Dealing with the details...

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 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 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.