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PANAMA: Five Destinations to Spend the Winter Months

Panama City, Panama
Destination no. 1 of 5

Panama City: Getting There from Victoria, British Columbia
Part 1 of 8

Saturday, January 23, 2010

After three hours of sleep, my 04:00 start to the day was facilitated by only two of three alarms going off. It took me until 01:00 to finish packing and leave the condo in perfect condition for Barbara's return from a work related trip on Sunday.

The shuttle that was to pick me up at 05:00 showed up at 05:10 and then proceeded to wait for other passengers along the way. The result was that I made it to the check in with Air Canada Jazz at Victoria International Airport with only minutes to spare.

If I was still a bit groggy at this time of day, the words "That will be a charge of $75" got my attention . I knew my bag was heavy and I was actually relieved that it was only 7.5 lbs overweight – but $75.00! Unfortunately, our weigh scale was one of the items that was lost in the move from Prince George, BC to Victoria.
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TIP (things I wish I had done)

Don’t leave your packing to the last minute. I did because I had so many other non-trip related things to do. Leave yourself enough time to pack and then repack leaving half the stuff at home.

If you are not sure about the weight of your baggage bring a folded duffle bag that you can use as a second piece of luggage in case you need to split the weight between two bags.
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After a 15-minute flight to Vancouver International Airport I had enough time before my connecting flight to grab one last piece of Canadiana – a cup of Tim Hortons coffee and a breakfast sandwich . If you are Canadian you know how good that feels (and tastes).

At 09:00 I boarded the connecting flight with Continental Airlines to Houston’s George Bush International Airport. I had a row to myself and one of the highlights of the flight was flying right over the BC Ferries Tsawwassen Terminal. It is from this terminal that ferries leave from Tsawwassen (Vancouver) to Swarz Bay (Victoria). Also of interest was flying for about two hours over the Rocky Mountains of the western states.

No matter how often I fly, it is a magical and phenomenal experience if for no other reason than the tremendous time saving. Continental impresses me with their good service and the quality food they serve (my tastes are simple).

Unfortunately my connecting flight to Panama City, Panama would not leave till 09:00 on Sunday morning. I had booked an overnight stay in a Holiday Inn Express for $77 near the airport . Considering how I arrived around 15:00 I was hoping to take public transportation to downtown Houston to check it out. Unfortunately the hotel was in the middle of a wasteland of an industrial area with no way out by public transportation and no restaurants within reasonable walking distance. I survived on apples and bananas supplied by the hotel for the rest of the day.
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TIP (things I wish I had done)

If it is important to you, check out the hotel’s location on Google Earth.
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Sunday, January 24, 2010

Today I was off to a 06:00 start thanks to a wake-up call. The clock radio which I had also set did not go off. Plans included having breakfast at the hotel but were also washed out as I opted to have the maximum time at the airport.

Once again, I was greeted by an agent from Continental Airlines with “your bag is 7 .5 lbs overweight – that will be $50”.

As I did not see the logic in being charged twice on what essentially was one trip spread over two days, I had no difficulty in expressing my point of view in a quiet but firm manner. After consultation with a supervisor, they agreed with me and I was on my way to Panama City, Panama.

I was pleasantly surprised that there were only 50 passengers on this 250 passenger jet. It made for a quiet calm flight.

Another window seat had me closely eyeballing the beautiful Texan coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

Since I had the whole row to myself, it was time to spread out my stuff and devote my time to studying Moon’s Panama Travel Guide. My main focus of attention was to familiarize myself with the various neighbourhoods of the city and the location of the “least expensive” hotels.

If you can get the hotel right then everything else falls into place . The right hotel has to be cheap, around $30, close to the centre and in a good neighbourhood.

Considering all of those points, the Hotel Residencial Los Arcos located in the Bella Vista neighbour described as “a quiet neighbourhood close to the action” caught my eye. The price of $27 of course sealed the deal. The “close to the action” I discerned to be the Calle Uruguay located in the downtown area.

Another issue to deal with was the information that only taxis were mentioned as a means of transport to downtown. The price of $28 did not appeal to me at all. Hopefully there would be buses at a fraction of the cost.

During the flight to Houston I also spent a bit of time managing my stress level and what I had learned from Eckhardt Tolle’s “Living in the Now” came in handy.

No doubt about it. Staying home is the easiest thing. The comfort level that exists at home built around a routine can’t be beat – unless you want to see the world .

Unfortunately the only way to see the world is to leave that comfort level of home and deal with whatever the trip throws at you. It helps a lot if the focus is only on the next step and not to worry about the unknown.

I took inspiration from my friend Bill Dunning from Ottawa, who had winged off to China only a couple of days earlier. He was going there on a project and I know Bill would not worry about the unknown – he is just that kind of a daring and self confident guy. His favourite saying in the face of obstacles is “get over it”!

So getting back to one step at a time ----- “find the right transportation from Tocumen International Airport to the hotel and then deal with the next step” became my mantra.

Perhaps it’s time make a confession. As usual, I am hitting the ground unprepared but that is the purpose of the trip – to learn more about Panama and the “expat” scene . Let’s see how it goes.

Ours seemed to be the only flight arriving so it was an easy and quick entry through customs and immigration on a rainy Sunday.

Unfortunately, the tourist office was not open. As it turned out, almost everything is closed in Panama on Sundays. After asking around, I rejected the taxi option in favour of a “colectivo” or mini-bus for $11. A fellow passenger was a woman who had flown here expressly from Columbia to shop here at a famous mall (future blog).

I don’t know what it was, the rainy weather or my own insecurity, but once we had arrived in the downtown area, I allowed the “collectivo” driver to talk me into staying at the Hotel Latino which he said was a “better” hotel.

After looking at three rooms I settled for a small room on the fourth floor. To its credit the hotel had an elevator and a roof-top terrace with a small swimming pool . Hey, that was pretty fancy but the clientele of the hotel, the staff as well as the neighbourhood left something to be desired. To get the $30 price I had to take the room for 2 nights.

Our tradition on the trip “Mexico – 23 Destinations to Spend the Winter Months” was always to head out and explore the cities right after we had checked in. Today however I had to catch up on some of the sleep I missed the last couple of days on the not so perfect mattress.

After the rain and the nap, it was time to explore in search of the action on Calle Uruguay. (Ironically if you read the previous blog, Uruguay was my original destination). My first stop for direction was to ask the guard that was standing in front of the “Hospital Nacional”. During the conversation the word “cuidado” came out. It means “watch out” or “caution”. This neighbourhood is not the safest, especially at night.

Undeterred I continued on in the empty Sunday streets . It was amazing to find a country where stores close on Sunday and the downtown is deserted except for a few cars.

Heading off in the general direction indicated by the guard I eventually came upon another person on the street that even looked like a “gringo”. Maybe he knew where the Calle Uruguay was located.

The “habla inglis?” question revealed that I had stumbled upon a French-Canadian gentleman from Quebec City by the name of Robert. He had been living the expat experience by coming to Panama City during the winter months for the last four years. It can only be described as a lucky break when the second person that I met in Panama City turned out to be my “local expert” for Panama City.

 Not only was he extremely knowledgeable on the local scene, including real estate, but he seemed to be inclined to share his information with me – more about that in later blogs.

As we walked towards Calle Uruguay in search of a place to have a beer, we stumbled upon the Hotel Residencial Uruguay –my original choice for a hotel . It sure looked good. It was however a bit of a surprise to find out that the rate for one person had gone from $27 to $44. Maybe the mention of the hotel in a guide book is a sure reason to increase rates. Well that made me feel better as I was paying $30 at the Hotel Latino in a not so nice neighbourhood.

My questions to Robert about the real estate scene in Panama City were flying fast and furious as we walked towards the Calle Uruguay. Why hadn’t I brought a tape recorder? Over a beer, the most important point I gathered was that the “real estate bubble in Panama City had another 20% to go”. Yikes, that made me think of the condo we just bought in Victoria, BC

…more about the real estate scene in Panama City in a later blogs.


The attached photos were taken shortly after my arrival and the following day along some of Panama City’s most interesting streets such as Via Espana, a major thoroughfare, Via Veneto and Via Argentina .

As for the Calle Uruguay, if this was the best Panama City has to offer it would not be much. It had all the charm of -- well it has none as it was mostly deserted especially on a Sunday. Apparently the action translates into numerous night clubs that open their doors very late at night to throngs of clubbers. This is not my part of the city but what would be?
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Coming Soon: Taking in the Sights of Panama City