Ten Days in Panama

Simply Natural Farms: Update on My Panama Investment

2022-05-13T13:24:00.011-04:00

Shortly after booking my flight to Panama, I learned that there had been a fire on the Simply Natural Farms lands. Oh boy.

The first report I got was that my hectare of mangos had been severely impacted. Oh crap.

So, I was really dreading my farm inspection during the two-hour-plus drive from Panama City to Penonomé (where the main farm offices are located). Once we got to the offices, I was told by Mario, the head of the company’s irrigation systems, that my land was mostly fine and that my pump and irrigation controller survived the fast-moving fire. Whew!

A damaged one-inch irrigation supply line.

Nonetheless, I was practically holding my breath during the fifteen-minute drive from the office to see my mango trees. As it turns out, I only lost a handful of trees plus the irrigation supply lines that lay on top of the ground were melted. For the most part, the trees look good and just need water. Fortunately, the rainy season has begun.

Like many fires I saw in the mountains of Montana where I grew up, the fire moved quickly and mostly burned grass, small bushes and the lowest limbs of the trees. Even trees like the one below might be able to be saved as long as it is green on the inside of the trunk.

One of the more severely burned trees.

For those trees that were in the path of the fire, there are basically three long-term scenarios:

The tree completely burned: the tree is not salvageable and must be cut down and replaced
The tree is sufficiently burned that the limbs will never be the same, but the interior is alive: the top of the tree will be cut off and a new scion will be grafted to the existing tree.
The lower limbs are burned but the tree is generally in good condition: the tree will be trimmed and monitored, but will go on to produce in the coming years.

The melted remnants of the one-inch irrigation lines.

The grafting option is an interesting one. In anticipation of some future event, the company’s R&D group did a trial a few years ago by cutting off the tops and re-grafting dozens of trees already in the field. The result was 100% success.

I was aware of the experiment but never dreamed they would need to implement it. Even if the success rate isn’t that high when re-grafting the burned trees, it means that most will be saved because the root system will remain intact.

Although the pump and controller on my irrigation system were unharmed, they will still need to replace the one-inch feeder lines that lay on top of the ground, the individual drip lines that go to each tree and the sensors that are buried throughout the hectare of land.

Irrigation supervisor, Mario, explaining the pump and controller systems.

The three-inch main line coming into the pump is split in two with a line going to each side of my property. The one-inch lines come up in front of each row of trees and then the drip lines are attached near the trunk of each tree. The sensors will need to be individually dug up and tested.

The sensors are a critical part of the irrigation system because they measure how much water is being consumed by the trees. Weather stations located throughout the farms measure temperature, solar gain, wind, rain and humidity. The weather station and sensors work in tandem as the data is fed into the controllers to completely automate the irrigation system.

Data is collected every ten minutes and instructions are given to the irrigation system using artificial intelligence algorithms to make sure every plant receives exactly what it needs. Millions of data points are compared using not only the information gleaned from the systems installed on the farms in Panama, but also from systems growing the same crops across the world.

Most trees still had a lot of flowers that will develop into fruit. Simply Natural Farms grows eight different varieties of mango. My mangos are the My Fair Lady variety, created by Simply Natural Farms.

In addition to the fact that most of my trees are in great shape, most of them are also flowering. There are some fruit on my trees, but since the fire happened during the flowering season, they were delayed because the irrigation system was destroyed.

While I doubt I will get much of a crop this year, Mario said that most of the irrigation lines that were destroyed across the 30-or-so hectares impacted by the fire will be replaced by the end of the year so that next year’s crop (barring another fire or other catastrophe) should be solid.

Not a surprise… the vinyl perimeter fences did not fare well.

There are a lot of mango saplings ready to go in the nursery. The problem is that these were intended for yet-to-be-planted hectares, not as replacements for burned trees.

They will be planting more seedlings, but that takes time. The rootstock is grown from local Panamanian tree seeds because they are well adapted to Panama’s weather and soil. Once the trees are about eighteen inches tall, the top is cut off and a scion of the desired mango variety is grafted to the rootstock. After another few months, they will be planted in the field, but that whole process takes anywhere from 18 to 24 months.

Mango saplings in the nursery, ready to plant.

I also visited the area where my lime trees are planted. Fortunately, the fires didn’t damage the Toza lime plantation and I should get a decent harvest payment this year.

I found the lime trees in good health with many limes on the trees and many more flowers that will yield more fruit in the coming months. The Rainforest Lime variety is an everbearing tree; it produces throughout the year.

Lime grove at the Toza plantation. No fire here.

While I was at the Toza lime plantation, crews were busy installing irrigation lines further up the hillside. They are taking advantage of the relative lack of rain to get into difficult terrain while they still can. Once the irrigation lines are installed, the area can be planted.

Like all the plantations, the Toza farms have their own irrigation system just like the one installed where my mangos are being grown. Simply Natural Farms sells a lot of limes to local bars and restaurants.

The Rainforest Lime variety is everbearing, meaning they grow and are harvested throughout the year.

My final stop on the tour of the Simply Natural Farms plantations was the greenhouse complex. Spreading across nearly twenty hectares (almost fifty acres), the greenhouses grow primarily cucumbers and melons but can be switched out at any point to grow other crops like tomatoes or peppers.

The Simply Natural greenhouses use the same SupPlant irrigation system that is used in the fields. This system is the epitome of high technology being applied to agriculture.

The greenhouses also house an R&D facility and all of the mango, lime and avocado saplings are started and grafted before being transplanted into the field. This ensures that the samplings are healthy prior to being planted and give them the best possible chance of growing successfully.

Post-harvest greenhouse. The old plants have been removed, new growing medium has been installed and the greenhouse is ready for planting.

My company, Alternative Ag Investors, sells managed farmland and represents Simply Natural Farms and Paraguay AG Invest in addition to Teak Hardwoods and Agro Nosotros (coffee and cacao investments).

Agri Terra Greenhouse: A Paraguay Inspection Tour

2022-05-08T12:56:00.014-04:00

The greenhouse structure. Note the weather station antenna on the third nave peak.

Most of my blog posts are topical, but this week I’m writing about my inspection tour of the greenhouse that my wife and I own outside of Nueva Italia, Paraguay. We bought in early 2020 and after some Covid-related shipping delays, our greenhouse arrived and our tomatoes were planted on February 18 of this year.

It was an amazing trip and the German-based management company Agri Terra is doing a tremendous job of delivering for their investors. You can read more about their investment opportunities Here and Here.

When we purchased, we didn’t know precisely what would be planted in our vegetable greenhouse since the company grows peppers, cucumbers and a variety of tomatoes. Ours turned out to be tomatoes and I was awestruck by the overall operation.

Proud “farmer” inspecting his crop.

Like many hydroponic set-ups, the vegetable plants are grown in a shredded coconut husk medium. The irrigation system provides both the water and just the right balance of nutrients.

A system of fans, retractable overhead covers and sidewalls that can be dropped in times of high wind help maintain the perfect growing environment. A miniature weather station atop each greenhouse along with sensors inside feed data into the automated system.

Each greenhouse is 1,250 square meters. The greenhouses have weather stations that feed data into the controllers, which then open and close vents, and influence the irrigation frequency.

Theoretically, the greenhouses could be left unattended for quite some time and the control system would keep dosing each plant with the water and fertilizer solution, the proper temperature will be maintained and the plants will keep growing. Of course, that would never happen, but the way the system works a lot of the growing tasks are completely automated.

The plants are grown from seed, which are currently sourced from the outside but they have an R&D section that is working on perfecting their own process of growing new seedlings so the end-to-end process will eventually be in-house.

The fertigation plant. Each variety of plant has its own mix of natural fertilizers that are automatically fed into the drip system.

Once the seedlings are planted in the greenhouse growing medium, they are trained to grow vertically by being attached to support cables using plastic clips. The plants are pruned weekly, pulled up and attached to the cable trellis system and, since flowering is unpredictable, the plants are pollinated daily.

I was naturally excited to see my first crop but I also picked up a lot of information along the way that just confirmed this is one of the best agricultural purchases I have made.

In addition to being able to see the greenhouse complex and related facilities, I was able to spend some time with Carsten Pfau, the president of the company, and one of their senior agronomists. Very impressive. Carsten not only provided big picture context to the company’s mission but Christian, the agronomist, was able to give very detailed answers regarding the technology involved and the growing process.

The morning’s harvest from the day I arrived.

Agri Terra not only operates the greenhouses, they also have lime, lemon, mandarin and orange groves. We didn’t spend as much time in the citrus groves but the trees we saw were healthy, properly pruned and had just recently been harvested.

These trees were about three years old so the harvest isn’t yet marketable because the fruit isn’t yet of retail quality; that comes in the fourth and fifth years when the Brix level (a test of sweetness used in the produce industry) has risen sufficiently. I found that explanation interesting since I planted an orange tree in my backyard last year which produced a single piece of fruit. It was OK, but wasn’t as sweet as I had hoped. Now I know why; sweetness and overall quality improve as the trees age.

These tomatoes were planted in a different greenhouse about four weeks before mine.

The company recently bought a juicing plant and a water company with the intention of producing a line of sports drinks in addition to juiced citrus products. They are currently selling strawberry greenhouses but are focused on completing the vegetable greenhouses first. Orange groves are available for investors and other citrus may be available in the future depending on market demand.

They are also building a new processing plant right next to the greenhouses and will have the ability to do fruit purees in septic plastic containers as well as individually quick frozen (IQF) products, both of which have a long shelf life and can be exported.

Agri Terra tomatoes are sold at their Granja Direct stores. The conversion when I was there was 6,800 Guaraní to the dollar. So these tomatoes are selling for $2.57 per kilo or about $1.17 per pound.

If that weren’t enough, they have started a line of small grocery stores that focus on high-quality produce. There are currently three Granja Direct stores, which are being used to test marketing and sales techniques before expanding further. This cautious-growth approach to the company’s long-term plans impressed me.

I asked Carsten if there were plans to offer new products after the strawberry greenhouses are built and he said he didn’t know; he wants to complete all the greenhouses, build the processing plant and expand the juicing operation before expanding further. He was quite insistent that he needed to stabilize the current projects in the pipeline before moving on to the next ones and that his plans need to be fluid based on what he learns from bringing his current plans to fruition.

his is in a greenhouse planted about 4 weeks before ours. The plants are pollinated daily, trimmed weekly and attached to the cable supports.

Part of my reason for buying into the Agri Terra project is the fact that all the financial transactions are completed via German banks and the contracts are written in accordance with EU law. In other words, as an owner, you have a business relationship with a German company; if things go sideways, you’ll be dealing with a German court, not one in Paraguay.

Part of what made this trip so much fun was the amazing people I traveled with, both investors and those who are thinking about investing. It was quite the international group including folks from Finland, Italy, Australia, the U.S., Bolivia and Columbia. Each person had questions and I learned a lot from the different perspectives and experiences of my travel companions.

Content label on the greenhouse.

The vegetable greenhouses are sold out and there are only a dozen or so of the new strawberry greenhouses still available, so if you’re interested, you’ll need to act fast. They seem to have plenty of orange groves for sale. For more information, click HERE. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Back to Panama and Paraguay for Another Round of Farm Inspections

2022-04-11T13:08:00.026-04:00

Wow! I didn't realize how long it's been since my last post!!!

A lot has happened in my life since then and I'm going to try to get it all down on "paper" soon, but in the meantime, I want to share some details about my next visit to Panama.

I'm headed back down to Panama and Paraguay the first ten days of May. The trip is partly to see friends but mainly to check up on some of my farmland investments and see how things are going. I can't wait.

I have a permanent residency visa and would have moved there by now but I met the most wonderful woman in the world and got married instead. It's turned out to be a pretty good tradeoff. 😊

While I’m in Panama City I also have an appointment with the American Consulate to get my Florida driver’s license validated, which is the first step toward getting a Panama license. Like everything in Panama, the bureaucratic nonsense for such a simple task is unbelievable… I even have to provide proof of my blood type to get a license!

That’s another whole story that I won’t go into now, so back to my farmland.

Simply Natural Farms

I first invested in Simply Natural in 2015. Over the years I have purchased multiple hectares of land to grow limes, mangos, plantains and avocados.

Unfortunately, the pandemic lock-downs have been especially hard on this company. Panama hyped COVID-19 as if it were the Black Plague. Unless designated as an essential worker, residents were allowed out of their houses a grand total of six hours per week; women could go out for two hours on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and men could go out on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

When I say “go out” I mean go to the store, doctor or pharmacy and the hour of day was determined by the last digit of your national ID card. That was pretty much it. They weren’t even allowed to walk their dogs.

It took weeks and weeks to get the government papers that would allow essential workers to drive to and from work. Even then, some provinces (including Coclé Province where the farm offices are) wouldn’t accept the national travel papers.

A great many Panamanians don’t own a vehicle and depend on buses and vans for transportation. Well, if you used to take a 16-passenger van to work, now they can only take four people at a time because of strict social distancing rules. Many farmworkers who were scheduled to begin their shift at 7:00 AM showed up at noon or later.

As time went on, many Panamanians were so freaked out that even essential workers like those working on farms just quit. The government and local agencies were providing food and they didn’t need to pay rent or utilities, so why take the risk?

As a result, crucial crop maintenance went undone. Rains that created mild flooding and under normal conditions required a couple of guys with shovels to divert the excess became major problems. Without this simple maintenance, the roots of mango trees remained submerged for weeks on end resulting in root rot and destructive fungus. I lost one hectare of mangos because of this.

None of this was Simply Natural’s fault but they stepped up anyway and decided to offer a swap of affected hectares for a new greenhouse project growing dragon fruit.

The upside to this is that those who were faced with replanting crops will be able to get a payout much earlier than waiting four to five years for new trees to grow. The downside is that the payouts aren’t quite as high and you no longer own the land, just the greenhouse and related systems.

When I visited last May (see Back to My Farms in Panama), the nine-month lockdown had been lifted and things had opened up quite a bit. I still had to wear a mask just walking down the street and going into a store required that I have my temperature taken and that I slather on hand sanitizer.

After spending two days on the various plantations, I believe the long-term outlook for Simply Natural is positive. Despite the lockdowns they managed to complete a major irrigation project, stage the piping for the next pumping complex, complete a number of greenhouses and resumed routine maintenance of the field crops.

At any rate, I’m anxious to see my hectares that weren’t impacted and to see the construction of the new dragon fruit greenhouses. By the time I get there, the excavation should be nearly completed along with some of the foundations and hopefully some of the structures will be started. The seedlings will be planted by year’s end and the first crops harvested in 2023.

This will be my sixth farm inspection tour since 2015 and I will be hosted by the President of Simply Natural as well as their Director of Client Relations.

Paraguay AG Invest

The greenhouse that my wife and I own in Paraguay should be fully implemented by the time I get there. The construction was delayed a bit by COVID-19 restrictions that impeded shipment of the structure and created a challenge for the workers, but overall Paraguay AG Invest has done an amazing job of getting the greenhouses built, irrigation and environmental systems installed and the first crops planted.

Paraguay instituted a six-week lockdown in 2020 in response to the pandemic but overall wasn’t nearly as draconian in their pandemic restrictions when compared to Panama.

The country has some of the lowest per capita spending on health in Latin America according to the World Health Organization. As a result, there were widespread protests in 2021 in response to a lack of vaccines, hospital beds and the overall medical response to COVID-19.

Despite these obstacles, Paraguay AG Invest managed to get their crops harvested, maintain the existing greenhouses and begin construction on new ones.

The Agri Terra Group, the parent company of Paraguay AG Invest, hasn’t been sitting on their hands during the pandemic, either. Not only have they moved forward with new projects, but they have also opened their own chain of produce stores and purchased an existing processing plant for packing, canning and juicing.

I really love this project and the company. Not only are the verified returns substantial (a 21.5% average annual return on investment) but the crops and structure are fully insured against fire and force majeure. My greenhouse will grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other produce, and uses an advanced drip irrigation system to conserve water and provide direct fertilization.

I’ll be in Asuncion for three days. In addition to inspecting their greenhouse project and orange groves, I’ll be meeting with the company president and get a briefing on their new strawberry greenhouses.

Follow-up

My company, Alternative Ag Investors, sells managed farmland and represents both Simply Natural and Paraguay AG Invest in addition to Teak Hardwoods.

I’ll give a full report when I get back in mid-May so that fellow investors can have the benefit of my analysis of both operations.

Returning to Panama...

2013-07-18T21:19:00.000-04:00

July 18, 2013

I am returning to Panama and really excited about it.

I will start off by exploring the area from Punta Chame to Farallon. I have made contact with a realtor there and would like to get some ideas about what is possible. What are rents like? What would I get for my dollar if I buy? Should I buy something now with the intent of renting it out until I move there when I retire in five years?

I will then be attending the 2013 Live and Invest in Panama Conference. This conference is run by Kathleen Pedicord's Live and Invest Overseas organization. This type of conference is designed to give an overview of all the issues that expats may face when moving to a particular country. I'm hoping to pick up some general knowledge that I could apply to any country I may be interested in.

Organizations like Live and Invest Overseas, International Living, Escape Artist and others have great expertise, but they also have something to sell. There's nothing wrong with the sales part -- let's face it, they have to make a living and they do it by accumulating knowledge for wannabe expats and selling it via newsletters, books, special reports and conferences. If you decide to use the services of these organizations, just be aware that each outfit has their own set of prejudices and limitations. While I am not comparing any group to a car salesman, you don't by a car without doing your own research and verifying the claims of the salesman.

I have been getting Kathleen's emails for several years and I am an International Living magazine subscriber. I loved Kathleen's book and pick up interesting tidbits, suggestions, factoids and cautions from each of these sources. I will be sure to at least give a review of the conference. I won't divulge the information they provide because I strongly believe in their right to sell the research and expertise they have, but I can absolutely provide a critique and let you know if I got my money's worth.

The beginning...

2011-08-25T21:15:00.014-04:00

August 25, 2011 bgodiver

My main blog is at times pretty personal and I realize there are some who would rather just read about my trip to Panama and my search for my future home as an expat. So I will be posting the same Panama-related material from the primary blog here, but in reverse order so you can read about my trip from the planning stages through the day-by-day account of my journey, complete with photos.

So… Let me start at the beginning.

I lost my wife of nineteen years, Andrea, in May of 2010. August 31, 2011, would have been our 20th anniversary. As I got older (I turn 57 in December) Andrea and I had talked frequently about what retirement would look like and where it would take place. Andrea was Australian and spent the first eight years of her life growing up in Melbourne. She spent the next six years in the Philippines (Manila) before moving to the United States, followed by studies in Spain and extensive travel throughout Europe. I, on the other hand, had traveled little outside of American borders before meeting Andrea and had never lived anywhere outside the U.S.

Although we were fortunate to have traveled in many parts of the world before she died, we both had wanted to see and experience more. Shortly after her 35th birthday Andrea was diagnosed with advanced malignant melanoma; the doctor said she had about even chances of of seeing her 40th birthday. It took some time for us to recover from the shock of it all, but after her surgery we knew that time may be short and we wanted to make the most of it. We also agreed that retiring "elsewhere" would give us the opportunity to continue exploring and get to know more people, places and cultures – we didn't want life to become a downward spiral with the delivery of the first Social Security check.

When Andrea died suddenly, I was devastated. She was only 44. During the first months after she passed, I had no real reason to even get up in the morning. I substituted long hours at work for the purpose Andrea had provided. As time went on and my heart began to heal, I realized that each and every day of the previous nine years had been a precious gift. I also came to the realization that I still wanted to retire as an expat even if it was on my own. I began a search for just the right place. Every time I run into an awkward situation during my travels because I can't speak another language (Andrea spoke four), I always manage to muddle through and I am once again reminded that life goes on. Will I someday find someone new to share my heart with? God willing, I certainly hope so! In the meantime I continue to learn more about myself and become more certain that I am also ready to do this solo.

To make a long story short, I had read a lot about Belize and decided this would be my first country to explore. I spent eight days exploring coastal Belize last February, which placed it firmly on my list of possible future homes. Now I will do the same in Panama between November 3 and 13.

As with my Belize trip my goal in Panama is to do a bit of sight-seeing but mainly just wander around through various coastal towns, see what the stores are like, check out some real estate, have a few beers with the locals and generally just get a feel for whether or not this is a place and culture I would feel comfortable living in for my remaining years. If I like what I see I will come back in the future after doing more research on specific locales.

Over the next 11 weeks I will post information as I come across it and start to plan my trip. I'll give you the links to important web sites and lay out my thought process as I finalize the details. And finally, I will do a day-by-day posting of my trip along with many pictures. I learned a lot when writing my Belize blog (Belize in Eight Days) and hopefully will do better this time. I imagine my readers will be a handful of friends and others, like me, who are interested in eventually retiring in Panama or just going there for a vacation. If you have been there and have some advice or want me to check something out while I am there, please leave a comment -- I would love to hear from you!

Cleared for take-off: Beginning the plans for my trip to Panama

2011-08-25T21:14:00.009-04:00

August 28, 2011

As you begin thinking and planning about moving abroad for retirement, one of the big issues is health care. Good bad or indifferent, we all have notions about the quality of health care where we are and what it might be like where ever we end up. Anybody who is looking to live in another country and says they are not concerned about health care is nuts. I happen to think that American health care is great… the delivery system via a hamstrung insurance system is horrible, but the quality of care is excellent.

My biggest gripe is that US doctors rarely spend enough time with you and that leads to future medical problems instead of fixing them before they become problematic. For that reason I have three doctors; one for "everyday" concerns and my annual check-up; my neurologist because I have had a history of epilepsy since I was a child; and a third holistic practitioner that I go to a few times per year and pay through the nose for, but she keeps me on track and spends a minimum of thirty minutes with me to answer all of my questions and suggest alternative approaches to keeping me healthy.

Other than my epilepsy I have been pretty healthy my whole life -- I have never broken a bone and have yet to have any type of surgery. When my cholesterol began creeping up my GP prescribed a statin drug that I immediately tossed in the garbage. I instead ate oatmeal for every breakfast and lived on beans in various forms, fish, broccoli and salads for two months. I dropped my cholesterol from 254 to 209 in eight weeks.

Well, three weeks ago, while volunteering at a back-to-school wellness event with a couple of colleagues, all was going well when I collapsed around 11:15 a.m. I woke up to find two EMTs and my colleagues hovering over me and I was being wheeled out to an ambulance. My colleagues informed the EMTs of my history of epilepsy (I had a seizure in November 1979 and a second one in February 2009) and coupled with the short-term memory loss I was experiencing, they naturally concluded that I had had another seizure. As I was recovering on the way to the emergency room I came to the same conclusion. The ER ran an EKG, did a CAT scan and did other routine tests and ultimately released me after a few hours.

Once I got home and the gravity of the matter began to sink in, I was absolutely devastated. After my last seizure I couldn't drive for a year. It was a total pain in the ass but having to go without driving now that I am living alone would be very difficult. I admit it is an ego thing because I don't like having to depend on others… it makes me feel useless and lacking control over my life. The next morning I noticed that the pill box I use to hold my collection of prescription medicines and supplements was missing my seizure medication.

I use two pill boxes (one for morning and one for evening) that hold two weeks of medications each and I was 11 days through the boxes -- 11 days without taking my anti-seizure pills. So, not only was I exhausted from working hard and getting very little sleep, I had unwittingly gone cold turkey from my meds. On the one hand this is good news, but on the other hand I still might have to quit driving depending on what the doc said.

Not only would this have a big impact on my November travel plans since I would have to use public transportation instead of driving -- this could be a total game changer. What would the inability to drive do to my retirement plans? Would I have to live in a city instead of on the water? Would I have to give up my plans of moving abroad altogether?

Waiting a week to get in to see my neurologist seemed an eternity as I dealt with various waves of emotions. I went from just starting to feel good about my life again after losing Andrea to feeling depressed and full of self pity at the prospect of seeing the rest of my life altered -- again! I did not want to put off my Panama trip so I asked the folks at International Living to suggest a reliable guide. I provided a general outline of what I wanted to do and see, and received an estimate of approximately $2500.00 for ten days. That may not be a bad price, but it is more than what I wanted to pay.

After describing my collapse and the week that led up to the event, my neurologist said he does not believe I had a seizure. He is not exactly sure what happened and ordered up a series of tests to first rule out heart problems (an echocardiogram and a 24-hour ambulatory heart monitor) and to get a fresh reading on my brain (an ambulatory EEG). Fortunately his admin was able to get these scheduled for the same time so I was able to complete the echocardiogram this past Monday morning and get wired up for 24 hours for the other two tests, and returned on Tuesday morning to get un-wired.

Hopefully all these tests will be revealing since I am sure I will still bear some significant cost even after what the insurance pays. The most immediate and critical impact of my doctor's conclusion is that I can still drive. I will go see my in-laws this weekend (they live about an hour or so south of me) and do some long-term shopping just in case he changes his mind. I am convinced that the lack of medication and border-line exhaustion caused a collapse and I am not concerned about a relapse.

Anyway, that fact that I can continue to drive has put me back into Panama trip research mode. I am now down to flying American via Miami for only 30,000 miles and will pick up a rental car at the Panama City airport. I can get a Suzuki Jimmy from Thrifty for about $200 for the ten days and a bit less for a Toyota Yaris. Gas prices are about the same I pay in Florida. I am still placing flights on hold until I am 100% sure I want to move forward with this trip. American allows you to place five-day holds so I have been leap frogging my holds with the intent of actually booking when I return from Key West.

The next task is to make up an itinerary and book hotels. I may want a guide around the canal and in Panama City to make sure I get the most of it. I have the names of a few real estate folks that I will ask to show me a few representative properties in several areas along both coasts. I am really getting excited as I get closer to my trip.

Dealing with the details...

2011-08-25T21:13:00.020-04:00

September 4, 2011

Well… August was a busy month. In addition to dealing with my health issues I had three weeks of continuing education at work so I was a bit off my usual routine. I followed that up with a four day trip to Key West and I am now back on schedule and beginning to work on the details of my trip.

I picked up a bit of information from my friends Craig and Joyce, who used to live in Panama for a while as an interlude to their sailing. We met up with a couple of their friends (ex-military) who also used to live there and continue to make occasional trips to Panama City. Based on their collective feedback I gleaned the following general pointers:

Colon is a cess pit full of crime and other than some cool colonial architecture, there is not much to see.

The canal and its workings are a must see.
Since I am looking to see if I can live here, concentrate my time and efforts on the Pacific side.
A guided trip to the Darien jungle and possibly a visit to the Embera tribes would be worth while.
Bocas del Toro and environs is worth the trip.

Once I returned from KW, I finally booked my airline tickets (30,000 points on American) and will arrive at Tocumen airport outside of Panama City at about noon on November 3. I also made a car rental with Thrifty for $192.00 including taxes and fees for the 3rd through the 12th; I reserved the same vehicle I used in Belize... a 4-wheel drive Suzuki Jimmy. I depart Tocumen at 8:00 a.m. the morning of the 13th. I am thinking of spending the last few days in and around Panama City, so I may reduce the total time of the car rental since it may be more practical to rely on taxis and tour operators on those days instead of driving around a major city I am unfamiliar with.

I made the car reservation with my Citibank AAdvantage card that earns American Airline miles and covers the CDW. I also bought travel insurance through American Airlines for a pittance (I think it is about $25.00); the insurance is through Access America, which is a reputable travel insurance company and has been around for a long time.

So now I just need to figure out what areas to visit, how much time to spend in each place and what side trips to take. Once I have an itinerary, I can book hotels and research restaurants, etc. I bought a couple of road maps on Amazon.com today and that should help in figuring out distances and time of travel.

I will also correspond with two or three realtors to set up half day property viewings to get a feel for what is available and at what price.

Plan # 1 to see Panama in 10 days...

2011-08-25T21:12:00.002-04:00

September 11, 2011

I spent part of yesterday visiting my in-laws as I do every few weeks. My father-in-law was an economist with the World Bank and worked on some projects in Panama back in the 80s. He confirmed that, at the time he was traveling there, Colon was considered fairly dangerous and that unless things had changed drastically, there probably is no reason to take one whole day of a 10 day trip just to go there. Colon is a port city with lots of warehousing and related facilities; while it may be interesting to visit some day it just isn't worth going to on this trip.

My initial plan is to pick up the car at the airport and get on the Pan-American Highway heading southwest towards the Azuero Peninsula. It is roughly 90 Kilometers to Playa Coronado, which is at the beginning of a series of beaches known for their good surfing. While I am not a surfer, I do love the sound of crashing waves and have heard good things about some of these small towns, including the town right before Coronado, Nueva Gorgona.

Not knowing what the traffic will be like on a Thursday afternoon that just happens to be a national holiday (independence from Columbia) I don't know how long it will take me to get out of town and down the road to Coronado so I am thinking that will be my first stop.

Since I am just beginning the planning of my itinerary, I recognize that it will likely change a few times before it is finalized. This is more complicated than Belize because there were so few highways and towns of any size in Belize that the plan fairly fell into place with hardly any thought.

After Coronado, I will continue on to the Azuero Peninsula and follow coastal Highway 3 down to Pedasi, across the bottom of the peninsula and then back up to the Pan-American Highway on the way to the Las Palmas Peninsula. Eventually I will end up at far western Panama in Chiriqui Province and check out the area around Puerto Armuelles before heading for the highlands and Boquete. I don't intend to spend a lot of time around Boquete since I really don't want to live in the hill country, but will continue on to the northwest coast and take a trip out to Bocas del Toro. There are a lot of towns up and down Highway 11 and from what I can tell, at least two ferries to Bocas del Toro.

After checking out the northwest, it is back to the Pan-American Highway to return to Panama City for the last couple of days in order to tour the canal and take a day trip to the Darien area.

That's it. Now I need to start finding lodging and get this down to a more definitive schedule so that I can ensure that I see all that I want to.

Airline options for intra-Panama flights...

2011-08-25T21:11:00.004-04:00

September 13, 2011

As I come across new online resources for my Panama trip I will be sure to share them here. My itinerary continues to develop and it occurred to me that maybe flying in to Panama City and immediately catching a plane to Bocas del Toro would save some time if I could pick up a car in BT and then drive south to Chiriquí Province and from there follow the coast back to Panama City.

Is it possible? I don't know yet but I did come across three local airlines that may make that an option. First is Nature Air, which is a Costa Rican airline that seems to only have flights from CR to Bocas del Toro. This won't work for me this time but could be an option for short hops to and from CR on future trips.

The second airline is Air Panama. Air Panama has a varied fleet of 15 aircraft ranging from the 9-passenger Britten Norman Islander twin prop to the 50-seat De Havilland Dash. They serve 22 locations throughout Panama. The only drawback for my particular needs is that they fly in and out of Albrook airport, which is the commuter, general aviation airport of Panama City and I am not sure of how much time it takes to go from one to the other.

The third option is Aeroplas Regional airline and they fly through both Panama City airports. Using my idea above of flying to Bocas del Toro, I would have a several hour layover in the airport before continuing on to Bocas del Toro and arrive around 5:15 pm. Now if I can get a car there that might be worth the $116.00 for the flight. This is definitely worth checking out.

Since most of the major car rental agencies operate in Panama along with some local groups I have never heard of, I would think that renting a car in Bocas del Toro would be an option. Using this strategy could save me a couple of days travel and allow me to spend more time really looking at the areas I am most drawn to.

I'll let you know what I find out. Either way it makes the most sense to spend the last few days in and around Panama City so that part of my initial plan remains in tact.

Have map, will travel...

2011-08-25T21:10:00.000-04:00

September 17, 2011

One of the things you need when traveling in a foreign country is a good map... especially in the hinterlands. If I am driving around the back roads of California, Florida or Minnesota and get lost I could just stop and ask some one for directions. I can do the same in Panama but will they understand what I am asking for and will I understand the answer? Even if I spoke fluent Spanish I think a good map would be wise.

On my trip to Belize I got a really great map made by the German map makers, Borch GmbH; it is heavy duty and small enough to use while driving yet big enough to show the details I needed. Unfortunately, Borch doesn't make a map of Panama. So I went to Amazon and ended up buying three maps. Trust me, I didn't want three maps. The first one I got is the National Geographic Adventure Map. Sounds like just the thing for a trip that will take me to the four corners of Panama, right? Well, it is a good map (waterproof and tear-resistant) but it is also big enough to keep a family of four totally dry in a Cat 5 hurricane. I will use it extensively before going and bring it along, but it is not the kind of map I want sitting in the passenger seat of my Suzuki Jimmy as I head down the Pan-American highway.

So I went back to Amazon and bought two more maps: The Panama International Travel Map and the Mapi: Panama map. The second one is exactly what I was looking for -- complete yet handy and durable; this is the one that will be next to me in the car. The International Travel Map is much like the National Geographic map, but not quite as good. Fortunately the two maps together cost only about $15.00.

I have the National Geographic map spread out on the dining room table and I'm trying to figure out my route. Now I just need to figure out if my initial plan is still a good one or if, now that I have the maps, I should use an alternative. Until I finalize my itinerary I can't make lodging reservations or set up meetings with realtors.

"Map out your future - but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip." -- Bon Jovi

Bocas del Toro by air or by ground?

2011-08-25T21:09:00.006-04:00

September 20, 2011

As I have worked on the itinerary for my Panama trip, I have tried to find ways to save time by flying between some towns or flying to a town in the west and picking up a rental car. For instance, I thought if I could fly to Bocas del Toro and then pick up a rental car I could save quite a bit of time and still see the same territory. One of my concerns is that I don't like the idea of leaving my rental car on the mainland while spending a couple of days on the islands. There are flights to Bocas del Toro on the commuter airlines, but no rental cars in any of the nearby mainland towns so that idea is out.

OK… what about flying to Bocas del Toro and then on to David and pick up a car there? That is doable, but the flight from Bocas to David is around $250.00 and there is a $180.00 drop-off fee to pick up the car in David and return it in Panama City. $430.00 is a lot of additional cost just to save a few hours. Plus, if you add in the time waiting at airports to the flight time, you really don't save that much. When all is said and done, the savings would cost me $75.00 to $100.00 per hour, which makes the decision pretty easy.

There is one other alternative. I can fly round-trip from my arrival airport (Tocumen International in Panama City -- PTY) to Bocas on Aeroperlas Regional (a TACA affiliate) for $234.00. If I were to arrive at Bocas late afternoon of the 3rd and go back to PTY the morning of the 5th or 6th I could pick up a car and still explore the area from roughly Coronado to Puerto Armuelles over the next several days before returning to Panama City to check out the canal and do a one-day trip to Darien Province.

It looks like there are two reasonable choices for what I want to see and do: fly to Bocas del Toro and back followed by car to explore the whole south coast or use the original plan of getting a car in Panama City and doing the whole trip on the ground. At least my choices are getting narrowed down. I've got less than seven weeks to get everything nailed down and I'm starting to get a bit nervous.

Choosing a hotel in Bocas del Toro...

2011-08-25T21:08:00.003-04:00

September 22, 2011

I still don't have my itinerary locked down, but I did quite a bit of reading and research over the weekend to narrow down the possibilities and that included searching for hotels. Actually, some of the places I looked at don't really fit the description of "hotel" as much as B&B or guest house. A number of the homier, less expensive places are family owned or just down right funky. Since I am not looking for luxury, a place to lay down that is clean and has at least tepid shower water will be good enough. I'll have my netbook with me so I'm not quite ready to settle for a backpacker's hostel (for security reasons), but one step above that is fine with me.

I'll start with Bocas del Toro. There are a lot of really cool and funky places on the island and at reasonable rates. Trip Advisor provided me with a list of lodging establishments to look at and after reading through a lot of reviews and taking a look at their web sites I narrowed my choices down to three: Hotel Olas, CalaLuna Hotel and Hotel Angela.

Hotel Olas is a colorful place (literally… the paint job is amazing) and is right on the water. The rooms all have AC and include internet access as well as breakfast. They keep their costs down by accepting cash only -- $40.00 per night for a standard room, $60.00 for ocean front. From what I can tell, Hotel Olas is close to everything in town.

My other pick that is on the ocean is Hotel Angela. With only thirteen rooms, Angela also offers free breakfast, a restaurant on site, AC in every room, internet and decent prices: $50.00 to $80.00 per night. Trip Advisor includes them in the list of establishments with internet but I didn't see it mentioned on their web site. I sent them an email and got a response within about 30 minutes (a good sign in itself) assuring me that wi-fi is available throughout the property.

My last choice is not on the water, but still in the heart of town and only a block or so away from the ocean. CalaLuna Hotel is an Italian owned property with a restaurant on site (they reportedly have excellent, authentic pizza), internet access and have rooms for as little as $45.00 per night. They also have a small bar and a ping pong table. One of the things about CalaLuna that may appeal to folks who don't sleep well with noise in the background is that the AC is a mini-split system instead of the through-the-wall units found in many inexpensive properties. The advantage of the mini-split system is that they are quieter and probably more reliable than wall units. Although, if they break down you can't just pop a new one in the wall -- they require an HVAC technician to fix them.

I am leaning towards Hotel Angela or Hotel Olas. Both are really cool properties and appear to be clean and well maintained. All of the properties offer to help with booking activities. When I owned my B&B in Key West, all of the boats and dive shops paid an incentive for booking them. I am not sure if that is the case here, but I know that most guest house owners took a lot of pride in booking the best activities in town and wouldn't let their guests go out on just any boat. After all, their recommendation reflects back on them and they want every guest to be a return guest.

One of the curious things I found in many lodging web sites throughout Panama is that they proudly proclaim that they have orthopedic mattresses. Apparently Panamanians place a high value on a good night's sleep!

A few of the other web sites I used to read up on Bocas del Toro as well are Panama Info, Extreme Panama and what touts itself as "the official Bocas del Toro web site, bocas.com. Panama Info covers all of Panama and includes information on hotels, restaurants, activities and has regional descriptions of the country and much more. Two other websites that include information on Panama but are really geared towards future expats like myself are Escape from America Magazine and The Escape Artist.

Next up will be the information I found on lodging establishments on the Azuero Peninsula including Chitre, Las Tablas and Pedasi.

Finally! A plan for my Panama travels...

2011-08-25T21:07:00.027-04:00

September 30, 2011

I finally decided on my itinerary for Panama.

There is a flight on Aeroperlas Regional airline (the TACA affiliate) from Tocumen International airport in Panama City at 3:39 pm that puts me in Bocas del Toro at 5:14 pm. I will have roughly three and one half hours to get through immigration and customs before the flight to Bocas. That is probably way more time than I will need, but I would rather waste an hour on arrival than spend too much time driving over the next several days.

Arriving in Bocas del Toro late afternoon/early evening leaves plenty of time to get settled into my hotel, wander around town, grab dinner and have a few beers before enjoying a good nights rest at my hotel on the shore of the Caribbean. I will stay in Bocas for three nights and catch the 8:45 am flight on the 6th back to Panama City and arrive at 10:20 am. There are similar flights from the Albrook commuter airport on Air Panama at roughly the same cost, but I would have to pay $30 to $50 for a cab to get from one airport to the other and would gain nothing.

Once I am back in Panama City I will pick up my rental car and head west on the Pan-American highway towards Azuero Peninsula with stops in Coronado, San Carlos and Santa Clara along the way. While I haven't yet figured out where in the Azuero Peninsula I will stay (Chitre, Las Tablas and Pedasi are all good candidates), it will be for at least three nights. I'm leaving myself one day of flexibility so I could spend that roaming around David and Boquete, drive up to the Costa Rica border and make a side trip to Puerto Armuelles, spend another day in the peninsula or go back and take a closer look at Coronado and environs. How I will use that "flex" day will be made once I am on the ground and have a better feel for things.

Finally, I will drive back to Panama City on Thursday the 10th and then spend the last two days seeing the Panama Canal and Darien before leaving at 8:00 am on Sunday the 13th to go home. Arriving home in Florida around mid-afternoon will leave plenty of time to do the laundry and sort through the mail.

This plan feels good and appeals to my peripatetic soul; enough time to accomplish the goal of my trip while allotting enough time to just wander around and play tourist. My next installment will address where to stay. In the meantime I need to change my car reservations and book my Aeroperlas flights.

More planning...

2011-08-25T21:06:00.012-04:00

October 2, 2011

OK… So I got my Thrifty car reservations changed and I booked my Aeroperlas flights. The first task was easy -- I just logged into their website, entered my confirmation number and went through the "change reservation" process. In a matter of minutes I received a new confirmation number and had the details of my new reservation in my email in-box.

The Aeroperlas ticketing was a little more interesting. The website is in both Spanish and English… until you get to the actual reservation part. I speak just enough Spanish to order a café con leche or cerveza and to ask where the baño is to eliminate them both; beyond that I have zero Spanish language skills. So now I am trying to fill out the form that will let me choose the flights I want and pay for my tickets while simultaneously making good use of the Spanish-English dictionary I bought a month ago. I was tempted to call one of my Latin American friends but decided that if I am taking a trip there, I will have to learn to figure it out. Many words are familiar enough to make an educated guess or you could figure out what they were asking by the context or where they were on the form.

Anyway, I got it done but what is hilarious is that the confirmation and itinerary are in both English and Spanish. At least I was able to determine immediately that I had done it right.

The last two tasks left before I really feel settled on my plans is to book hotel rooms and tours of the canal and Darien Province. I have researched lodging in Bocas del Toro, Azuero Peninsula and Boquete but still need to find a place to stay in Panama City. Do I choose a hotel close to the airport or something in the heart of the city? If the city, what part? I will probably go to TripAdvisor and other sites to read about the experiences others have had to help in my research. I suspect at least part of my decision will be influenced by the details of the tours I take.

Medical planning is important too...

2011-08-25T21:04:00.009-04:00

October 7, 2011

I have had the good fortune to be able to travel a fair amount over the years. I have been places that require a certain amount of preparation and caution when it comes to disease avoidance and health care. Prior to spending a week in the bush along the border of South Africa and Mozambique, my guide insisted on knowing my blood type ahead of time "just in case." He also carried anti-venom for two different types of deadly snakes with us at all times. This was the first trip I recall that required taking an anti-malarial medicine.

Since that trip I have been to other parts of the world where Hepatitis A and Yellow Fever are a concern so being medically prepared for Panama was just a part of my normal planning. Those who have had to get special inoculations prior to traveling are probably familiar with the yellow WHO International Certificate of Vaccination. Some countries are quite insistent on knowing the status of your inoculations, while others are far more lax on this issue. Since you can't know for sure ahead of time, it is a good idea to keep it up-to-date and bring your Certificate with you.

Last week I went to get the last of my Hepatitis B shots (once you have had all three, you're good for life) and was advised that if I will be in the deep countryside or jungle areas of Panama I would need a Yellow Fever shot as well. I also found out that the Certificate itself has been updated, so I got a new one and the nurse recorded all of my current immunizations in it and pointed out that there are pages for other medications that I take on a regular basis. I filled that section out and had my doctor sign it; this provides me with an official record of my regular medicines so that it would be less likely that I would be questioned when traveling. There is also a place to list any medicines you may be allergic to. All of this information would be important if you had an accident, were bitten by something or became seriously ill while abroad.

As a part of my preparation, I went to the CDC web site to read up on malaria prevention. I have usually taken Malarone but it is expensive and I hoped to find an alternative. There are actually many anti-malarial medications and the one you use depends in part on what section of the world you are traveling to because there are two main types of malaria. Mosquitoes are the main carrier no matter where you go so a strong mosquito repellent is a part of a good prevention strategy. Since I won't be spending much time in and around Panama City, an anti-malarial is a necessity.

You take most anti-malarials a couple days before traveling, daily while on your trip and during the week after your return. In parts of Panama certain strains of the bug have developed a resistance to chloroquine and the various forms of it, which reduces your alternatives to Malarone. I learned that because of my history of seizures I should not take Mefloquine so I was left with Malarone or Doxycycline. The Doxycycline is a bit of a bother because in addition to taking it before and during the trip, you have to take it for 4 weeks after the trip. The big advantage of Doxycycline is the cost. I figured out that I need 44 doses for this trip. The grand total at CVS was $3.74.

My hotel choices in Bocas del Toro, Azuero Peninsula and Panama City...

2011-08-25T21:03:00.005-04:00

October 12, 2011

My apologies to those of you who have been following my plans for the Panama trip. I have been so consumed by work that I haven't had time to keep you up-to-date let alone have the time to breathe.

Anyway, I have made quite a bit of headway. I have made my booking at Hotel Olas in Bocas del Toro, confirmed my reservation on Aeroperlas Regional airline, and I re-confirmed my Thrifty car rental to be picked up at Tocumen International airport. I had to wire my first night's payment to Hotel Olas via Western Union. I am paying $70.00 per night but the international wire fee was $15.00!!!

I still don't have a hotel picked out for my days in the Azuero Peninsula, but I have narrowed my choices to just a few. I decided against staying in Chitre on the northern end of the Peninsula and instead I have been looking at lodging establishments in Las Tablas or Pedasi. All the Las Tablas and Pedasi establishments have AC, wi-fi, etc. I am waiting on two more emails confirming rates and then will make a decision.

Hotel CalaLuna and Posada del Mar near Las Tablas are both attractive properties at about the same rate. Posada del Mar is a small B&B right on Uverito beach and is offering rooms at $66.00 per night. While not directly on the beach, Hotel Cala Luna is close by, has a pool and is a whopping $1.00 per night cheaper. Cala Luna's rates includes the 10% hotel tax but does not currently take credit cards.

In Pedasi, further to the South, El Sitio Hotel is right on Playa Venao and has a restaurant on site; they even have a surf report on the website. I may have to take surfing lessons! Rooms at El Sitio start at $90.00. Casita Margarita looks like a charming B&B with room rates starting at $99.00 and comes highly recommended on Trip Advisor. Casita Margarita claims to be in walking distance of most everything in Pedasi. Hotel Villa Romana is another boutique B&B with their Junior Suite at $99.00 and includes a continental breakfast. The one that really interests me in Pedasi is the Hostal Dona Maria. Located on the main street of Pedasi, this is a cute, six-room place with rooms at $40.00 or $50.00 including tax and breakfast. While the others in Pedasi look nicer, I think Hostal Dona Maria is more likely to attract my kind of people… the kind of folks I would go out to dinner with and set out to determine the best beer in Panama.

In Panama City, I made a reservation at the Country Inn & Suites in Amador to the west of Panama City proper. Country Inn is not particularly quaint and it is a little more than I wanted to pay, but the location is incredible -- right on the canal and I will have an ocean front room from which I will be able to see not only the canal but also the Bridge of the America's. A couple of other hotels I considered are Balboa Inn and Las Vegas Hotel. Both of these would have been less expensive and had their own advantages, but I just couldn't give up being right at the beginning of the Panama Canal. Since I won't be spending much time exploring Panama City, I didn't see much point in staying in the city.

The only items left on my planning list are choosing a hotel should I decide to spend a night in the area of David or Boquete and selecting the tours I will go on to see the canal and hopefully to visit an indigenous village in the jungle.

Crossing the t's and dotting the i's for my trip to Panama...

2011-08-25T21:02:00.010-04:00

The only items left on my planning list were choosing a hotel in the Azuero Peninsula, a place to stay should I decide to spend a night in the area of David or Boquete, and selecting the tours I will go on to see the canal and hopefully to visit an indigenous village in the jungle.

I'm running short of time with only a few days left before I leave, but I promise to list lots of tour sites to help you with your own trip to Panama once I return!

As I suspected I would, I ended up making a reservation at Hostal Dona Maria in Pedasi. Arriving on Sunday is good timing because they are completely booked over the weekend. With only six rooms, Hostal Dona Maria reminds me of the B&B I owned in Key West.

As far as a tour of the canal goes, I looked over a lot of web sites, sent a few emails and finally ended up booking a tour through the American Airlines website. It is just a Grey Line excursion, but I didn't think that a simple viewing of the canal requires anything really special like a one-on-one escorted tour. I was amazed that American had so many offers on their website, but for what I was looking for this turned out to be the best deal. By the way, the car I rented through Thrifty was also done through the American site. While I did not get a better price than that offered on the Thrifty web site, I did earn extra AAdvantage frequent flier miles.

For my trip to visit the Embera tribe, I chose Embera Village Tours. This group is not the cheapest, but they came highly recommended by Trip Advisor and looked the best of the tour companies I looked at. This is an all-day tour. We'll drive about an hour or so to a boat ramp where the Embera will meet us and then go up river about 45 minutes in a dugout canoe. There will be presentations on the Embera culture, tradition and crafts followed by a traditional lunch, and a hike in the jungle with one of the village elders to learn about medicinal plants. There will also be a show of their traditional shamanic and celebratory dances and music (I hope this is not hokey… like the luau shows in Hawaii) before heading back down the river and returning to the city.

And finally, I booked my usual car service for my trip to and from the airport here in Florida. For short trips I just park in long-term parking because it is quick and easy. For longer trips, like this one, it is cheaper to use a car service and it is nice to know that a friendly face will be there to pick me up on my return. If you are in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, I highly recommend Jack -- you can reach him at World Corp Travel. If Jack can't take care of you personally he will get you set up with another service.

Given my schedule before I leave, this will likely be my last post before the trip. I would like to say that I will make blog entries as I travel, but my Belize trip proved that it is difficult to do and still get the most of my trip. I'll post a few times while on the go and do a day-by-day accounting of my trip once I return.

Panama Day 1: Getting to Panama City

2011-08-25T21:01:00.004-04:00

November 3, 2011

Although I will try to blog daily, I doubt that will happen. Instead, I will post when I can and do a day-by-day account of my trip and add pictures when I have the opportunity. Once I get home I will update everything and add a full photo journal.

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Of all the airports I have been through around the world, I still think that Tampa International is one of the nicest and most convenient. Ticketing is on one level, departures and arrivals on another level and baggage claim on yet another… all functions separated from each other. A tram takes you to the gates and parking is a convenient, short walk away. The airport is always clean and presentable. I arrived at about 5:30 am for my 7:15 am flight and there was absolutely no line for security. One of the things I really appreciate about TPA is the free wi-fi. Miami charges for internet access as does Atlanta, the other two airports I go through most often.

I usually print my boarding pass at home but for some reason could not on this trip. I was dreading having to go through the ticketing area even though I have had few problems with American Airlines in the past. Although these self check-in terminals are supposed to be intuitive, I can never seem to figure them out. I needn’t have been concerned as I was met by an agent as I walked up to the kiosk and she walked me through the process.

Once I got to my gate I realized that I was not wearing the long-sleeve T-shirt I had planned on wearing. Planes can often get cold and I usually wear a long-sleeve shirt over another shirt just in case. Tampa was fine and even the flight was OK, but Miami airport was freezing. Idiot. On this trip the long-sleeve shirt was intended to do double-duty – keep me warm on the airplane and to be worn at night to protect against mosquitoes.

Even though I have been through Miami airport a million times, I always forget how huge Terminal D is, the main American Airlines terminal. This terminal is so large that there is a skytrain with 4 stops between the various sections and 2 Admirals Clubs. On this trip the timing between flights was perfect. I had about an hour’s wait before boarding so I had plenty of time to get to my gate, stop in the men’s room and re-arrange a few things in my carry-ons. I checked my email on my Blackberry (again, no free wi-fi in Miami) and checked the weather in Panama City (90^o with a chance of thunderstorms). For some reason I could not pull up Bocas on Weather Underground.

Coming into Panama City

Once on board and en route to Panama City, the two and one-half hour flight was uneventful. I did, however, remember one of the other reasons I like flying American over Delta. American seats have a handy adjustable headrest. I brought my blow-up neck pillow since I figured I would want to catch an hour or so of sleep (and did) but the pillow was unnecessary. Fortunately the temperature on the airplane was considerably higher than in the Miami airport.

So far on this trip my only gripe with American is that although I checked seating about twice a week before flying, I could not get a seat more forward in the plane. I figured that the plane must be fairly full – not even close. I would guess that only 25% of the seats were filled, so why couldn’t I choose another seat prior to departure? The only thing I can think of is that there were large blocks of seats set aside for consolidators and were just not made available. Anyway, the flight was better than expected because I had three seats all to myself and was able to stretch out and be comfy.

Panama Day 1: Arrived in Bocas del Toro

2011-08-25T21:00:00.012-04:00

November 3, 2011

The Panama City airport (Tocumen International) is easy to negotiate… sort of. I got through immigration with no problem and I waited maybe 10 minutes in line; they added more agents as the line got longer behind me. Since I had no checked bags I walked past the luggage carousel and right through customs where I had to wait all of 30 seconds before a security officer could see me. Once she examined my form she gestured to have me send my bags through the scanner and I was done. Once into the arrivals hall I just needed to find the check-in for Aeroperlas Regional – this is when the fun began.

More of Panama City from our puddle jumper

Nowhere could I find a ticket counter for Aeroperlas. Remembering that this is a TACA-run airline, I ventured over to TACA, which has many counters on the second level of the airport. After several of the agents conferred I was finally directed to “the little white house” that is outside the main terminal to the left past the taxi queue, which is the domestic terminal. That makes sense that there would be a separate terminal for regional airlines, but there are no signs anywhere. So I walked the three minutes over to “the little white house” and there is indeed signage indicating that it is for domestic aviation. In the domestic flight building there is a security check point for airport employees and another room that looks like a waiting room for security with a scanner.

I approached the only desk in the room and a young woman came over to me to ask what I wanted. It turns out she is part of airport security and does a pat down of all the airport employees as they come in from the tarmac. I observed that she did a somewhat more aggressive pat down of young men her own age and they seemed to enjoy it… joking back and forth and engaging in mutual flirting. I thought it odd that a security person would be dressed in attire quite that tight and wearing four-inch heels but what the heck, this is Panama. After a certain amount of gesturing and showing her my ticket information (printed in both English and Spanish) she pronounced that Aeroperlas was “no here” and I returned to the TACA counter in the main terminal. This time the TACA agent, who appeared to be a supervisor, assured me that I was to just wait in the domestic terminal until my flight was ready.

This still did not feel right since there is absolutely no signage in the domestic terminal to indicate that any airline, regional or otherwise, would be leaving from that location. I still had a couple of hours before my flight was supposed to depart, so as long as I was in the main terminal I grabbed something to eat for lunch. As I was eating the whole situation was gnawing at me and I finally decided to find someone with more authority.

The Tocumen to Albrook 9-seater

Instead, I ran into Doug, a retired cop from Kansas City, Missouri who was supposed to be on the same flight. Doug had the same mistrust of the "just sit and wait" instructions and was more aggressive than I. He found the TACA office and went in to find out what was going on. It was there that he found out that our plane had been cancelled due to the bad weather. True, the weather had turned nasty since I had landed and we experienced some pretty dramatic thunder and lightning. Bear in mind that I live in the Tampa area, which is the lightning capital of the US; it is no coincidence that our hockey team is called the Lightning! So when a couple of thunder claps caused car alarms to go off all over the parking lot out front, I knew this was a significant storm.

OK... so our flight is cancelled. Now what? The TACA lady said she would arrange for transportation to Albrook Airport to catch another flight to Bocas del Toro. Now the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to come together. I thought that two hours-plus was a long time to fly from PTY to Bocas… that’s because, contrary to what the Aeroperlas website inferred, there are no flights from Tocumen to Bocas; you have to go to Albrook first. After making a phone call, and with a little pressure applied, she decided to send a plane for us instead. We were to remain at the domestic terminal and we would be met there about an hour before the plane was to take off.

Doug and I had time to swap stories and it turns out we were on the same flight originating in Tampa. He has his 37’ Endeavor sailboat in St. Petersburg and is planning to go back and get it after Thanksgiving and sail it to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. He is meeting his wife in Bocas to sail a friend’s boat to Tortola in the meantime.

Our new TACA friend showed up a little later than we expected but got us checked in and through security. While we were waiting another passenger showed up, Brittany from Maine, who is returning to Bocas to continue her dive instructor education at Starfleet Scuba. The flight to Albrook took all of 10 minutes and took us up the coast past all the Panama City high rise buildings that make up the coastal skyline and very near the Bridge of the Americas. I am fairly certain we flew right over the Country Inn & Suites, where I will be staying for my final few nights in the country. Fortunately we had a co-pilot on the short trip as Doug confirmed my suspicion about the pilot after we landed… he was quite inebriated. Considering his condition he made a pillow soft landing in heavy cross winds. It was kind of fun being the only three passengers on the plane.

Hotel Olas from the street

We were ushered from our plane to a holding room and sometime later our bags arrived followed by two guys in military fatigues and a dog that sniffed our luggage. This was getting pretty comical. Our flight left about 20 minutes late but even with all the adventure we ended up making it to Bocas only 8 minutes past our scheduled landing time. The flight to Bocas was on a much larger plane, an ATR 42 twin turbo-prop, that held probably 40 – 50 people. The Bocas terminal is a lot like the old terminal when I first arrived in Key West – very small but functional. The luggage was plopped on the ground outside while the ground crew checked the luggage tags for some, but not all, and we eventually collected our bags. Doug met his wife out front and together we walked the 6 or 7 blocks to Hotel Olas and they continued down the road to where their dinghy was tied up so they could go to their boat in the marina a short distance away.

While the Bocas airport lacked amenities and glitz, I noticed that the tarmac was new and, according to Doug, the terminal is in the midst of a make-over. On our walk to my hotel I noticed, in stark contrast to San Pedro, Belize, the streets are all paved and there is a concrete ditch system along the roads to collect the large amount of rain this island receives. The ditches were chock full of minnows, which I am sure eat a lot of mosquito larvae.

Once getting settled in at Hotel Olas and being welcomed by Nairobi (a rather interesting name) I headed into town to walk around and grab some dinner. Bocas Town was hopping. I arrived on a Thursday night and there were quite a few people in town strolling up and down the main street and going to the bars and restaurants. I also noticed that there is also a lot of active construction going on.

View of Caribbean and the mainland from the hotel

Nairobi suggested I try the Reef Restaurant, which turned out to be a good recommendation. I sat at the bar and had a couple of Balboas (one of several Panamanian beers) before deciding to try the ceviche made with shrimp, squid and langostino. The Reef is right on the water and a couple of times during the night water taxis stopped to drop off folks coming in from nearby islands or perhaps boats anchored in the bay. The bar tender and server, Joel and Marie, kept me entertained and the Balboas coming. For four cervecas and a great dish of ceviche served with freshly made banana chips, the bill came to only $10.50. I like this place. I met the owner/chef Derek on the way out and let him know how much I enjoyed the food and atmosphere.

As I walked back to Hotel Olas it hit me that I had not seen a single mosquito even though I did not apply insect repellant. I guess those minnows in the ditches are doing their job. I had heard that Bocas is one of the few places in the country where you need to be careful about drinking the water and meant to pick up a big bottle in town but forgot. Nairobi got me fixed up with a bottle of water and I spent some time sitting out on the second floor balcony enjoying the sound of the rain on the tin roof and just taking it all in. Not a bad first day.

Panama Day 2: Exploring Bocas Town

2011-08-25T20:59:00.007-04:00

November 4, 2011

Being fairly exhausted from the last few weeks at work and getting up at 4:15 AM to catch my flight out of town, I slept in until 9:00 AM my first morning of the trip and felt no guilt whatsoever. I had a pastry and a great café con leche downstairs at the hotel and then headed out to see the town in daylight.

The marina as seen from Hotel Olas

A word about Hotel Olas. It has 24 rooms on three floors, is right on the water and while the rooms are quite simple, they are comfortable and convenient; it takes all of five minutes to walk into the main part of town. My only gripe is that the Wi-Fi does not work in my room and I think it may be because I am at the front of the hotel. In the restaurant area downstairs and on the second floor porch overlooking the water, the connection is good to excellent. I think I can put up with checking my email while overlooking the beautiful Caribbean!

My room had a simple full sized bed with a TV, refrigerator, shelving units and private bath. The room might be a skosh crowded with two people especially since there are no chairs in the room, although I also had a small porch with a table and chairs overlooking the street. The view of the neighborhood isn’t the greatest, but remember that the housing for regular folks here is still better than some of the hovels I saw in San Pedro and other parts of Belize. Another great thing about the Olas is its location; close to the action but away from the noise. The town electrical generator is about a block away and you can hear the humm when in the restaurant area but I can’t hear it in my room.

As I rounded the corner by the Reef Restaurant on my way into the central town area I heard a cheery “hola” as Joel called out to me. He was waiting for the restaurant to open up and begin his work day. I had seen groups of folks lining up for a parade and found out from Joel that it was Flag Day in Panama. Joel remarked that this is a very proud day for Panama.

The beginning of the Flag Day parade

I discovered the last time I used my snorkel gear that I needed a new snorkel keeper because the one that come with the mask had broken. I tried using a zip-tie when I was diving for lobster with my buddy Craig in Key West, but it pulled on the snorkel in a way that caused the mask to leak around the edge – I just couldn’t get a decent seal. Naturally I didn’t get around to getting a new snorkel keeper before the trip and was more or less depending on finding one at one of the three dive shops in Bocas.

I had asked Brittany if her shop, Starfleet Scuba, might have one and she doubted it since their merchandise selection is fairly limited. I checked with the other two shops in town, La Buga dive center and Bocas Water Sports, but neither of them had what I needed. So, despite what Brittany had said I wandered a bit further down the main street and the woman who helped me at Starfleet disappeared into another room and emerged with a snorkel keeper for $4.95. Now, I remember that South Point Divers in Key West had a jar of them on the counter for $1.00 including tax, but when you gotta have it, you gotta have it!

When I checked in with La Buga about the snorkel keeper, I also asked about surfing lessons. Unfortunately, the seas are flat so with no waves, no surfing. As long as I am on the topic of dive shops, Brittany assured me that all three are very professional and reasonably priced. As I discovered, all three are PADI-affiliated and right on the main street and easy to find.

One of several Bocas Town marching bands

Back to the parade. I was really impressed by the number of participants and their enthusiasm. I remember going to parades as a kid growing up in a relatively small town in central Montana. This was the kind of parade I remembered; not the glitzy Thanksgiving Day parades shown on TV. It looked as though all the schools and churches were represented and, it appeared, various civic associations. Lots of young men beating on drums and majorettes-in-training. Flags and red, white and blue bunting were everywhere you looked. It was fun to see moms running into the street to take pictures of their 10-year old boy beating a drum or 7-year old girl going through a dance step and it looked like the whole town turned out.

In the shops that were open there were TVs with local TV coverage of the parade. The central park was packed with onlookers along with vendors selling icees and ice cream. The guys at a construction site moving huge steel beams with levers stopped to respect the flag every time it went by (which was a lot!). I stopped at the Lavazza coffee shop for an espresso and to watch the parade for a while. Lavazza is a cute place that serves coffee, pastries and ice cream; the windows had curtains made of burlap coffee bean bags. I sipped on my espresso as the various segments of the parade went by and quickly concluded that this is much better than anything I have ever gotten at Starbucks and I only paid $1.25.

... and marching girls, too

I went for a walk along the main street past the Angela hotel (my other top choice for lodging) and past the sailing club. Bocas Town is not that big and I walked through most of the town in no time. While many buildings were in a bit of disrepair and some homes had junk strewn about the yard I had to remind myself that this is not an antiseptic American suburb; the standards are different.

I called Brittany and we agreed to meet at Casa Verde for dinner where a friend of hers was having her opening night as the chef of her own restaurant. Jess had been at other restaurants and is leasing the facilities at Casa Verde. The menu is pretty basic, but she serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and the food I had was done perfectly. A couple of items on the menu I had never seen before were fried green beans and ñame fries.

Over dinner Brittany remarked on the number of Panamanians on vacation. I admit I was surprised by the number of “locals” here for the holidays. The bartender for the night turned out to be a woman from Bozeman, Montana. It isn’t every day I run into someone from my home state and even less likely in such an out of the way location! I noticed that night that I got bit by a few no seeums, but still not what I was anticipating and not much to get excited about.

After dinner Brittany and I went for a walk down the main street and had one last beer at the Book Bar; a book store (the only one in town) run by American expats who eventually turned it into a bar. I met one of the owners, Nancy, and we chatted a bit about the business climate in Bocas Town. She said that the most important thing to realize is that if you are catering to tourists and even expats, volume is more important than quality; this is such a big backpacker destination that there just is not money to be made (yet) in high quality merchandise or services. I ran into another woman who had a restaurant in Bocas but gave up trying to do business there because the local government was just too difficult to deal with; she now leases out the property and does not have the headaches of running a restaurant. I would not take this as a sign that it is difficult to do business here – after all, I have no idea what her patience or competence level is.

All in all, it was another good day and I wandered home in the fairly dark streets without a care for my safety. At no time did I feel uncomfortable while in Bocas. The people are very friendly and accommodating, even to a Gringo who speaks barely a dozen words of their language.

Panama Day 3: Snorkeling, Sloth Poop and a Great Dinner on Isla Carenero

2011-08-25T20:58:00.010-04:00

November 5, 2011

Brittany and me

I had breakfast looking out over the Caribbean towards the marina, and then walked down to the water taxi stand located towards the end of Calle 1. I stopped in at Starfleet along the way to say hello to Brittany and get a picture since I did not think I would see her before I left. She starts her PADI Instructor Development Course on Wednesday and is doing a few fun dives before getting into her classes.

Ernesto, the water taxi owner, took me to Hospital Point; a spot Brittany had recommended for snorkeling. I asked to be picked up in two hours and had this beautiful little cove all to myself for well over an hour.

When we arrived at Hospital Point my driver pointed out the hand written signs here and there announcing that there are backpack thieves in the area – just great. I had my camera with me and a few other items that I would have hated to lose. After taking a few pictures and casually wandering about the area to scope things out I hid my fin bag under some fallen palm fronds and hoped for the best. I put my water shoes and bottle of water under a big rock. At this point there was really nothing I could do, so I swam out about 10 yards and put on my gear.

Swimming straight out into the cove I came across some very nice coral heads and the reef curved out around the bend to the left. The area would be perfect for first-time snorkelers or kids because it was pretty shallow (less than 20 feet) until you came to a drop off that went beyond the visibility, which was about 50 feet or so. After exploring for a while I went back into the beach and dropped off my snorkel and mask and just swam for a while under the trees that hung out over the water about 30 feet or so. I thought I smelled something fermenting and noticed that there was a huge sapodilla tree filled with fruit. There were a few of the fruit bobbing in the water so they were dropping off and, no doubt, beginning to rot and ferment.

Ginger at the cove

After a while a couple showed up that looked very familiar and I realized that I had run into their taxi driver that morning during breakfast and they were staying at Hotel Olas. This couple did what I should have done and just rented the water taxi for the day. Noam, the manager of Hotel Olas, had suggested that I also check out Red Frog Beach for swimming and to see a sloth. So when Ernesto showed up at the appointed time, I asked him to take me to Red Frog as well. Noam is an interesting guy… he is from Israel and speaks better Spanish than English. I wish I had had more opportunity to talk to him about how he ended up in Bocas running a small inn.

Anyway, Ernesto agreed to drop me off at Red Frog and pick me up another two hours later. This is when I realized I probably should have worked out this whole day in advance with him because I ended up paying $28.00 for the trip, not including the $3.00 for the Red Frog entrance. Oh well, live and learn.

A sloth -- very hairy and oddly cute

Red Frog is not just a beach; it is a resort, marina, restaurants, villas, and hostel all with a very well thought out infrastructure. You could have a truck deliver you to the beach, rent an ATV or walk. I chose to walk because I wanted to check out some of the jungle on the way and take pictures. I had seen a sloth on the way in to the complex, which was pretty cool and I saw some interesting gingers and heliconias on my walk to the beach. I had heard that sloths don’t come down from their perch except for maybe once a week. I don’t know if that is true but I can attest to the fact that they just poop from where they are hanging in the tree. I know this because in one of my short forays into the jungle from the road I experienced the joy of sloth poop on my head! Thank god I had just walked past a shower and toilet facility and quickly walked back, hoping that I would not run into anyone else on the way. Once cleaned up, I continued on to the beach.

I love playing in the waves and Red Frog beach has some great ones. Just off the beach there is a bar and restaurant, and right on the beach there was a guy cooking sausage and chicken on a BBQ along with the obligatory t-shirt shop.

Once I had returned to Olas, cleaned my gear and took a shower it hit me that I had not had lunch. So I took my netbook down to Casa Verde to see what Jess was cooking up, do some writing and, of course have a few beers. I knew that I would be heading to dinner in a few hours so I just ordered from the appetizer menu and had some kick-ass jalapeno poppers along with a couple of Balboas to wash them down. I guess showing up twice at the same place makes you a local because the bartender gave me my beers for $1.00 each.

Heliconia on Red Frog Beach

While at Casa Verde, I struck up a conversation with Beth and Phil who turned out to be from Marathon, Florida. They have made a few trips to Bocas now and we talked about their search for real estate among other things. According to Phil there have been some changes to the pensionado program, including changing the total import duty waiver to $10,000.00 total with vehicles no longer included. I’ll have to research this more. Beth is an RN in Marathon but they are looking to pack it in and move south soon. I mentioned that I was planning on going to the Pickled Parrot for dinner (a bar and restaurant on Isla Carenero that both Doug and Brittany had recommended). Beth and Phil were very familiar with the place and gave it a high recommendation. As an aside, while I was at Casa Verde, I observed the car ferry departing for the mainland around 4:00 PM.

Banana flower and fruit

I took a water taxi to the Pickled Parrot and shared it with three middle-aged Panamanian housewives (I assume) that were going to Bibi, a bar aimed at the younger set offering special happy hour deals. We were dropped off at the Buccaneer Resort and I walked the roughly 100 yards down the beach to the Pickled Parrott. When I arrived, there were two guys playing music; a guitar player and sax player. They were great. George, the owner, said they just showed up and asked if they could play. I introduced myself to George as a friend of Doug’s and it turns out that Doug and Wendy had just left after consuming way too much rum. After a few Balboas I had the ceviche followed by the chicken cooked in a mango and bacon cream sauce. I don't know how someone came up with that combination of ingredients, but it was spectacular! George was behind the bar so we chatted about various things including the fact that he is originally from Topeka and is a forensic diver who has been called in on a couple of jobs to help out the Panamanian police.

Yellow ginger

The Pickled Parrott is a palapa (about 40’ in diameter) on stilts in the water, very clean and with an open, casual atmosphere. The bar is on one side, the kitchen on another and with about half the perimeter facing the open seas. George’s Panamanian wife was taking orders and serving while their young son was drawing and occasionally making himself a strawberry milkshake in the same blender from which the Margaritas are made.

George’s wife (I did not get her name) is an administrator at the hospital in town and knows the various local officials very well, including the police. This came in handy when they had to call the cops because one of the patrons refused to pay her whole bill due to an argument over how dinner was prepared. I thought she was loud and obnoxious throughout the night and George said he would have worked something out but one of her party started smoking dope during dinner! Panama has very strict drug laws and just lighting up in someone’s restaurant and potentially placing their business at risk was an incredibly arrogant and disrespectful thing to do. So George called the police. The woman, who sounded French, decided it was better to pay the bill than argue with the Panamanian gendarmes. The police showed up by boat about two minutes after she left. I think they hire the biggest, meanest guys on the island to be on the police force and these guys don’t fool around. The leader of the trio was only wearing a side arm, but one of his cohorts had an M-5 slung across his chest and looked ready to use it if need be.

A sleeping Tamandua - an arboreal toothless anteater

George’s wife gave a very animated description of the situation in rapid fire Spanish and the appropriate waving of arms while George got them all sodas or water (they declined the cerveza). After sitting for a spell and having their drinks they wrote down a few details, including the fact that the woman was renting a house on the nearby island of Bastimentos, and went on their way.

Following their departure, George and I talked about fishing for square grouper (a euphemism in both Key West and Panama for drug running) along with other things. George said he has noticed that there are a lot of expat Floridians in the area, especially from the Keys. I guess we are still hanging on to the dream of finding that really unique place that stays unique. George also makes his own all-natural insect repellent; a combination of neem oil, citronella, cedar oil and other ingredients. He handles the production and bottling himself and sells it in small spray bottles for $5.00. I bought a bottle and not only does it smell great, it works! I used the stuff I brought from the States with 25% DEET and it works, but not as well as the Pickled Parrot Oil. George said he is hoping to begin marketing it more widely next year, first in Panama and eventually to the states. His product is all natural and has “none of that toxic DEET shit,” to quote George.

I was ready to call it a night so George’s wife called me a water taxi that was there in about 5 minutes. It was raining and despite getting a taxi with a bimini, I quickly got soaked. It was a warm rain and a warm night so It didn’t feel so bad. I asked the taxi driver to take me directly to the Olas dock. After arriving I chatted with Noam a bit before grabbing one more beer and tossing myself on the bed. The whole time in Bocas I never paid more than a $1.50 for a beer and paid only $1.00 my second visit to Casa Verde and at the Book Bar. A side note regarding Bocas -- bring cash! There is at least one bank in town with an ATM, but almost everyone deals in cash. You may recall that I had to wire my deposit for Hotel Olas as they do not take credit or debit cards.

Panama Day 4: Back to Panama City and the drive to Pedasi

2011-08-25T20:57:00.010-04:00

November 6, 2011

I woke up with the roosters at about 5:00 and dozed on and off until 6:30 when I finally decided to get up; it is a good thing I did since the alarm on my Blackberry changed to local time (duh… it detected the local network and set it’s time accordingly, while I had set the alarm for American EST). I said goodbye to Nairobi after my last breakfast just steps from the warm, clear Caribbean and walked to the airport around 7:15.

I got to the airport before the Aeroperlas desk was open and ended up first in line for check-in. As before, I had to check the bag I usually use as my primary carry-on because it is too big for the ATR 42s that Aeroperlas uses for the flight to and from Panama City. I remember noticing when we flew in that the airport runway is right next to the community soccer field. An errant ball would roll right on to the runway since there is no fence between the two. Like so many things in Panama, they take a refreshingly lackadaisical view of safety and depend on the individual to look out for themselves rather than having the government perform the role of mommy and daddy. I think this breeds a more independent spirit.

As Doug had noted, the airport terminal is undergoing a very nice renovation. It looks as though there will be two departure lounges or at least separate departure and arrival areas. In Panama, especially in the areas outside of Panama City, they do what works without regard to esthetics. In the Bocas airport waiting room there is a CPU for the x-ray scanner under the conveyor belt you put your bags on… right on top of a faded Budweiser box; it works and that’s all that matters.

On the flight back to Tocumen I sat with some guys from LSU who were down for some R & R. What was really funny is that they were headed to PTY as well, but shortly after getting into the Albrook holding area my name was called and I was put on a plane all by myself (after the drug-sniffing dog checked out my bag) – just two pilots and me. Needless to say I had my pick of seats. The co-pilot made sure I was settled in with my seatbelt on and then told me that if we have an emergency just crawl out the window over the wing. With that said he turned back around and we took off. We didn’t get to see the skyline from the water this time as we made our approach from the North. Once we landed we taxied to an area that looked reserved for general aviation and I was met by a young guy in a pick-up truck who took me to the domestic terminal. I entered through the same door the airport employees use, had my bags run through the x-ray machine again (I’m not sure what I would have picked up on the flight from Bocas, but they were following procedure) and I was frisked just like the employees, but not by a woman near as attractive as the one I observed previously.

I will never reserve a car through Thrifty again. I had to pay an additional $19.00 per day for liability insurance that was NOT disclosed on the Thrifty web site. My Citi credit card waived the CDW, but I still had to pay for the liability coverage. I'll be filing a claim when I return to the States. The young lady was quite unhelpful in almost every way possible… there was no offer of a map (in fact, they didn’t have any) and she couldn’t even describe how to get out of the airport! Rather than waste my time on this useless woman I asked the tourist policeman in military fatigues out front. It wasn’t hard to figure it out, but when you are in a location for the first time you just don’t know what to expect and it would have been nice to have a little guidance.

On Corredor Sur entering Panama City

From what I could tell on the maps, there is no bypass around Panama City to get to the Bridge of the Americas and from there onto the Pan American Highway headed west. As I was driving down the road leading from the airport I saw a small, faded sign that I thought included the word “cuanto.” I seemed to recall that this means “payment” or “fee” so I did a U-turn and pulled out my maps. It looked like this would take me to the Corredor Sur that hugs the coast and leads into central PC, which would get me most of the way through town. Just to be sure I stopped at a Delta gas station and the guy confirmed my suspicion by drawing a route on the map with his finger to get me to the Bridge of Americas. I paid two tolls on Corredor Sur, $1.25 and $1.40.

From Corredor Sur you get onto Avenida Balboa followed by Avenida de los Martires, an elevated highway, and then onto the bridge. The route was actually very easy to follow and traffic was not bad since it was a Sunday morning. Avenida Balboa is a major street that hugs the coast for a bit and takes you past a marina and a number of major hotels (Le Meridien, Intercontinental, and others). Before I knew it I was through the city and on to the bridge. The highway signage is non-existent in Panama except for those areas where it is just bad. The bottom line is that unless you are familiar with the names of towns or, in the case of Panama City, names of areas you will have a hard time trying to get where you are going. I pulled over from time to time in order to consult my maps and memorize the next six or seven towns so that I had at least a general idea of where I was. There was very heavy traffic going into PC from the long holiday weekend that reminded me of traffic returning to Washington, DC from Virginia Beach; it was bumper-to-bumper a good part of the way. I’m glad I was going in the other direction.

Looking up the canal from the Bridge of the Americas

The Pan American Highway (Carretera Interamericana) is quite good and except when passing through towns, I clipped along at about 110 KPH (just under 70 MPH). As I traveled I observed a tremendous amount of construction going on; this is a country that is growing and prospering despite the economic downturn elsewhere. There are signs all over the place for 4G cell phone service, upscale cars and I noticed the Panamanian version of Levittown... suburbia comes to Panama. Woody Guthrie may have thought those houses were made of ticky tacky but to the people who move into places like these new suburbs, I am sure it is a move up and towards the Panamanian Dream.

I stopped at a road-side grill for lunch and the food was amazing. Not being familiar with the names of local dishes I chose the one item where I could not possibly go wrong… chorizo! I was not disappointed. I had an Atlas beer with my lunch of two grilled, smokey sausages and corn cakes; simple, cheap and delicious. The corn cakes had cheese in the center and were cooked on the grill along with the chorizo, so they had a nice smokey flavor to them as well. Not far down the road I took the turn off at Santa Maria to head south down the East coast of the Azuero Peninsula.

The trip to Pedasi took about six hours including the stop for lunch. It would have been less if I had not gotten lost in Chitre (remember that bit about there being no signs?). I drove around various sections of Chitre before finally giving up and coming to the realization that asking for directions on a regular basis was the only way to go. I would have to get gas again anyway so I stopped at an Esso station and through the use of pointing to the map and various gestures got directions to get out of town and back on Highway 3 to Las Tablas. Chitre is a good sized town (I would guess somewhere between 25,000 and 30,000) and has several major shopping centers but there was too much hustle and bustle for my tastes; I am glad I chose to stay elsewhere.

On the way to Las Tablas I encountered quite a bit of construction for the new road going south. This will ultimately be a four-lane highway all the way to Pedasi and the work that is being done is top notch. The construction slowed things down some but I easily found the Hostal Dona Maria just a short way into town on the left. I got settled in and went for a walk to find dinner. I skipped the Italian place since I was looking for more local fare and ended up at the Corner House hostel. There are quite a few restaurants in Pedasi; not all of them were open and the days and times the others are open is a bit fluid. I met a young guy hanging out at the bar who cooks at Smiley’s restaurant and he suggested the fresh snapper. The fish was grilled with the head on and the skin attached and was very crispy on the outside. The fish was served with pickled vegetables and pantacones, a type of grilled mashed plantain.

Most of the town was pretty quiet, having just ended the holidays, but I spent some time on the front balcony of Dona Maria and ran into a German couple that was staying there. They had just arrived that day by bus and were only staying two days before moving on to David and Boquete. The next day I would go exploring and maybe check in with one of the local realtors.

Panama Travel Bonus -- Free Health Insurance

2011-08-25T20:56:00.007-04:00

Let’s face it, many tourists, especially those who are less experienced, may have concerns about the what happens if they have an accident while traveling. Even knowing that most of Panama has world-class health care you’re still far from home, your insurance is useless and you’re in a country whose primary language is different from your own. What do you do?

One of the first things you get upon arriving in Panama is a special card providing free health insurance for 30 days. This is an absolutely brilliant decision by the nation of Panama. The choice of countries to visit obviously isn’t limited to Panama. With health care scratched off your list of possible drawbacks, Panama immediately becomes a more attractive option for any tourist exploring their options for an exotic vacation.

Here are some details:

You must enter the country through Tocumen International Airport
Carrying the card is not necessary; the entrance stamp on your passport is enough
The bill is paid by the Panama Tourism Authority
If you have questions or need help, there is a hotline number to call
The insurance covers all accidents that happen or diseases contracted within Panama
Coverage of most medical and incidental expenses
If you kick the bucket while in Panama, they send your remains home

I have never needed a foreign medical facility or even been sick while traveling, but I know if I return to Panama I will rest easier just knowing that if I do get sick, I’m covered.

There are two web sites listed on the Turista Urgencia Medica card: http://www.atp.gob.pa/ and http://www.generali.com.pa/. Unfortunately, they are both in Spanish, but if you speak Spanish you may be able to share some info with the rest of us.

Panama Day 5: In and around Pedasi

2011-08-25T20:55:00.020-04:00

My apologies for how long it is taking to cover my whole trip. You know how it is… back to work and not much free time. I have hours of audio notes on my Blackberry that I am going through to make sure I don’t miss anything significant.

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Nice, but rocky, Playa Toro

Hostal Dona Maria is centrally located and convenient, but a bit noisy as well. Being right on the main road there is a lot of traffic quite early in the morning with some honking of horns and big trucks applying their brakes. To be fair, my room was right on the front of the building next to the roadway and it may have been much quieter in the back. While this may be annoying to some, to me it is the sound of commerce and prosperity. At one point during the day a produce truck stopped by and the owner, Marila, was checking out the cucumbers, onions, citrus and other fruits and vegetables he had to offer. Marila gives very individualized attention and is very gracious. Around back there is parking, nice gardens and plenty of space to lounge around. The wi-fi is strong and you can pay by VISA or MasterCard, which you won't find everywhere you travel in Panama.

Breakfast was very pleasant and cooked to order as guests arrived. The young lady who handles breakfast provided a menu with six different offerings (complete breakfasts) from which you choose what you want for that day. I tried three different offerings and all were a great start to the day. The strong, rich-tasting Panamanian coffee was heavenly.

After breakfast I drove down to Playa Toro (Bull Beach). As you get to the beach there is a place on the left of the dirt road that has a bar, restaurant and pool; if you want to spend a day at the beach it would be pretty handy since you could go beach combing, play in the ocean, etc. and then have a place to get cleaned up and knock back a few beers. Even though they were not open at the time I was there, the music was playing and I can imagine it would be a fun place to hang out. Playa Toro is nice and I enjoyed a great walk checking out the rocks extending out into the ocean and picking up a few shells. While pretty, this is not a good swimming beach; if you got tossed around in the waves you could easily end up being dashed against submerged rocks, which are everywhere.

Pedasi Escapes... just a gate and a road

On the way to the beach, if you bear to the right at a fork in the road, you will come to three developments: Pedasi Escapes, Costa Pedasi and Andromeda Ocean Estates.

Pedasi Escapes is a nice gate and a road. That’s it. There are lots of very nice stakes in the ground suggesting lots have been laid out and are already sold. It’s close to the ocean but unless you have a three-story house and lean waaay out from the window, I doubt you could even see the ocean. For some people that may be fine, but I would like to be closer. I don’t know what kind of infrastructure is planned or already in place. The road was smooth, but basic.

Costa Pedasi has a large gated entrance and some very nice houses either in the process of being built or already completed. These homes have their own individual septic systems and the development appears, from what I could see from the road, to be very nice. I’m not sure what the prices are like, but I suspect they are higher than what I can afford. Besides, I'm just looking for something simple... not a manor with maid's quarters.

Road is graded and almost ready for surfacing

Andromeda Ocean Estates has taken a different approach. They have their own water and sewer system. The roads are being built the right way… with a good graded gravel base topped by asphalt. Quaint looking, gas light-style street lamps are being installed and green spaces are already landscaped and planted. I watched the men working on the fence and the gate house and my own experience in the remodeling industry tells me that they are doing a first class job.

Since I had managed to get a sun burn while in Bocas, I stopped at the only Farmacia in town and bought some lotion. I noticed that the town square and the streets surrounding that area were a total mess the night before from the weekend celebrations. By the time I drove through around 11:00 AM the streets were all swept up and the garbage in piles waiting to be picked up. When I came back later in the afternoon to do some shopping, it was totally clean.

After my visit to Bull Beach, I stopped in at Panama Property International real estate and met with the agency owner, Alan, a Brit who has lived in Pedasi for three years. We talked about the highway construction and other developments as well as real estate in the area. According to Allen, financing is generally available on parcels with 50% down, and on homes or land with building costs with 30% down; rates are in the 6% neighborhood. Major shopping centers are in Las Tablas and Chitre; Las Tablas is just a short drive away and many locals make a weekly jaunt down the road to do a large shopping and get minor or occasional items at one of the many small stores in Pedasi. Ground has been broken on a new hospital, a new airport is close to opening and there are plans for a shopping center on the edge of town. Sheraton has purchased 50 hectares near Bull Beach and they are expected to begin building within two years. Alan will begin doing general contracting for his clients who purchase lots and he now has a guy who builds pools.

Ready for your electric shower?

Alan said he had a few obligations already lined up, but we agreed to meet at 3:00 for a drive around the area and to continue our discussion of real estate possibilities. With some time to kill I wandered across the street to Moreno’s hardware store to check out their prices. I found that most things are reasonably priced and even though it is a fairly small store, their inventory is pretty comprehensive. Moreno’s is a chain and larger stores can be found in Las Tablas and Chitre along with similar home centers. Moreno’s had one of the electric shower heads (you read that right) that was in my room in Bocas and at the Dona Maria. The idea is actually pretty cool… the shower head heats the water instead of relying on a central water heater. But it is a bit unnerving to see a wire extending from the wall into the shower head, especially when the wire nuts are exposed!

I stopped in at Smiley’s for lunch and after ordering a pork BBQ sandwich a guy walked in and ordered who clearly was an American. Since he was also alone I invited him to join me for lunch. It turns out that Ted is also a realtor (Panama Equity) and had been in the business in Hawaii before coming to Panama three years ago. Ted is originally from Michigan, but spent most of his adult life in Hawaii. Even though he had spent a long time in Hawaii, he said it was not a very friendly place to live and do business; if you’re not a native you are always somehow suspect and not a “true” Hawaiian. He visited a friend in Panama several times before moving here permanently. We also discussed the area and Ted highly recommended looking outside the developments. Although he did not come right out and say it, he seemed to imply that you could get more for your money by getting away from the pre-planned expat communities, which makes sense. He said that Pedasi and the surrounding areas are likely to take off over the coming years and provide a good return on your investment. But the real attraction, he said, is the quality of life. He goes spear fishing, enjoys the festivals in Las Tablas and the surrounding towns and although he has yet to take up surfing, it is on his to do list. Lunch with beers for the two of us at Smiley’s came to a grand total of $11.00.

A typical "living" fence

After lunch I drove further to the west and passed a couple of developments aimed at equestrian aficionados – not my thing but they looked nice. One of those developments was Hacienda los Gavilanes. One of the cool things I saw everywhere throughout the Azuero was living fences. They stick saplings in the ground and attach the fence to them. Most of these saplings grow and turn into a living fence that they cut the tops off occasionally causing a gnarly ball on the top. What a great concept -- you never have to worry about rotting fence posts. During my research before my trip, I got the impression from some web sites hawking real estate that Pedasi was a sleepy little fishing village right on the ocean. It is not. Pedasi is a nice little town and is close to the beach, but it is at least a ten minute drive to the coast. Pedasi seems like a very family friendly town – there is a soccer field, a baseball field and a covered basketball court that had a martial arts class going on when I drove by. There is a public library next door to the Catholic church.

On the way back into town I stopped at a couple of stores I had seen the night before near the town square and the Catholic church. The first boutique-style shop I went into is owned by a woman I would guess to be in her late thirties. As I perused her merchandise I was approached by her daughter who asked, in perfect non-accented English, if she could help. It turns out the daughter had just moved back to Panama after living with her father in Idaho. I bought a few things for my colleagues at work... including some really nice locally made soaps containing chocolate and eucalyptus. The other shop I visited is owned by a woman who I believe is originally French; the accent was definitely not Spanish. She makes a few things of her own but also buys a lot of items from locals who use native materials. I bought a cool, hand-carved mask made in Chitre that is used in their local carnival celebration.

A hawk I saw on the side of the road

I went back to Alan’s office a few minutes past 3:00 and there was a sign on the door saying he would be delayed and to come back at 4:30. I went back to Dona Maria and down-loaded my pictures to my netbook, copied them to a flash drive (you can’t be too careful) and generally killed some time until 4:45. I got back to the real estate office a little before 5:00 and the same sign was still on the door and still no Alan. Well, I guess my business is not needed. You’ll notice that I did not provide the link to his business.

I walked around town a bit more and explored a few more back streets. Once again, all the streets are paved and in good shape. The vast majority of houses are humble little abodes with not much land, but generally well maintained. There are a number of small, family run grocery stores located throughout the community. I had dinner at Pedasito Hotel. The food was just OK and the service was unimpressive. At the risk of sounding like the consummate American, I was a little surprised that the folks in the restaurant spoke zero English and could not tell me what was on the menu. Pedasito looks like a pretty nice property and the rates are reasonable. The fact that they are unable to assist gringo visitors seemed like a poor business move.

Panama Day 6: Playa Venao and the Southern Azuero Peninsula

2011-08-25T20:50:00.007-04:00

When I logged in today and read through the comments left on the blog, one of them was an anonymous nasty-gram asking me why I hadn’t finished writing about the rest of my trip (I think it might have been my sister, but she denies it). Again, my apologies. I realize this is taking a long time but I have had other demands on my time. I will try to get it all done by the end of the year partly because there are a handful of people, like yourself, who want to get to the end, but mainly so I don’t start forgetting things.

Anyway, I had planned on using my sixth day in Panama to drive to the towns surrounding Pedasi and make it to the far south end of the Azuero Peninsula. As I drove along I noticed many farmers had put out their milk cans alongside the road to be picked up. I don’t know if the milk was being picked up by a commercial processor or a co-op, but there they were sitting by the highway. Later in the day I saw a man on a horseback riding away from the road side with a milk can on each side. As luck would have it, this was one of the few times during the day when there was a car behind me so I couldn’t stop to get a picture.

The southern end of Playa Venao

I went through many small towns along the way that weren’t on any of my maps. For example, I discovered the village of San Francisco when I took a left-hand turn down a road just to see where it might lead. I ended up at a beach whose name I do not know, but this was the first time I had seen mangroves right on the beach. As I drove back up to the highway I realized that I had lost track of the number of turns I had made and wasn’t absolutely sure that I was back on the main highway. Oops. Well, I figured, if all else failed I could just head northeast and eventually make it back to Pedasi by following the highways along the coast.

I continued down the road and in the hopes it would lead me to the section of road that goes from Playa Venado to Canas. I guessed correctly because I saw a sign or two for Playa Venao and knew I was on the right track. Even in the far south of the peninsula there was road work going on. I had read in one of the English language newspapers that the country loses a significant amount of agricultural product each year due to the inability to get crops to market in a timely fashion, hence the tremendous amount of money being spent on better roads throughout the country. It didn’t hurt Pedasi that former Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso Rodriguez de Arias, the nation’s first female president, grew up there. Somehow a major road-building project was magically scheduled for the eastern coast of the peninsula -- imagine that!

Surf's up!

From San Francisco on, it felt like I was on a slalom course instead of a highway as I swerved around pothole after pothole. I wasn’t always successful in avoiding the divots in the road and I know that Thrifty had to do a major realignment on my vehicle after I returned it. I continued to notice se vende signs all along the road, some of them noting that the land is “permitted” or the number of meters of beach frontage. I recall Ted telling me that there are no private beaches in Panama… there may not be a convenient way to get to them, but the actual beach is public property.

I saw a sign for La Playita Resort and followed the deeply rutted road down into a low valley, across a shallow stream and finally came to the resort. I did not drive into the resort but I can confirm that it is set in a beautiful forest on the hillside overlooking Playa Venado. It is a very peaceful spot and a great location – close enough to civilization to make a quick trip into town, yet just remote enough to provide the peaceful solitude one might want for a real get-away-from-it-all vacation. I never did get to the beach, but the setting was gorgeous. Another hotel in the area is El Sitio Hotel that has a surf report on their website.

Just the typical "Surfer & Monkey Crossing" sign

Just down the road was Playa Venao, host to the Third Annual Central American Surf Championship, a major surfing beach that is positively breathtaking. There is a nice hotel being built right on the beach to accompany the bar and restaurant that are already open for business, and at least one other bar/restaurant on the east end of the beach. There is also a small convenience-style store and quite a few high-end homes being built. There were a few surfers out on the water but I was told by the bartender (yes, I had a couple of Balboas) that the surf had been down the last couple of days.

I took a walk down the beach and just tried to absorb it all… the nearly hypnotic sound of the ocean, the mist created by the crashing waves and the gulls overhead. If someone had offered to sell me a house on the beach at a price I could afford I would have bought it on the spot. Every time I visit a beach my resolve grows stronger that I have to retire on the water. I sat for quite some time on the open-deck veranda of the bar and just enjoyed watching the waves and the surfers. I’ll definitely be back. My nephew loves to surf; maybe we can come back together some day.

With some regret, I tore myself away from the beach to continue my trek. I laughed really hard when, between Playa Venao and Canas I came across a teenager on his horse ambling down the side of the road texting on his cell phone as he went – what a land of contrasts. This is a very agricultural area with lots of cattle and corn (for silage, I presume) and I loved it… the cattle reminded me of growing up in Montana. There were even some areas of open range, which surprised me. I haven’t seen open range since driving through the Blackfoot reservation in Montana. Working the land and raising cattle is hard work but I’m sure it is also very gratifying. Ag communities have a strong sense of place and even stronger family values. The idea of moving to a small town in an agricultural area is very appealing.

Cattle herding on the road

I think some of these farmers are actually better off than their homes would suggest. I saw many brand new, state-of-the-art tractors and combines. While it’s possible that these were custom crews, I doubt it. This isn’t like North America where the custom combine outfits start in Alberta in August and make their way south to Texas; there just isn’t enough land or crops to support such massive operations.

As I continued towards Tonosi I came across a couple of guys hand mixing concrete on the road… not off to the side, right on the road. I guess there must not be too much traffic to bother them. This wasn’t the only time I saw this practice of using the road as a concrete mixer. I made it as far as Tonosi before turning around to return to Pedasi. It was raining steadily when I got to Tonosi but from what I could tell this is a major town in the area. There are a lot of stores and shops, a large-animal veterinary near the center of town that had a drive through so you could unload your animal under cover, several groceries and at least two banks.

I arrived back in Pedasi just as the sun was going down. After downloading my pictures and taking a shower, I planned on going to Smiley’s for dinner but saw a sign pointing towards the Chili Reef restaurant and decided to check it out. This place was closed the night before but was obviously open that night because it was all lit up and there were was another couple at an outdoor table enjoying dinner. After a while several other groups of people showed up including a group of five that I had seen in town the last couple of days that I think was staying at one of the hostels.

While waiting for my meal to be delivered (a pair of fish burritos that were excellent), I struck up a conversation with the couple at the next table. It turned out that Devin, a former music teacher from Pullman, Washington now lives in Limon, about three or four miles south of Pedasi. Devin also has a partner from the Big Fork area of Montana (it's a small world) and together they bought some acreage along the coast that they are slowly selling off. In the meantime he met a Panamanian woman while surfing and slyly suggested that she teach him more Spanish. Today she is his wife and they have a small four-room hotel and cafe in Limon.

Devin also has a house for sale that he bought on the beach outside of Las Tablas and offered to show it to me. The house was originally intended to be for him, but as his business developed in Limon he decided to sell it instead. We agreed to meet the next morning after he finished giving a violin lesson and I would follow him to the house. This was a good plan since I was heading back towards Panama City the next day anyway.

My next installment will be about the house on Playa el Ulverito and my “discovery” of Punta Chame.