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.
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.
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