Panama, Panama Canal and more…..

Posted On December 8, 2018

The next country in my retirement list was Panama. Panama is a hidden gem. Very few people know about it as a country. In the USA, its either the canal or Noriega. Panama is a stable democracy in central America,not too far from the east coast. They use dollar as their currency but things are a lot cheaper. I flew from SFO to Panama city. direct on COPA air, which is a much better airline than most of the US airlines. They serve you real food and alcohol free of cost. No nickel and dime.
When you fly in from the US, you obviously arrive at the international terminal. The immigration is a breeze down stairs . The officers are very pleasant and courteous. My officer said something in Spanish and I replied” No espanol.” “No English” he retorted, broke in to a laughter, stamped my passport and waved me on with a warm Bienvenidos to his country.
There was a few hours of lay over before my connecting flight to David (Daveed ) ,my launching site to the mountain towns, Boqute and Volcan.

I hung around the airport and sampled the first local beer of the day at the airport restaurant. . Then I went looking for the domestic terminal. It’s vicinity is a bit tricky to locate, as it happens to be a nondescript door. Only COPA flies out of here . The other domestic carrier, Air Panama flies out of the AlBrook airport, which is closer to the city/Mall/metro. En route to the terminal, I found the best watering hole the Chicken something.

After an hour flight to David, I shared a taxi ($3) with a gringo from NYC who has residency in Panama.He has been living here for more than a decade and seems to like his new country. I was dropped off at the national bus station. I took a bus to Boquete ($1.50), the quintessential retirement place for the gringos. I arrived at the town square late at night,but was able to ask around where my hotel was.People seems to go out of the way to help. My back pack and I walked to my hotel, and after checking in , I went back into town. I decided to visit an Argentinian restaurant which had beautiful live music.After a couple of beers and dinner,I watched the beautiful people dance to the lively music. I did not dance as they were all dancing as couples.

The next morning after a nice complimentary breakfast, I explored the town. It was quiet because it was Sunday. I walked into the church and attended the mass. No alcohol is sold in stores on Sunday. The town came back to life in the evening with music, dancing and street food at the square. A skewer of meat will set you back a couple of bucks. He and his family were proud of their product, they let me take their pictures.

late at night I had the urge to get an haircut and Julio, my friend, obliged at $3 plus $1 tip.

The next day I took a bus to explore the other side of the volcano at Volcan.(You have to go back to David and back up as there is no bus service across the mountain.)Both the towns are @ 6000ft above sea level. Volcan is more rural than Boquete .I could live in either places but less at Volcan as it might be a bit too remote. The only concern are the scorpions that turn out once every few years.

Back at David, I checked in to Hotel Nacional which was a historic building.

I wandered through the city, enjoying the sights, with a lot of people watching. Late at night my wandering brought me to this new bar “WaWanko” across from my Hotel.I walked in and was greeted by the owner Gaby and her son Shon the bar tender. I spend considerable time and drinks (I was having Tito Vodka shots ) with them. I had a wonderful time with both of them. They were gracious hosts. When it was time for me to leave, they walked me to the hotel to make sure that I was safe. If you are in the neighborhood,I would certainly recommend this bar to you.

Next morning, after the complimentary breakfast, which I did not enjoy as much, because of my hangover, I few back to Panama city. I bought a metro pass and took the bus to Al brook mall/bus station. After lunch ($5) I took another bus to the Panama Canal (0.25c). I enjoyed the viewing of the canal and its working . I feel it was worth the $20 entrance fee. I spend a couple of hours watching and getting educated on the functioning of the Canal, which certainly is a engineering wonder. I took the bus and metro to my hotel in the city.
I visited numerous Casinos which are not worth writing about compared to the glamour houses of Las Vegas and Atlantic city back home. Next day after viewing more of the city, I flew back home.

Looking back, it was an exciting experience. The warmth of the people and the laid back life style would keep panama in my list. Even otherwise, I would certainly make a return trip.

The canal is a must see

BOQUETE