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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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Playa Blanca: The Best Beach on the Panamanian Pacific Coast
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After spending almost a week in Panama City I was ready to visit something beyond the city. I was therefore all-ears when Robert (pronounced Ro-Bare) offered to take me to the most beautiful beach on the Pacific Coast of Panama.

The phrase "the most beautiful beach on the Pacific Coast of Panama" was of particular interest to me as I was eager to compare this beach with what we had seen of the west coast of Mexico.

If you have not read any of the previous blogs, Robert was a French-Canadian expat from Quebec City that I met shortly after my arrival in Panama City. He quickly became my “local expert” since he has been coming to Panama City for the last four years and has bought property here.

Breakfast on this Saturday morning was no different from any other during my stay in Panama City - two fried eggs on a large pancake or French toast, a large bowl of porridge and a nice cup of coffee – all for $2.40 with the seniors discount. That was one reason why I liked the Hotel Costa Azul located in Bella Vista as it was only a five-minute walk from the Supermercado Riba Smith that offered great bargains in its cafeteria for breakfast, lunch and supper and all for less than $15 per day.


By 09:30 I had met Robert at the Gran Terminal Nacional and soon we were heading north on the Pan American Highway. The buses, except for the major routes between Panama City and David or Costa Rica, weren't much more than oversized mini-vans. Usually crowded and cramped with even some folding seats in the middle aisle, it did not make for the most comfortable means of transportation. On the positive side, service was frequent and the buses are air-conditioned. Considering the intense heat (usually above 35 ° C) and high humidity anywhere in Panama except for the highlands, air conditioning was very much appreciated.


One of the advantages of having a guide to get to a particular destination is that I could just go along for the ride without really knowing where the destination was. I was therefore somewhat surprised that our trip lasted two hours before we got off along the Pan American Highway near Farallon located on the Costa Blanca.
 

Once we safely crossed the busy highway on an overhead pedestrian crossing, we took a mini-van bus to get to the beach. As we progressed on the 15-minute ride the road became smaller and smaller till we ended up on a dirt road that took us into the very rural village of Farallon.

When we got to the end of the road we appeared to have arrived in Margaritaville in the form of Pipa’s Bar and Restaurant that offered seafood, Alaska King Crab, cold beer, lobster, soft drinks, and rented jet skis and four-wheel vehicles.

The bar was small but was all that was needed for casually dressed patrons who seemed to hover like so many bees around honey. This was the place to just relax, get away from it all and sip the 60 cent beers in a tropical surrounding of thatched roofs and white sable sand that recalled more the Caribbean side of Mexico with its white sands than the golden sand of the west coast.


Robert showed me some basic bunk like accommodations near Pipa’s Bar where he had stayed last year for $10 per night. It would be a far cry from the luxury resort we stumbled upon later on in the day.

So far I was quite impressed with the beach. However, as we walked further along the beach, the fine white sable sand deteriorated into a hard packed dirty white narrow strip marked by four-wheel vehicle tracks. What happened to the “best beach on the Pacific side of Panama”?

Our walk along the beach was motivated by Robert’s desire to find the restaurant/bar of a Canadian expat that he had met last year.

That serendipitous search took us along more beachfront bars that seemed to improve in looks as we went along but which were also progressively devoid of patrons. We also passed condo or hotel buildings whose construction seemed to be on hold due to economic conditions. They did however have the perfunctory “two-man workforce” to keep up appearances.

At some point we headed a few hundred meters inland to find a beautiful property called the Rancho Rio offering seafood, river adventures and fishing charters with the Bubba Company. Its beautiful Tahiti-type structures with thatched roofs made me wish that we had found our destination – the bar and restaurant of the Canadian expat.

That turned out not to be the case but we did receive specific instructions on how to find it. So within ten minutes we came upon Woody’s Beach Bar and Grill adorned with Canadian flags. There was also a sign for Woody’s Canadian Realty with a phone number for Monique, who according to Robert, was Woody’s wife.

Prominent displayed in the bar was a flag of the Canadian Air Force of which Woody was a member along with various hockey jerseys. What could be more Canadian than hockey jerseys unless it is the beaver?

I sensed that Robert, being as sociable as he is, was disappointed that Woody had just left previous to our arrival and that his wife seemed not to recognize him as she was completely preoccupied with a group of prospective North American real estate buyers seated at a nearby table in the bar.

Never being at a loss for words, Robert did manage to get her attention at some point to make his presence felt. That was rewarded with an invitation to join the table.

It was an invitation that I declined to accept. Since the conviviality achieved this early in the afternoon by the liberal consumption of alcohol was not something that I was comfortable with (being the prude that I am!).

As we continued our explorations along the beach we unexpectedly came upon a luxury resort that I just had to check out.

I noticed that Robert was not too keen on going too deeply into this luxury domain for we were lacking two mandatory items – an orange wristband that identified the guests and a bathing suit. We therefore did stand out but my curiosity got the better of me as I left Robert near the swimming pool to go and explore. It was near the entrance of the resort that I came upon the name of the resort – Hotel Royal Decameron Costa Blanca that included a golf course, a beach resort and villas.

I have since heard that Decameron is a Columbian hotel chain and that it is a major player in the resort business that is heavily marketed in Canada among other countries.


http://www.decameron.com/

click on Resort Locator Map

For a closer look at the Royal Decameron Resort:

http://www.decameron.com/eng/panama/royal/overview.html

Another site:

http://www.guidetopanama.info/decameron_resort/decameron.htm

puts it this way.

Only 90 minutes from Panama City by two-lane highway, the Royal Decameron Resort is located in Playa Blanca (White Beach), which enjoys the best microclimate of the country. This area has more sunny days each year. Without a doubt, the Resort is the perfect choice to enjoy an incomparable vacation. This property represents a fantastic value for such an elaborate all-inclusive resort.

Where is Playa Blanca?
 

Speaking of the weather, remember that Panama has only two seasons – wet and dry. Dry season is from mid-December to May. Dry translates into very high temperatures as I mentioned above and high humidity, the worst I have experienced. Wet season apparently means just that – rain every day, but not necessarily all day.

By the way, the beach in front of the Royal Decameron Resort was definitely a beautiful Playa Blanca (White Beach) worthy of the title "the best beach on the West Coast of Panama".
 
Our walking into the Royal Decameron Resort reminded me of a travel experience I had thirty years ago on the island of Djerba in Tunisia. After touring Tunisia for three weeks all the way to the Sahara Desert I thought a little bit of R&R on the Island of Djerba would be in order. I have forgotten the exact circumstances but I found myself inadvertently mimicking a commercial of the time.

Here I was grubby, sweaty and maybe exhausted after a long walk along the beach carrying a heavy backpack coming to a beautiful resort on a white sandy beach. Throwing caution and social niceties to the wind I marched straight through the assorted vacationers roasting and tanning in the hot sun as I headed for the front desk. It was there that I did something I had never done before. I pulled out my American Express credit card without even asking for the price of a room.

How often had I seen the TV commercial of that time back in Canada? The rugged traveller, no doubt a cousin of the Marlboro Man and his ilk, walking in out of the jungle or the desert looking worse for wear and walking into a fancy hotel to flash his American Express credit card only to be received with open arms. How could one forget that membership has its privileges.

Back in those days the American Express card was a big deal and even I, who at the time had a part-time business called Euro-Immersion Language Study, had to have one. In what must seem bizarre in this day and age of easy credit, the American Express Card of that time had to paid off in full at the end of every month.

Now after returning to Panama City with Robert, I ended up the day with supper at Niko’s Café at the Gran Terminal Nacional. Let’s see – mashed potatoes, vegetables and strip of beef – all for $3.10. You have got to love Panama.

Robert who had a preference for his own cuisine headed home.
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Feedback: travelswithlobo@yahoo.com
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Coming Soon:

Panama – Coronado - Destination No. 2