It is time to prepare for our next trip to Panama. We plan to visit for 3 weeks this time to be able to experience the country more fully.
Getting airfare from the states to Panama City's main airport is relatively simple. Just shell out a lot of money and buy the tickets. Then the fun starts. First we needed to find a place to stay for one night before we board Air Panama for a flight to Bocas del Toro, our first stop of this trip. Navigating around the Air Panama website is an experience. Somehow I got a reservation without paying for it. Repeated attempts to sending emails and getting a response from their customer service failed miserably. I think they just need to hire a better website programmer.
Once we gave up trying to make sense of the website, we decided to use the services of the great folks at La Estancia tour group and have them get the airfare reservations for us. Hopefully soon we will have our reservations, but I'm not anywhere near comfortable with the steps I needed to take in order to purchase them. More on that later if all hell breaks loose.
We decided to stay our first night in Panama City at La Estancia B&B since we had stayed there once before back in January 2012 and found it to be a very nice place. At the moment we plan to rent a car at the Tocumen airport upon arrival and return it the next day at the Albrook terminal. This will provide us with transportation for the day, which we will need since we want to go check out the Panama Center Apartments for later on when we get back from Bocas del Toro.
We have picked Hotel Lula's in Bocas del Toro for the five nights we'll be there. According to the reviews this place seems like a nice quiet small hotel for the money. $55 a night, including breakfast.
We plan to return to Panama City and stay in the general area for another 2 weeks.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Friday, November 30, 2012
January 2012 Trip
OVERVIEW
During our trip, we visited different areas of Panama for potential housing locations. Boquete is in the mountainous area north of David and is our choice if we were to move. We found the Panamanians friendly and helpful. The water was safe to drink everywhere we went. Generally, prices for food and drink were extremely cheap compared to the states. Fruit stands were everywhere.
Currency used is the US dollar. Panama has their own currency which is the Balboa. Each of their coins are the same size and value as US coins. Both the Balboa and the US dollar is used interchangeably everywhere.
The only downside is the amount of trash everywhere.
PANAMA CITY
We left San Antonio Texas at 5am on January 5th for a flight to Houston, and from there a 4 hour flight to Panama City. Arriving at 2PM, we got our rental and headed to Panama City. Driving in Panama City is an experience. You have both Panamanians and Panamaniacs. A Panamaniac is anyone behind the wheel of a vehicle.
Here is the view we had driving into Panama City from the airport. Skyscrapers everywhere.
Panama City Skyline
I like using GPS when I drive in places I am not familiar with, so instead of paying extra for one in a rental car when we arrived in Panama City, I found a company that sells a GPS map of Panama that is compatible with my Garmin Zumo. This came in extremely handy because there are NO street signs or numbers on buildings anywhere in Panama. For example, when I asked the Harley Davidson dealer where he was in Panama City, he responded " On Balboa Ave across from the Peugot dealer". So having GPS coordinates of places you want to visit is extremely handy.
Our first two nights we stayed at a Wyndham hotel called the Veneto. The Veneto is a very nice hotel/casino in the downtown area. After checking into our room, I noticed we had no power at all in the room. After calling housekeeping and muddling through the language barrier, I discovered that you have to put your room key in a slot near the front door to activate the power to the room. Once the room key is removed, power turns off after a short delay. A very ingenious way to save power!!
Right across the street from the Veneto was Manolo's, a restaurant with seating outside. We stopped there to relax and have our first taste of Panamanian cervazas. My first was appropriately called Panama. Not bad, but I liked the Balboa cervaza better, which I drank plenty of that week.
Later that evening we decided to go down to the Veneto casino to unwind and play the slots. As soon as I sat down at a slot machine a very attractive lady in her mid-40's (??) approached me and asked if I wanted a massage. I guessed I looked a little stressed out after a long day of travelling. Anyway, I politely declined, then quickly found Jan and stayed closer to her the rest of the night. The highlight was when I won $27 at one of the slots. Yep, big winner... ;-)
Our first night we ate at the Pomodor, a quaint little Italian restaurant right across the street from the Veneto. We were led out to a little courtyard behind the restaurant where they had lights hanging from the trees for a little atmosphere. The food and wait staff were excellent.
We ate breakfast Friday and Saturday morning at Manolo's. Sitting outside on the patio, we noticed that all the chicas walking around town wore the tightest pants/slacks possible. To me it looked like they were painted on. Most all wore high heels and dressed to the nine's.
Friday and Saturday we visited El Valle, the beach town of Coronado, and Cerro Azul. Altos del Maria was also on our list to visit, but we ran out of time. We also visited friends we had known from San Antonio before they moved to Capira last September. You can following their experiences from their blog at Along The Gringo Trail.
Saturday afternoon we picked up our son at the airport and then visited the Panama Canal Miraflores Locks. It was very interesting to watch the ships going through the locks.
Tanker Passing Through the Canal
We stayed at La Estancia that night which is a quaint little B&B in the heart of Panama City. The three of us shared a small two bed room where we watched birds and a squirrel fight over bananas hung from a tree outside the balcony.
Jan and I did attempt to learn a little Spanish before the trip. Our son knows Spanish and was a great help during the trip. We found that in most cases we were able to muddle our way through ordering food, getting a room, etc, but having your own personal translator along was very helpful.
David/Volcan/Boquete
Sunday morning we headed to the other end of the country to David, close to Costa Rica. We travelled the Carretera Panamericana highway almost 300 miles. The scenery was beautiful along the way, except as noted above about the trash along the side of the highway. We passed many small fruit stands selling fresh pineapples, bananas, coconuts, etc. We also passed many Nationale Policia standing along the highway with their sport bikes, radar guns and pistoleros. Speed limits were generally 80 to 100kph on the open highways and 40kph in towns. There were a couple of checkpoints around David where we were checked for passports.
Along the route we kept passing these establishments that had a long row of garage doors on both sides of the building. These were called 'Push Button Hotels' by our friends in Capira. Apparently these are drive-in rooms that could be rented by the hour. I guess parking your car in the garage meant that your neighbor couldn't tell you were there or who you were there with.
We stayed at Hotel Castilla in David for $39 a night. It was a very nice and clean hotel right in the middle of downtown one block from the town square. The bathrooms were tiled floor to ceiling. The staff at the hotel were courteous and very friendly. We had safe parking underground that was guarded night and day. We ate breakfast at the on-premise retaurant, and the food was delicious.
Sunday afternoon we made it down to the beach at Playa Barqueta. It was a clean beach area with a hotel, condos, and a bar or two. On the way there we passed many farms with fields of rice paddies, sugar cane, and corn. Being Sunday the beach was full of locals and vacationers. We downed a few cervazas and then had dinner while watching the beautiful sunset over the Pacific ocean.
Absolutely beautiful sunset on the Playa Barqueta beach
Monday morning we headed up the mountain to Boquete. Boquete is a huge ex-pat community town that has grown very fast. Many ex-pats have retired there, pushing up prices for homes. Boquete reminded me very much of Estes Park Colorado. Beautiful small town nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains. Did I mention this is a coffee growing area? Yumm! Low humidity and temperatures around 23°C.
View of Boquete
This particular Monday was a national holiday called Martyr's Day. No alcohol could be served all day so I had to go without drinking my favorite Panamaniam cervaza. But we did have some great tasting coffee. Being a holiday most all businesses and real estate agencies were closed, so we drove around the area taking pictures and taking in the beautiful scenery. We stopped at one bridge to take pictures when we met Brian and Angie, ex-pats who just moved there recently from Houston and bought a house nearby. These very friendly folks gave us helpful information on their experiences.
Back in David for the night we visited a casino down the street from the hotel, and found out that they were serving cervazas in the sports bar, where we watched football. I guess they were exempt from the no alcohol served on holiday rule??
Tuesday we drove up to Volcan from David. Volcan is very different area from Boquete. Volcan does not have the infrastructure that is needed for a growing community, yet. The mountainous area scenery is just beautiful up here. We stopped along the road many times watching waterfalls and streams flowing by. The weather was a bit colder than Boquete. We stayed in another quaint little B&B called Volcan Lodge for the night.
Wednesday we headed back to David and checked back into Hotel Castilla. After checking in we headed back to Boquete so we could talk to some real estate agents. Well, someone has said "If you think you can get away with something here in Panama, you are generally free to try". Well, there is major road construction from David to Boquete - changing a two lane road to 4 lanes. Monday was a holiday and there were no workers. Wednesday there were workers. I was following a very slow moving truck in a construction zone. Starting to get the picture??? I passed the truck, and then immediately got stopped by a Nationale Policia. Since I indicated I spoke very little to no Spanish he went over to the other side of the car where my son was sitting. The nice Policia said I had committed an 'Infraction'. Luckily it was a 'no-monetary infraction', so he finally let us go after checking over my driver's license and passport. Anyone see the show 'Locked Up Abroad'? Actually I'd like to think that I just did that so my son could get a little more experience in getting me out of trouble. ;-)
We saw a few gated communities that have possibilities. Los Molinos was nice. Los Nances was nice. Boquete Country Club was nice. All in all we found that the prices in the area were something we could afford if we decided to move there. The power and water prices that most folks indicated that they were paying a month was ridiculously low. Water bills around $10 a month. Electricity bills about $65 a month. Majority of the houses had no A/C. None of them had heaters. They just were not needed there.
Going Home
Thursday morning we made the 300 mile trip back to Panama City. That afternoon we visited Casco Viejo which is a very old part of town right on the coastline. Some streets were just wide enough for a car to travel down. Many of the buildings were under re-construction. After a stroll through the area browsing the street vendors, we stopped for a few more Balboa's before heading to the Marriott near the airport for the night. Friday we left for the long flight home.
During our trip, we visited different areas of Panama for potential housing locations. Boquete is in the mountainous area north of David and is our choice if we were to move. We found the Panamanians friendly and helpful. The water was safe to drink everywhere we went. Generally, prices for food and drink were extremely cheap compared to the states. Fruit stands were everywhere.
Currency used is the US dollar. Panama has their own currency which is the Balboa. Each of their coins are the same size and value as US coins. Both the Balboa and the US dollar is used interchangeably everywhere.
The only downside is the amount of trash everywhere.
PANAMA CITY
We left San Antonio Texas at 5am on January 5th for a flight to Houston, and from there a 4 hour flight to Panama City. Arriving at 2PM, we got our rental and headed to Panama City. Driving in Panama City is an experience. You have both Panamanians and Panamaniacs. A Panamaniac is anyone behind the wheel of a vehicle.
Here is the view we had driving into Panama City from the airport. Skyscrapers everywhere.
Panama City Skyline
I like using GPS when I drive in places I am not familiar with, so instead of paying extra for one in a rental car when we arrived in Panama City, I found a company that sells a GPS map of Panama that is compatible with my Garmin Zumo. This came in extremely handy because there are NO street signs or numbers on buildings anywhere in Panama. For example, when I asked the Harley Davidson dealer where he was in Panama City, he responded " On Balboa Ave across from the Peugot dealer". So having GPS coordinates of places you want to visit is extremely handy.
Our first two nights we stayed at a Wyndham hotel called the Veneto. The Veneto is a very nice hotel/casino in the downtown area. After checking into our room, I noticed we had no power at all in the room. After calling housekeeping and muddling through the language barrier, I discovered that you have to put your room key in a slot near the front door to activate the power to the room. Once the room key is removed, power turns off after a short delay. A very ingenious way to save power!!
Right across the street from the Veneto was Manolo's, a restaurant with seating outside. We stopped there to relax and have our first taste of Panamanian cervazas. My first was appropriately called Panama. Not bad, but I liked the Balboa cervaza better, which I drank plenty of that week.
Later that evening we decided to go down to the Veneto casino to unwind and play the slots. As soon as I sat down at a slot machine a very attractive lady in her mid-40's (??) approached me and asked if I wanted a massage. I guessed I looked a little stressed out after a long day of travelling. Anyway, I politely declined, then quickly found Jan and stayed closer to her the rest of the night. The highlight was when I won $27 at one of the slots. Yep, big winner... ;-)
Our first night we ate at the Pomodor, a quaint little Italian restaurant right across the street from the Veneto. We were led out to a little courtyard behind the restaurant where they had lights hanging from the trees for a little atmosphere. The food and wait staff were excellent.
We ate breakfast Friday and Saturday morning at Manolo's. Sitting outside on the patio, we noticed that all the chicas walking around town wore the tightest pants/slacks possible. To me it looked like they were painted on. Most all wore high heels and dressed to the nine's.
Friday and Saturday we visited El Valle, the beach town of Coronado, and Cerro Azul. Altos del Maria was also on our list to visit, but we ran out of time. We also visited friends we had known from San Antonio before they moved to Capira last September. You can following their experiences from their blog at Along The Gringo Trail.
Saturday afternoon we picked up our son at the airport and then visited the Panama Canal Miraflores Locks. It was very interesting to watch the ships going through the locks.
Tanker Passing Through the Canal
We stayed at La Estancia that night which is a quaint little B&B in the heart of Panama City. The three of us shared a small two bed room where we watched birds and a squirrel fight over bananas hung from a tree outside the balcony.
Jan and I did attempt to learn a little Spanish before the trip. Our son knows Spanish and was a great help during the trip. We found that in most cases we were able to muddle our way through ordering food, getting a room, etc, but having your own personal translator along was very helpful.
David/Volcan/Boquete
Sunday morning we headed to the other end of the country to David, close to Costa Rica. We travelled the Carretera Panamericana highway almost 300 miles. The scenery was beautiful along the way, except as noted above about the trash along the side of the highway. We passed many small fruit stands selling fresh pineapples, bananas, coconuts, etc. We also passed many Nationale Policia standing along the highway with their sport bikes, radar guns and pistoleros. Speed limits were generally 80 to 100kph on the open highways and 40kph in towns. There were a couple of checkpoints around David where we were checked for passports.
Along the route we kept passing these establishments that had a long row of garage doors on both sides of the building. These were called 'Push Button Hotels' by our friends in Capira. Apparently these are drive-in rooms that could be rented by the hour. I guess parking your car in the garage meant that your neighbor couldn't tell you were there or who you were there with.
We stayed at Hotel Castilla in David for $39 a night. It was a very nice and clean hotel right in the middle of downtown one block from the town square. The bathrooms were tiled floor to ceiling. The staff at the hotel were courteous and very friendly. We had safe parking underground that was guarded night and day. We ate breakfast at the on-premise retaurant, and the food was delicious.
Sunday afternoon we made it down to the beach at Playa Barqueta. It was a clean beach area with a hotel, condos, and a bar or two. On the way there we passed many farms with fields of rice paddies, sugar cane, and corn. Being Sunday the beach was full of locals and vacationers. We downed a few cervazas and then had dinner while watching the beautiful sunset over the Pacific ocean.
Absolutely beautiful sunset on the Playa Barqueta beach
View of Boquete
Back in David for the night we visited a casino down the street from the hotel, and found out that they were serving cervazas in the sports bar, where we watched football. I guess they were exempt from the no alcohol served on holiday rule??
Tuesday we drove up to Volcan from David. Volcan is very different area from Boquete. Volcan does not have the infrastructure that is needed for a growing community, yet. The mountainous area scenery is just beautiful up here. We stopped along the road many times watching waterfalls and streams flowing by. The weather was a bit colder than Boquete. We stayed in another quaint little B&B called Volcan Lodge for the night.
Wednesday we headed back to David and checked back into Hotel Castilla. After checking in we headed back to Boquete so we could talk to some real estate agents. Well, someone has said "If you think you can get away with something here in Panama, you are generally free to try". Well, there is major road construction from David to Boquete - changing a two lane road to 4 lanes. Monday was a holiday and there were no workers. Wednesday there were workers. I was following a very slow moving truck in a construction zone. Starting to get the picture??? I passed the truck, and then immediately got stopped by a Nationale Policia. Since I indicated I spoke very little to no Spanish he went over to the other side of the car where my son was sitting. The nice Policia said I had committed an 'Infraction'. Luckily it was a 'no-monetary infraction', so he finally let us go after checking over my driver's license and passport. Anyone see the show 'Locked Up Abroad'? Actually I'd like to think that I just did that so my son could get a little more experience in getting me out of trouble. ;-)
We saw a few gated communities that have possibilities. Los Molinos was nice. Los Nances was nice. Boquete Country Club was nice. All in all we found that the prices in the area were something we could afford if we decided to move there. The power and water prices that most folks indicated that they were paying a month was ridiculously low. Water bills around $10 a month. Electricity bills about $65 a month. Majority of the houses had no A/C. None of them had heaters. They just were not needed there.
Going Home
Thursday morning we made the 300 mile trip back to Panama City. That afternoon we visited Casco Viejo which is a very old part of town right on the coastline. Some streets were just wide enough for a car to travel down. Many of the buildings were under re-construction. After a stroll through the area browsing the street vendors, we stopped for a few more Balboa's before heading to the Marriott near the airport for the night. Friday we left for the long flight home.
Pros and Cons
First we decided to make a table of the Pros and Cons of moving to Panama.
Family
The hardest part is to leave friends and family behind as we venture out to a new country. I keep telling myself that it is only a 4 hour plane ride back to the states, but with two darling little grand-daughters, it is going to be very hard to not be able to see them as much as we do now. Also, Jan and I tried to learn a little Spanish before our first trip there, but as they say “It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks”.
Healthier Living
Jan has been diagnosed with Resting Tremors. Good chance it is the beginnings of Parkinson’s. It most certainly is parkinsonian like. In January 2011, when we visited Panama for the first time, she felt better than she ever had back in the states. Can’t explain this, but we are willing to go back for an extended time and see if it happens again. In the states, she uses a cane to help with her walking. Once we got to Panama, she was walking without the cane, and actually did a skip or two at one point.
The medicine she is taking here in the states is expensive. We are hoping that the lower cost of health care and meds will help. Of course, we are also hoping that her symptoms will actually get better once living in Panama, eliminating the need for the expensive meds. We are hoping that a second trip there for a longer time will show the same improvements. In either case, getting health insurance with her symptoms might be a big problem.
We found fresh fruits and vegetable stands everywhere. There is very little to no preservatives in the food, making most everything you eat there more healthier.
Moving
Ever try moving a household that has been rooted in one place for 27 years? I would need to sell one car, one truck, one 26’ RV, one Harley Davidson, one trailer, one golf cart, and one small pop-up. None of these I could take to Panama. Nor would you want to. Parts would be a problem for instance. I hear the best thing to do is buy a vehicle once you get there.
Then there’s the house. Do I sell it, or lease it out and hope for the best? Then we need to decide what to take with us to Panama, what to leave behind in a storage locker, and what to get rid of. Not an easy task for the faint hearted.
Our Current Plans
Our latest thinking is to go back to Panama for at least 3 weeks. This will allow us to sample as much of the Panamanian life as possible. Previoulsy back in january 2012 we spent some time at the northern end of the country near Boquete. This upcoming trip we plan to see as much of the Carribean and Pacific coasts as possible. The three major areas we would be considering are:Panama City – A hustling bustling metro area
Boquete – Mountainous area
Bocas Del Toro - Caribbean islands
Each of these three areas have a different theme to them, giving us a different sampling of local life in the area.
| Pros | Cons |
| Lower cost of living | Away from family |
| Healthcare expenses | Moving out of the states |
| Beautiful country | Disposing of assets, downsizing |
| Adventure | Language barrier |
| Healthy living (food, etc) | Paperwork process |
| Currency same as US dollar | Maintaining assets back in the states |
| Internet access | Congestion in the towns |
| Weather | Trash everywhere |
Family
The hardest part is to leave friends and family behind as we venture out to a new country. I keep telling myself that it is only a 4 hour plane ride back to the states, but with two darling little grand-daughters, it is going to be very hard to not be able to see them as much as we do now. Also, Jan and I tried to learn a little Spanish before our first trip there, but as they say “It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks”.
Healthier Living
Jan has been diagnosed with Resting Tremors. Good chance it is the beginnings of Parkinson’s. It most certainly is parkinsonian like. In January 2011, when we visited Panama for the first time, she felt better than she ever had back in the states. Can’t explain this, but we are willing to go back for an extended time and see if it happens again. In the states, she uses a cane to help with her walking. Once we got to Panama, she was walking without the cane, and actually did a skip or two at one point.
The medicine she is taking here in the states is expensive. We are hoping that the lower cost of health care and meds will help. Of course, we are also hoping that her symptoms will actually get better once living in Panama, eliminating the need for the expensive meds. We are hoping that a second trip there for a longer time will show the same improvements. In either case, getting health insurance with her symptoms might be a big problem.
We found fresh fruits and vegetable stands everywhere. There is very little to no preservatives in the food, making most everything you eat there more healthier.
Moving
Ever try moving a household that has been rooted in one place for 27 years? I would need to sell one car, one truck, one 26’ RV, one Harley Davidson, one trailer, one golf cart, and one small pop-up. None of these I could take to Panama. Nor would you want to. Parts would be a problem for instance. I hear the best thing to do is buy a vehicle once you get there.
Then there’s the house. Do I sell it, or lease it out and hope for the best? Then we need to decide what to take with us to Panama, what to leave behind in a storage locker, and what to get rid of. Not an easy task for the faint hearted.
Our Current Plans
Our latest thinking is to go back to Panama for at least 3 weeks. This will allow us to sample as much of the Panamanian life as possible. Previoulsy back in january 2012 we spent some time at the northern end of the country near Boquete. This upcoming trip we plan to see as much of the Carribean and Pacific coasts as possible. The three major areas we would be considering are:
Each of these three areas have a different theme to them, giving us a different sampling of local life in the area.
Panama for Retirement?
A number of years before retirement, the wife and I contemplated moving to Panama after we had read a few articles on how this country had become a wonderful place to retire. Of course, this was a few years ago, and prices then were a lot less expensive than they are now in most areas. The reason is that many ex-pats from all over the world have discovered Panama, along with their generous Visa program. Now that we have retired from the daily grind, we are considering making the move ourselves.
In the following blogs, we will document our first trip to Panama back in January 2012. We plan to return to Panama in 2013 and stay for 3 weeks giving us plenty of time to explore the country more deeply than before to see if this is the place for us.
So tell me, looking at the picture below, couldn't you just see yourself living in the bungalow over these clear pristine waters?
In the following blogs, we will document our first trip to Panama back in January 2012. We plan to return to Panama in 2013 and stay for 3 weeks giving us plenty of time to explore the country more deeply than before to see if this is the place for us.
So tell me, looking at the picture below, couldn't you just see yourself living in the bungalow over these clear pristine waters?
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