Panama Day 8: Arriving in Panama City

November 10, 2011

I slept like a log but still woke up around 6:00 a.m.  I took a long walk on the beach (about three minutes away) followed by a swim.  The sea was absolutely flat and the beach was incredibly wide because the tide was out.  There were some funky tubes sticking out of the sand that I assume were connected to a clam or other species of bivalve.  They left little excavation piles of sand as they dug through the beach.

After my jaunt to the shore I had a great Southwestern omelet at the restaurant.  My server reminded me of the Polish and Czech staff I had at my guest house because she asked me how to pronounce several English words on the menu – just like my housekeepers, she was dedicated to her guests and wanted to do even better.

Another hotel on Punta Chame beach

George and I talked some more about his marketing efforts and his overall approach to running the hotel.  He is a very savvy guy and his business acumen comes naturally.  He still has a commercial cleaning business back in the States but he is really concentrating on building up his occupancy at the Villas (already at 50% in just two years of operation) and completing the landscaping.  He is thinking of closing in the balconies on a couple of rooms to make them bigger and more easily able to accommodate larger families that need the extra room.  I suggested that he needs to build a presence on Facebook, make sure his website is fully bi-lingual and to consider having a Portuguese translation for the ever-increasing number of Brazilian tourists.  Not surprisingly, I received an invitation to visit his Facebook page a few weeks after returning home.

Boats left stranded by the ebb tide

As I was leaving Punta Chame Villas, George was receiving a fish delivery with tubs of langostino, snapper and the specially ordered grouper for his Canadian guest.  I drove down a few side streets to check out the area since it was raining lightly and almost dark when I drove in the night before.  There are other hotels and resorts and even a water sports park called Nitro.  The houses in the area are nicely kept up and there is a wide variety of architectural styles.  I came across a school and the medical center.  There are also several tropical plant nurseries that, no doubt, sell their stock to home centers and flower shops in the surrounding area and Panama City.

The traffic was light as I headed into PC.  If I haven’t already made it abundantly clear, road signs are all but non-existent in Panama.  And that is the excuse I am sticking with for taking the wrong turn on the Pan-American and ending up going over the Centennial Bridge instead of the Bridge of the Americas.  This cost me an extra hour to get to my hotel located at the beginning of the Amador Causeway (plus a few bucks in tolls).  With trusty map in hand, I pulled over after every other exit to take another look at the map and determine which road I should take in order to loop back around to the Corredor Norte  and eventually past Albrook Mall, past the YMCA and onto the Amador Causeway.  Even the locals told me that street navigation is primarily accomplished by knowing the major landmarks.  Thank God I had spent some time staring at the street maps of PC so some of these things stuck out in my mind as I was driving.

Driving across the Centennial Bridge

I checked into the Country Inn and Suites, which is very easy to find.  My room was quite nice; not luxurious but clean, comfortable and designed to US standards.  The real attraction, though, was the view.  I had a porch overlooking the southern opening of the canal and the Bridge of the Americas.  Wow.  I opened the drapes just in time to see a huge cruise ship exiting the canal right in front of me.  The hotel is undergoing a major renovation.  In addition to completely updating the rooms and laying new floors in the hallways, there is an addition being built for, I would guess, about 50 more rooms.  There are people from all over the world staying here and the tour buses were backed up the next morning taking people on excursions to the canal, jungles, the nearby aboriginal tribes and of the city itself.

Bridge of the Americas from my hotel room balcony

The hotel does not have much in the way of on-site amenities other than the TGI Friday’s restaurant and a nice pool.  There is also a free buffet style breakfast that has simple, but decently prepared fare and includes something for everyone.  After getting settled I went to the front desk to get directions to a store and maybe an ATM.  The lady at the desk was not particularly helpful as she kept directing me back to Albrook Mall.  For those that don’t know, Albrook Mall is the Panamanian equivalent of the Mall of the America in Minneapolis.  There are probably more tour buses in the parking lot than cars.  This is not where I wanted to go to pick up a few snacks and a six-pack.  As I left the hotel, instead of heading into the city I chose instead to drive the opposite direction if for no other reason than to prove the front desk person wrong – that there is more to Panama City than a shopping mall.

The Amador Causeway is just a road connecting several islands (Isla Naos, Isla Perico and Isla Flamenco) and the mainland.  There are a number of hotels, shops, marinas, boat repair shops and chandleries.  I found an HSBC ATM and a small shop to buy what I needed, plus I picked up some Panamanian coffee to bring back for the crew at the office.  I continued a bit further and noticed tourists, families and couples walking, biking and jogging along the broad sidewalks up and down the causeway.  It was an overcast but beautiful Thursday afternoon and everyone was out to enjoy it.  The boats were sliding through the blue Pacific waters and it was a glorious day.

The PC skyline from the Amador Causeway (note
the jumbotron in the center of the picture)

After a shower and some time on the balcony watching the ships, I drove back over the causeway to an area with several restaurants.  I chose a modest establishment with a good crowd, figuring that the food would be decent and reasonably priced.  I assume the menu was good but I’ll never know because I left the hotel without my glasses.  Idiot.  Even if the light had been better I wouldn’t have been able to read that menu.  I ended up communicating to the mechanic boyfriend of the waitress to just surprise me.  Although his English wasn’t good, it was a far sight better than my Spanish and he got quite a laugh out of the situation.  I really need to start the Rosetta Stone Spanish course I bought.  I ended up having a very nice plate of langostino in a buttery tomato sauce with rice and vegetables.  Dinner and a couple of beers came to about $11.00.

What the restaurant lacked in ambience inside was more than compensated for by the bobbing of the boats on the water and the starry skies.  From my table I was able to watch folks walking by on the boulevard enjoying the evening as much as I was.  I joined the strollers for a while before heading back to the hotel and watching the boats and ships still plying the waters in front of my balcony.

A retirement research sidebar -- International Living Retirement Index

The January 2012 edition of International Living is out and includes the annual Retirement Index.  Once again, Panama is towards the top of the list; in fact it is number two.  And, once again, let me say that while the index is interesting and contains useful comparisons between countries in a variety of categories, each of the category summaries need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Don’t get me wrong… the article is worth reading.  As always there are comparisons on real estate prices, cost of living, health care, climate and a total score.  My problem is this: how you come up with a single number that summarizes a whole country?  As an example, I keep reading about how wonderful the upland areas of Columbia are; year-round temperate weather, no need for heat or A/C and the coastal areas are outside the hurricane belt.  So why does Columbia get a score of 75 while France gets a 90?  The last I heard, there is plenty of snow and cold weather in France.

Read the main article; just use your best judgment when evaluating the data.  Separate links are available for each aspect of the index.  You need to be a subscriber to access the full article.  While I won’t reproduce copyrighted material, if you leave me a message I would be happy to provide a summary.  If you like what you see and you are interested in retiring overseas, I recommend getting your own subscription to International Living – it’s money well spent.

Panama Day 7: Playa el Ulverito and Punta Chame

Devin and I were meeting at 10:00 a.m. at his place, Café  Limon, about a five minute drive south of Pedasi.  So I used the earlier part of the morning to fill the car with gas and check out some of the area northwest of Pedasi.  The first stop I made was at the gas station on the north end of town, but they had no gas; maybe they ran out because of the busy weekend.

Playa el Arenal

As long as I was headed in the right direction, I took the dog-leg right turn off the main highway and drove down to Playa el Arenal.  This is a fairly wide stretch of beach where you can hire a boat for the twenty minute ride to Isla Iguana; a small wildlife refuge that is said to have good reefs and two nice sandy beaches.  There are dozens of boats on the beach so negotiating a trip shouldn’t be hard.  One young man came up to me and offered an opening price of $50.00 round trip to the island.  I suspect you could negotiate a lower price.  Isla Iguana is home to (you guessed it) the Black Iguana in addition to a large nesting area for Frigate birds.  From June through October, Humpback whales migrate through the area.

Isla Iguana in the background

Boats also leave from Playa el Arenal for fishing.  This area of the Pacific coast is known for sport fishing.  Grouper, amberjack, sailfish, dolphin, tuna and wahoo are all caught in these waters. Kite surfing is also popular during winter and early spring.  The sea was very flat when I visited so it would probably be a great beach for swimming or jogging.  The boats in the water had ropes at least a hundred feet long and were tethered to spikes, trees or rocks high up on the beach.

I recalled that there was another gas station on the south end of Pedasi and filled the tank there.  Most gas stations have an attendant that fills the tank for you; I haven’t seen that in a long time in the States.  On the way to Limon I saw the local garbage truck making its rounds.  I saw no garbage cans anywhere in the Azuero peninsula.  Instead, they have a very practical solution to keeping the garbage away from prowling dogs and chickens – they have metal cages elevated about three to four feet off the ground.  These work great since the garbage man can pick the bags out of the cages as they drive by and you don’t have to haul big cans to the curb on garbage day.  Another example of the everyday practicality of life in Panama.

I got to Café Limon and Devin’s wife, Mãme, made me an espresso while I waited for Devin to finish giving his violin lesson.  Driving from Pedasi, I don’t think I could find Playa el Ulverito again without detailed instructions, but it didn’t take long to get there following Devin.  The road in must have been brand new since there was no striping.

View from the second floor looking East

A side observation before getting back to my real estate inspection – like many countries with relatively low wages, labor replaces technology in many cases.  As I traveled many areas where new roads or developments were being built, I noticed the use of portable saw mills.  Since they were taking out trees here and there, they cut them on site for fence posts, stakes for concrete forming, bracing, etc.  Why pay for equipment when you can have it custom made for a specific job?

Anyway, as we drove into the Playa el Ulverito area, we passed Hotel La Luna.  Had I stayed in Las Tablas instead of Pedasi, this is one of the hotels I was considering.  While I did not stop to take a look, I can say that it is convenient to several restaurants and is just a short walk to the beach.  I must also say that had I stayed here, I might never have explored much further because the beach is amazing.

As seen from the beach

Once there, Devin took me down a dirt road to the right that passes between the houses right on the beach and those on the heights, as it were, overlooking the beach.  Since most of the houses on the beach tended to be built down the escarpment to the beach, I think most of the properties above would have excellent views of the beach and the mighty Pacific from the second floor.  This road is the bumpiest, worst road I traveled on in Panama but it only runs a short distance to connect the beach houses to the main road running through town.

In front of Devin’s house was enough space for two, maybe three parking spaces.  The building is two stories and is really nothing more than a shell; the plumbing is run for the kitchen and a full bath has been finished on the first floor, but the electrical lines have not been run and there are no windows.  On the one hand, that is a real drawback since it is not ready to occupy but if you like designing and doing the finish work it is a diamond in the rough.  The building is about 24 feet wide and roughly 36 feet deep on the ground floor.  The covered back porch is about 15 feet deep and would be a good place to put the laundry.  I would guess the back yard is about 30 by 30… not big, but large enough to have nice gardens and a barbecue.  Public water is already run to the property and there is a private septic field.  The construction is concrete block with decorative, vented block in the areas where the windows would go.

The caretaker and Devin in front of the house

There is a nice custom made circular stair case to the second floor, which is a single room about 24 by 16 and a wonderful open verandah that is about 24 by 10 facing the ocean.  The roofing is the typical corrugated fiberglass and concrete extrusion.  If I were to buy it I would lift the roof a couple of feet and add a second room on the back.  The structure is eight years old and there were no signs of cracks in the foundation, so it must have been poured well.  Devin has a caretaker who keeps the weeds cut and generally watches over the place.  A crew of four, made of a project manager and three skilled laborers, can be had for just $100.00 per day.  The cost to renovate would not be that great, but the asking price of $155K is out of my price range.  For someone with a little more cash and an interest in finishing the project, this would be a good buy.

After a walk on the beach I said good-bye to Devin and drove the short distance into the main part of town in search of lunch.  I chose a simple open-air restaurant across the street from the ocean front park.  It wasn’t fancy and had plastic table cloths along with melamine Coca-Cola plates.  I ordered a ¼ fried chicken with papas fritas and a beer – the total came to $3.70.  Time and again I learned that the out of the way, mom and pop restaurants provided good, stick-to-your-ribs food at amazingly low prices.

More beach houses on Playa el Ulverito

There are several more restaurants up and down the beach.  I took a drive going east and found more houses like the ones I passed on the other end of town.  There are also a number of open air beach houses that were clearly nothing more than a party spot for the weekend with a large covered area, bathroom and probably a single room for secure storage of beach chairs, a portable grill, etc.  Many of these places did not even have electricity running to them.

After checking out the beach area, I drove into Las Tablas with the intention of continuing on to the stretch of resorts and condos between Playa Blanca and Coronado.  This was the one night that I did not have a hotel reservation and purposely set aside one day to provide some flexibility in my plans.  I got lost again going through Chitre but this time didn’t waste any time before finding a gas station to get directions out of town.

As I drove East on the Pan-American Highway, I kept looking for signs that would get me to this area full of condos and gated developments along the beach.  I took a chance and drove down a few random roads, but most of them turned into heavily rutted trails that you couldn’t do more than 5 MPH on.  There may have been a few signs but they must have been in Spanish and I did not recognize the turn-offs because while I could see the condos in the distance, I never did get to the beach.

Punta Chame beach

Frustrated, I figured I would just push on to Panama City and spend the following day exploring some of the great historic neighborhoods.  About twenty minutes down the road an American-style green and white road sign for Punta Chame appeared. I had read some about Punta Chame and since this was the first sign I had seen that pointed to a familiar name, I made the split-second decision and made a quick right.  Unlike the last several roads, this one continued to be good.  Fifteen minutes down the road I had passed a few small towns and went through some very pretty countryside made even more beautiful by the light mist that made the trees sparkle in the dimming light.  I soon realized that I was on a very skinny peninsula as I saw lagoons and mangrove swamps along both sides of the road.

Punta Chame Villas swim-up pool bar

As the sun continued to set I began to get nervous that I would reach the end of the road and not find a place to stay and would end up navigating Panama City at night.  As I neared the end of the peninsula houses appeared along with well-marked lanes leading off from both sides of the road.  There were signs with minimal information that at least appeared to be for hotels and/or restaurants.  At the very end I pulled into what turned out to be Hotel Punta Chame Villas.  The sun had set and it was now pitch black as I made my way to the lobby to inquire about a room.  I was offered a room with breakfast at $108.00.  This was much more than I was hoping to pay and was in the process of gently objecting when a young guy with a big grin on his face walked up and apologized that his front desk clerk did not offer the room without breakfast for $55.00.  Now we’re talking.

The young guy turned out to be George, the owner/architect/builder/host/chef.  More about George later.  Punta Chame Villas has just fifteen rooms on three levels and is almost on the point of the peninsula, so it is nearly surrounded by water.  George showed me to my room and I congratulated him for developing such a great property.  I mentioned my past ownership of a B&B and so he proceeded to show me around the place and talk about his vision.  There is a fourth floor that is for his Sky Bar with 360 degree views of the pacific and the mountains to the northwest.  The bar has two large terraces that are sometimes used for private parties. From here you can see Panama City in the distance.  He pointed out a point of light in PC that turned out to be an enormous jumbotron on the side of PC skyscraper – incredible.

Path to the beach with the mountains as a backdrop

George invited me down to the sitting area outside the lobby for drinks and to meet the other guests.  This was when I went from merely impressed to truly amazed by his skills.  After freshening up in the room and slapping on some of my new insect repellant oil I picked up at the Pickled Parrot in Bocas, I went down to join the others.  As I approached, George seemed to appear from nowhere and introduced me by name and where I was from to each and every guest, also by name and city of origin.  I sat down with the six other guests and continued to be amazed as others arrived and George, once again, appeared to make the introductions but this time with a bit of history, our professions or how long we were staying.  He conducted the evening as if it were a fine orchestra.  We all had a fabulous time and who would not want to go back to a place where you really enjoyed yourself?

I alternated time speaking with a divorcee from Toronto (who is staying the week with her sisters from Vancouver, but lives in nearby Anton); a local fisherman; a retired navy chief petty officer from Houston who lives up the road; and another gentleman who lives nearby and is originally from Detroit.  Other guests staying at the Villas arrived and were introduced in turn.  As the evening went on there were a dozen of us chatting away.  One of the two sisters was saying she had heard about the local fishing and would love to have a special dinner the next night for the group she was with.  The fisherman whipped out his cell phone and called a buddy out on the water and laid claim to the best grouper of the night, which George then bought to serve to his guests.

The Sky Bar

I was having a great time and before I knew it, it was 9:00 and I hadn’t had dinner yet.  Mike, the guy originally from Houston, and I went to the restaurant to have dinner.  I had the grilled snapper and a very nice glass of merlot.  Mike said that he began his retirement in Panama living in a condo in PC.  He saw that the real estate market was taking off so he bought five more condos in his building and was netting nearly $1000 per month on each before selling them in 2009 for a tidy profit.  Once he discovered Punta Chame he said it was a no-brainer to move here.  I learned from Mike that the road was just paved a couple of years ago and cut the time driving from the main highway down from 90 minutes to 30.  There is also a 24-hour clinic in the village.  He said he rarely locks his doors because theft is almost unheard of and has no bars on his windows like you see in much of Panama.  Mike loves his neighbors because they are friendly and dependable, yet not intrusive so he can live his life pretty much as he wants.  He also commented that he uses his AC infrequently because the natural cross breezes on the peninsula keep the temperature down.

All in all, it was another great evening in Panama and totally impromptu.  I wandered around the property for a few minutes after dinner and said good night to the other guests before calling it a night.  It felt like home.

Panama Day 6: Playa Venao and the Southern Azuero Peninsula

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!

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 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 difficulty, 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.

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  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.

Panama Day 5: In and around Pedasi

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 DonaMaria 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.  There is around back, 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 from England, 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 and a new airport is close to opening.  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 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 what they had and 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 went back to the real estate office close to 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 Travel Bonus -- Free Health Insurance

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 4: Back to Panama City and the drive to Pedasi

I woke up with the roosters at about 5:00 and dozed on an 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 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.  The young lady was quite unhelpful in most other regards… 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 if you are in a location for the first time you don’t know what to expect.

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 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 “pay” 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 will 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 north 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 (a little 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 it 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.  The grand total for lunch including the beer came to a whopping $3.65.

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 nicely 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.