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.
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.
3 comments:
First of all I want to say superb blog! I had a quick question which I'd like
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I have had trouble clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts
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10 to 15 minutes tend to be wasted just trying to figure out how to
begin. Any suggestions or hints? Cheers!
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Anonymous... Thanks for your kind remarks. When it comes to writing, I make a 3-5 point outline and then just start writing. Whatever comes to mind is what goes down on "paper." Then I go back and edit what I wrote. Sometimes I'll rearrange things to make the flow of the article better. Then I walk away from it for a few hours or even days. Coming back with a new perspective helps to really make my thoughts gel. I've even gone back and edited an article months later. Every time you edit, you continue to perfect your own unique style.
I haven't written in quite a while, but will be starting a new blog in the coming months at Traveltraxx.com. This blog will be about travel, how to pay for your travel and about my own travel experiences.
If you're interested in traveling to Panama, I have been there many times and now work for Simply Natural, an organic produce company headquartered in Panama City. Send me an email with any questions you may have to bgodiver@gmail.com.
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