyrs Day is Dry

Hi Travel Fans,

Today is a special day here in Panama.  Flags throughout the country fly at half mast to commemorate those killed in the Flag Riots of 1964.  This was a tumultuous time in Panamanian history and riots broke out over the flying of a flag.  At that time, the US controlled the canal and had agreed to fly both the US and the Panamanian flags in various places throughout the Canal Zone.  As this turned out to be quite controversial, the governor of the Canal Zone decided to remove some flagpoles altogether.  Balboa High School was one place where the flag poles were to be removed but the students took things into their own hands and raised the US flag before the pole could be removed.  Keep in mind that this was a place within the Canal Zone that contained mostly US families.  A group of Panamanian university students decided that there should be a Panamanian flag flying from that pole, not a US flag so they organized a march to the high school and attempted to change the flags.  What ensued was rioting, looting, destruction, and mayhem with two dozen people loosing their lives.

Today, 9 January, is officially known as Martyrs’ Day here in Panama.  It is a public holiday.  Interestingly enough is the fact that no liquor can be sold during this day.  If you go into a grocery store, you will find the liquor aisles taped off and if you are in a restaurant or bar, you wont be able to order anything alcoholic.  Many stores and restaurants close for the day as well.  I like the serious and respectful approach that this country takes to remembering this important event in their history.

Well, enough history!  Today I promised you some information about our real estate meeting.  We learned about this opportunity through International Living Magazine some time ago.  It is a new 96 suite exclusive boutique hotel that is to be built in downtown Panama City that will be called the Park Inn.  The neighborhood is good and it is within walking distance of the business area, restaurants, and the waterfront.  The concept is that the rooms are being sold as condominiums, to each owner.  It is an exclusive property as all rooms are one bedroom units.  There is a 20 year contract in place for the Radisson to manage and run the property and the Carlson Hotel group will be handling the reservations and marketing.  It is expected to take up to 20 months to complete the building and have the hotel working.  Revenues will be pooled for all units and the owners distribution will be based on the unit size (there are 3).  Current pricing is pre construction and coming to an end shortly.  There will be two more jumps in the pricing of about 10% each as the construction begins and then as the construction completes.  It is an interesting concept and the developer seems to have put all the pieces together.  The first deposit is 10% and there will be two more 10% payments required as the building progresses.  Seventy percent mortgages are available here in Panama from HSBC at around 6% that only amortize for 10 years, which we are told is common here for investments.  Current pricing varies from around US$240K through US$318K, accomodating the different floor and unit sizes.  We will give this a little more serious consideration and crunch some numbers to see if the revenue will support the expenses but on the surface, this makes sense to us.

We came back to the hotel to pick up the car and head out to the end of the causeway for some lunch.  It was extremely busy there as the Coral Princess was in port and passengers were beginning to arrive back from their various tours.  The Coral Princess stood off shore and passengers were being tendered back to the ship.  After an unremarkable lunch, and a few pictures, we decided to head over the Bridge of the Americas to find the new Westin hotel in Playa Bonita that just opened in December.

We have friends who are coming to Panama during Carnival and they will be staying here.  Nice property, right on the Pacific but it is quite remote.  We talked to a couple of guests who said it was a $25 cab ride per couple if you wanted to go into the city.  It is a good place to sell all-inclusive packages because there are no close local options.  We checked out a room and it is definitely up to the Westin standards.  Understandably, they are going through some growing pains as they get staff trained up to the Westin level and there are still small things left to do on the building.  There is also construction of another tower on the same property that is far from complete.  The guest we talked with said that some people were unhappy with the food and service levels as the Westin continues to work out the kinks of a new operation.

 

 

 

 

We decided that pasta might be in order for dinner tonight.  Well, not really!  It was more like the pasta joint was one of the few restaurants open.  Remember, this is Martyrs’ Day.  We found el Dente Restaurant not far from our hotel, at the start of the causeway.  We ordered an appetizer which was a bacon and cheese brochette.  Remember bacon is one of he major food groups to me so anything containing it goes straight to the top of the list.  It was good!  Next came a couple of pastas that we don’t see at home much.  I had chicken lasagna and Andrea ordered chicken cannelloni.  Again, no English menus and no pictures this time.  Tonight was a real surprise when we got what we thought we ordered.  Dinner was great but much toooooo large!  Total bill was $37.

Today’s featured image is a sunset over the canal, taken right in front of the Country Inn Panama Canal in Amador.

Well, enough for today.  Tomorrow we leave this hotel and make our way up the mountain to Cerro Azul.  I wonder if I should have tire chains, just in case?

Now Where is Ancon Hill

Hello from Sunny Panama,

As I lay by the pool feeling the gentle Pacific breeze cool the remaining moisture from my morning swim, I hear the distant sound of a gasoline powered leaf blower at work in the hotel grounds.  I couldn’t help but smile while thinking of the normal use for such a device at home during this time of the year… removing snow!   Well, at 32C I can tell you there is no snow here, at least not today!

We were up in time to check out the complementary breakfast, included with our room here at the Country Inn Panama Canal (Amador).  The breakfast room was set up as a buffet and everything was there.  Hot food, cold food, fresh fruit, pastries, juices, toast, cereals, etc.  It was a pretty elaborate spread.  Sorry, Everette.  No pie!

Yesterday, I promised you some pictures of why I think this hotel is located in a great spot for Panamanian vacation.  There is nothing special about the building but the place, right next to the canal, and the lack of traffic makes for a restful environment.  You can swim in he pool, watch the ships go by in the canal, walk along the canal, or just veg.  Your choice.  As well, you are within walking distance of the causeway and have a great view of the Bridge of the Americas.  About a block away, towards the causeway, you will find the Balboa Yacht Club.  The place is pretty casual, consisting of a bar and a pier out into the canal.  It is open to the public so we went here for lunch and a couple of drinks.  The food was good (bar food) and the atmosphere perfect!

Around 3PM, we set out for Ancon Hill, which my trusty guide-book claims has some great views of both the canal and the city skyline.  You could see if from our hotel.  It’s the hill with the huge Panama flag flying from the top and the two huge communication towers.  Getting to it with a car what with one way streets and mid street berms that keep you from turning a particular direction, required some patience.  We had just about given up when we found it.  The road is right behind the university and you can drive up about half way where you will meet a security guard and gate who will tell you that you can walk the rest of the way up but have to leave the car.  The access is good as you actually walk on a paved road that is there to give vehicle access to the communications equipment at the top of the hill.  The vegetation is quite dense and it often arches over the road providing shade to make the journey more comfortable.  You will walk a steady upgrade for about 30 minutes before you arrive at the top.  Try to ignore the local fitness freaks who are running up the hill past you as you gasp for your next breath.  The views from the top are spectacular.  Our timing was good, as I was able to get the late afternoon sun, which is exactly what I wanted.

A little pool time, once back at the hotel, refreshes enough to help you last until dinner, which tonight was to be at Pencas Restaurant.  It is about a 15 minute walk from the hotel right on the main drag to the causeway.   We arrived about 7:30 and the restaurant was pretty much full.  The staff here have little to no English so there was lots of gesturing and pointing to menu items that constituted our order.  We wondered if we would get what we ordered and sure enough we did.  Now we were not in a rush but it took about 15 minutes for our drink order to be delivered and the food was a bit over 30 minutes.  We noticed that the place seemed pretty structured.  Servers only served.  Buss people only bussed tables.  However, as soon as anything was ready from the kitchen, whoever was close brought it out.  None of the tables got all their food at the same time.  Interesting quirk about the place, I guess, but the food was hot and it tasted wonderful.  I ordered chicken wrapped in bacon and it was amazing.  Of course, anything wrapped in bacon turns my crank!

Today’s feature image is of the Casco Viejo area which was the second Panama City.  Casco Viejo is also known as the Old Town and dates back to the 1600s.  It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tomorrow, we meet with a real estate agent about a project that we found through International Living Magazine.  I will give you the details tomorrow.

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!