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Panama: Eight Destinations in Which to Spend the Winter Months

First Time Reader: Why Panama? – This blog explains the rationale of the trip and this series of blogs.

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lobo/excursions/1266327384/tpod.html
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Lobo's Real Time: March 31. 2010

Victoria, British Columbia

If you have been reading my blogs you may be aware that they have a definite "budget" slant to them. I am fond of saying that I am writing the “expat series” of blogs for the guy who is living on $1,500 Social Security per month. I used to think that $1,500 was the lower level of Social Security in the United States until I met an expat in La Fortuna, Costa Rica who set me strait that the lower limit was $650. That has adjusted my thinking to even lower levels. That makes Panama all the more appealing since it was the cheapest of the three countries that I visited.

What did this trip cost me?

The short answer is – “more than I expected”.

Panama is cheap but apparently not that cheap.

Total Cost of Trip (not including flight)                                                            $3,700
Duration of Trip                                              58 days
Cost per Day                                               $69
Cost per Month                                              $1,650

I operate on the basis that money is hard to come by therefore I don't spend it on too many luxuries. For example my alcohol consumption would probably be 2 beers a day (it is hot and humid in Panama) at a price of about 60 cents a bottle.

If you are careful you can eat in cafeteria-style restaurants for about $10 per day. On the other hand a good meal in a restaurant could be around $13. On most days I probably spent about $15 eating out.

An air-conditioned room for one person in Panama City can be found for $35 per day and for less in the provinces. For example in David I paid $16 for the same type of room.

Inter-city bus transportation cost is about $1 for every hour of travel. Local buses cost 25 cents.

Given these costs I am at a loss to explain how I spent an average of $69 per day.

Costa Rica proved to be more expensive. For example a beer is likely to cost $1.25. Accommodations were in the neighbourhood of $25 per night although in some areas I paid less than $10 which is a price I did not find in Panama.

Nicaragua was not cheaper than Panama. It was more interesting but not cheaper which was somewhat of a disappointment.

Later blogs will discuss both countries in greater detail.

The total cost of my trip does include $350 in expenses such as two nights accommodations in North America (one in Houston, one in Calgary at about $100 each), $100 in overweight and additional bag charges paid to Air Canada and $134 to Air Canada for various taxes.

My flight is not included because I flew on Aeropoints.

The problem with travelling is that there is an endless opportunity to spend money as the day goes by. Even if you don’t spend much – it does add up.

Staying in one city would obviously be cheaper but at $650 a month you would really have to watch your pennies starting with finding accommodations for $200 a month.

I can conclude that, despite the trip costing more than expected, I have achieved my financial objective during these two months. Within the limits of my pension income I was able to meet my financial obligations in Victoria, the expenses of the trip and have some money left over at the end of the two months.

As mentioned earlier, that objective was met only because I flew on Aeropoints - but then again, that is what Aeropoints are for.

I love travel but I refuse to put myself into debt to achieve it.

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Panama City

Destination No. 1 of 8 (in no particular order)

Panama City: Punta Pacifica and Trump Ocean Club
Part 7 of 8 on Panama City
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Note: The events of this blog took place at the end of my two-month trip to Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. I flew into Panama City on January 25, 2010 and flew back to Victoria, British Columbia from Panama City on March 18, 2010.
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March 15, 2010

Shortly after checking into the Hotel Costa Azul, located in the beautiful Bella Vista bario of Panama City, I hit the sidewalk for a three-hour round trip walk in search of the Trump Ocean Club, a destination that had eluded me in a previous blog.
 
This time I paid attention to directions and I achieved my objective. The towers are located in impressive Punta Pacifica. Walking there and seeing the splendour of the construction at Punta Pacifica once again established Panama City, at least in my mind, as one the great cities of the Americas.


So what was the big difference from two months ago when I first arrived in Panama City? Simply put – I noticed a lot more construction activity on the unfinished buildings than two months ago. That’s a good sign. Especially in Punta Pacifica where there is a lot of construction. Apart from the Trump Ocean Club every site seemed to be in a full construction mode. Even in other construction sites that I noticed in my long walk there seemed to be a lot less sites where no construction was taking place.

My walking route from the Hotel Coast Arul took me east along Calle 50 then south along Via Brasil past the Mulitplaza Shopping Center to Punta Pacifica.


As the photos show, it is an impressive walk in an impressive city.

For a virtual tour of the Trump Ocean Club:

http://www.trumpoceanclub.com/

As the virtual tours show, the really spectacular view of Trump Ocean Club is from the Pacific Ocean side that at this point is not accessible to the public. What my photos show is the back side of the structure which is spectacular in its own way.

Cerro Ancon

Go to Toronto, Ontario and it is hard to resist taking the elevator to the top of the CN Tower for a bird’s eye view of the city. Go to Montreal and you would be negligent in not going to the top of Mount Royal to enjoy the panoramic view of the beautiful city sprawled along the shores of the Saint Lawrence River. Go to Vancouver and you will be in awe of its spectacular setting as seen from the top of nearby Grouse Mountain.

Panama City is no exception. The full splendour of the city and its setting along Panama Bay and the Panama Canal are best enjoyed from the top of Cerro Ancon.


Note: the size of Cerro Ancon is greatly exaggerated on the map

Here it was easy to linger for an hour just to enjoy the scenery and to reflect on the two-month trip I was on the verge of completing.

The Spanish word “cerro” refers to a mountain. My first exposure to the word was during my trip to Argentina where Cerro Fitz Roy was the highest peak in impressive Los Glaciares National Park. The unlikely name comes from Captain Robert FitzRoy of Darwin’s ship, the Beagle.
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lobo/argentina_2006/1140650340/tpod.html

To get to Cerro Ancon I took a Diablo Rojo (Red Devil local bus) to the Terminal Nacional. From here I took a bus to Balboa located in the former Canal Zone. (total cost 50 cents) From the former YMCA I took a taxi to the stairs that lead to the pathway going to the top of Cerro Ancon. The dollar for the taxi was well worth it as it is not easy to find the start of the path and it is a long walk from Balboa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancon_Hill

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Feedback: travelswithlobo@yahoo.com
(not published in blog)

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Coming soon: Panama City: Two Proposals for a Stay