Our first trip to Panama to check it out for future retirement was in 2010. We went over Thanksgiving since we both were still working.
I pre-arranged a local guide named Mario who picked us up from the airport and gave us a tour of the city and then a second day to Monkey Island and Gamboa Rainforest. He was a great guide for seeing the sites, but wasn’t into hiking, so we did a brief walk in the rainforest as “he didn’t see the point”. He wasn’t hired as a nature guide, so I get it.
Panamá Viejo is the remaining part of the original Panama City, the former capital of the country. It is located in the suburbs of the current capital. Together with the historical district of Panamá, it has been a World Heritage Site since 1997.
Mario took us to the airport for our flight to David. That
turned into a fiasco. The flight was canceled after a long wait for it to
board. We were given a choice of taking the overnight bus to get there or wait
for the flight that left in the morning. In hindsight we should have taken the
bus, but we opted to have the airline put us up in a “hotel” that included
dinner and they picked us up the next morning for the flight.
The hotel was horrible. We heard what we thought were
gunshots outside the hotel. It was barely a 1* hotel at best. Suicide shower.
(hot water switch in the shower) The A/C did not work, but it was only because
the front desk needed to turn it on from downstairs. They did and it worked. In
the evening we didn’t have cold water and the next morning we only had cold water.
So, brushed our teeth in hot water and the next morning there was no hot water
for a shower. The food was marginal. (borderline clean in the room) We have stayed in many places in Panama since and all were very good.
The flight to David went as scheduled in the morning. We had planned to stay in a hotel in David the night before and have them set up a taxi to give us a tour of the area and then drive us to Boquete.
However, that
went out the window when our flight didn’t go. So, we arrived at the airport
and wondered how we were going to explain to a taxi driver that probably only
spoke Spanish that we were looking to retire to Panama and wanted a tour of
David and then be driven to Boquete where we were staying for a couple of
nights. We were approached by a young man and we stuttered and stammered
something between English and Spanish when he said in perfect English “just
tell me, I speak English”. So, with the messaged relayed we negotiated his rate
and we made a quick stop at his house so he could tell his wife he’d be gone
all day.
He took us by the hospital and some grocery stores and took
us to the coast where there was a gated community we wanted to see. On the
drive he told us he was an exchange student in the States and that’s where he
learned English. I asked him where and he said he was sure we never would have
heard of it. I don’t recall the town now, but it was in Iowa and I’m from Iowa.
Too funny! He said he was miserable there. You know they made me stand outside
in the snow to catch a bus to school? Coming from the Tropics he had never
experienced snow and hoped to never experience it again.
On the drive to Las Olas we encountered some Brahman cattle on the road (they were being moved from one place to another) and we had to stop for them to go around us.
He then drove us to Boquete and we got checked into the
Boquete Garden Inn. (whenever we have visited Boquete after moving to Panama we
always stayed there) Just a lovely setting and the rooms were nice. The
breakfast was wonderful and the colorful birds kept us entertained during
breakfast. They served a course of yogurt and fruit which we thought was enough
and then they came by to get our breakfast order of eggs & meats etc. The
stay also included a happy hour drink at their bar.
We got checked in and then wandered around the grounds.
I had set up a 4X4 Cloud Forest tour & Nature Hike for
the next day. Since the tour picked us up before breakfast was served, the owners delivered a packaged breakfast and put it in our fridge for us the night before. The pastry they served with breakfast was to die for. While we waited for the tour guide to pick us up we watched the beautiful Neotropical birds. The owners put fruit out for them every morning.
Despite one of the
islands having a “traditional” Thanksgiving meal we opted to eat at one of the
restaurants over the water and we had seafood. Greg had octopus and I had
shrimp.
On the last day we were taken to the airport for our flight
back to Panama City. It was running very late (several hours) and Mario was
there waiting for us when we finally got there. To top it off, he thought we
were supposed to be on the earlier flight so he had an extra long wait for us.
He had gone home at one point to pick up his wife and child so we met them as
well. He then drove us to the international airport for our flight home.
So, for our first trip to Panama we managed to rule out
every place that we visited. There are lots of expats in Boquete, but at that
time there weren’t as many flights or as much shopping as there is now, plus
it’s a bit cooler there than I prefer. (though there are areas between David
& Boquete that are warmer) At that time David only had small planes to the
city of Panama. (they now can take large planes) David gets as hot as Panama
City. We aren’t “city people”, so we ruled out those places. We loved Bocas,
but the islands are remote and to travel or if you needed medical care it would
be a plane ride and or boat & plane ride to David or Panama City. Not much in
the way of grocery shopping and restaurants were high due to being on an island
where most everything has to be imported. We knew we would continue to travel
and taking any quantity of luggage would be problematic. (though from David, we
could drive, but it’s almost in Costa Rica so not a short drive and would
require a night in a hotel before flying out.
We returned in 2012 to check out the Altos del
Maria/Coronado area which sounded more like “us”. Of course it did turn out to
be the place for us.
The next cruise/land trip will be the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador & land portion to Ecuador for Machu Picchu. That one will take some time to put together. LOTS of photos.
Panama City - https://photos.app.goo.gl/4JRvaqYGPaFDFb8X7
Monkey Island & Gamboa Rainforest
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Aqfjpdg2aYhnwaTk9
David https://photos.app.goo.gl/HsREwrc25LqpMKYcA
Boquete 4X4 Cloud Forest https://photos.app.goo.gl/u7UdE63ULhR9G9Gh8
Boquete https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ycke97SLVgYGKqza6
Boquete Garden Inn https://photos.app.goo.gl/X8YFBofMn1xxYKXx7
Dolphin Bay, snorkeling & Red Frog
Beach https://photos.app.goo.gl/6DNwrqdW9VnTywFM6
Boca del Toro & Starfish Beach https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y3TqqhHecystYA2s5
Cocomo on the Sea https://photos.app.goo.gl/arZR79tLQUD2QEU57
Bocas del Toro https://photos.app.goo.gl/JySks9K6DZu8XFB69
