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.
No comments:
Post a Comment