Category: 2023 Caribbean+

Thursday, January 19 – Bogota

Bogota sits at an elevation of 8,660 feet. That makes it the third highest capital city in the world, behind La Paz (Bolivia) and Quito (Ecuador) – so I’ve now been to the top 3! (I’ve also visited #5 – Thimphu, Bhutan. Will I get to #4 – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia? Mmmmm…) That’s the good news. The bad news is that, like my arrival in La Paz, I’m experiencing altitude sickness – fatigue and headache. It lasted for a few hours in Bolivia; hopefully it will be the same duration now, especially considering I only have two full days here.

Since I have to lay low for awhile, I decided to make an effort at updating my journal. However, when I accessed the site online I noticed the formatting was all messed up! What the… Fortunately the web host has some helpful tech support staff and they were able to sort it out as I was on the phone with them. That did take an hour though. It’s the first time I’ve had an issue like this in the 4 years of this website, so I guess I can’t complain. And subsequent to their repair of my site I had a conversation with one the host’s web designers and I think I may use their consultation services to help cleanup up my site and make it look a little more professional. So continue to watch this space (the update will happen later in the year)…

I was feeling a little better by the afternoon, so I decided to go out for a walk. But being that this is, well, Bogota, I thought it would be best to stick close to the hotel.

As I walked around I noticed many of the locals wearing their backpacks on the front of their bodies. It’s so sad that the threat of being robbed in the middle of the day in a nice neighborhood is something they have to deal with in their daily lives. Kind of reminds me of my time working in Johannesburg – same situation, but worse there (at the time), in my opinion. (all I had on me as I walked around was my camera and the key card to my hotel room)

Since I’m feeling better, and only have one day left here, I did something I’m usually opposed to – I booked a day tour for tomorrow. To be fair though, I’m doing the tour not only because of my imminent departure, but also due to the fact that I wouldn’t feel comfortable roaming around Bogota on my own.

Friday, January 20 – Bogota

My 6-hour tour will be private, meaning it’s just me, the driver Hernan and guide Marta. It was kind of pricey (for me), $189, but this seems like a moment to splurge (and I couldn’t find any group options!).

Our first stop is Monserrate – a 10,300 foot mountain that overlooks Bogota. There are three ways to reach the peak: tram, funicular, and hiking path. Now, normally I would absolutely want to do the path. But, as we know, I don’t have the time for that on this trip. However, there is another obstacle – the trail is known to be a common spot for muggings to take place. More sadness…

We will be taking the funicular.

Next stop. The Gold Museum. The museum displays a selection of pre-Columbian gold and other metal alloys, and contains the largest collection of gold artifacts in the world. I enjoyed this! Below are a few photos from the displays.

Just down the road from the Gold Museum is the Plaza de Bolivar.

Also close by is the Museo Botero. Fernando Botero Angulo (b. 1932) is a popular Colombian-born artist. The highest realized auction price for his work to date is 4.3 million US dollars. The museum is housed in a beautiful former colonial mansion.

This was a fun day! I enjoyed talking with Marta and listening to the local insight she provided.

Bogota is definitely the type of city I could spend some time visiting. A great place for walking and exploring neighborhoods. It’s too bad that’s not going to happen.

Colombia Covid Situation:

• Vaccination or negative test required for entry.
• No mask requirement (similar to Panama City, I’d say about 10% of the people I encountered were wearing masks).

Saturday, January 21 – transit from Bogota to Barbados

Happy Birthday Tim! Time to get up for your 4:49am flight! Who’s the idiot that booked a departure at this ungodly hour?? Oh…

So, I should be at the airport 3 hours before departure. That means leaving the hotel at 1:30am. In Bogota. Wow! That’s a brilliant decision! (unbelievable what I’ll do for a cheap flight!) Just another reason I reserved a room at this 4/5-star hotel. I was confident they would have security on site at that time of night, and that they would provide me with a safe ride to the airport (kidnapping by unscrupulous taxi drivers is also a thing here).

The taxi ride cost $8 (plus a very generous tip; thanks for not kidnapping me!) and took about 20 minutes. I’m flying on Copa Airlines via Panama City to Barbados. The cost of the one-way trip was $285. On arrival at the airport the Copa ticket counter was not yet open, and there’s already a long line. Great. It ended up taking about an hour to check in.

The ticket agent did ask me about my one-way ticket to Barbados, but I was prepared with my onward itinerary to Grenada. Ha! She also wanted to see my vaccination card. Not sure why, since neither Panama nor Barbados require vaccination for entry. And she wanted proof of my yellow fever shot. Again, not sure why since neither Colombia nor Panama are know as yellow fever hot spots. Regardless, it was obviously not worth arguing about, since I had both shot records handy.

DISASTER AVERTED!!

The flight from Panama City to Barbados took about 3 hours. Another full 737. Per the announcement by the flight attendant, we touched down at 1:21pm (on 1/21 – my birthday. Cool!).

Continuing the trend, no questions from Barbados immigration regarding my return/onward flight.

I booked a ride from the airport through my airbnb host. It cost 50 USD (Barbados is a little more expensive than Colombia!), and it took about 25 minutes.

I was pretty tired, but did take a walk (20 minutes each way) to the nearby mini-mart to pick up some food. Groceries are expensive here; I’m told it’s because most things need to be imported.

Monday, January 16 – Panama City

I’m planning another Uber out and walk back today. My starting point is the Casco Viejo (Old Quarter) area of the city. It was settled in 1673, following the destruction of the original Panama City in 1671 (which I visited earlier). And like Old Panama, this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It took about 20 minutes to get here from my hotel ($4).

I noticed that this area was much more crowded with tourists than Old Panama. Part of it I’m sure is due to the fact that Old Panama is just an archaeological site and museum, whereas the Old Quarter has many shops and restaurants. However, I later learned that a cruise ship was docked in Panama City today, so many of tourists were here for the day only. (Bad timing on my part!)

Here are a few pictures from my walkabout…

I know what you’re thinking, “where are all the tourists Tim was talking about?”. Well, I had to be patient to get these photos with minimal human content! I’ll also say that the area was jammed with traffic. I guess I can understand why vehicles need to get in here, but it seems like the powers that be could set aside some roads as pedestrian only.

I’m going to make my way back to the hotel via the waterfront (well, until I need to cut inland, as my hotel sadly is not on the water!).

I don’t think I’ve mentioned the weather here in Panama City; it can be described in two words: Hot & Humid! The highs are in the mid-to-upper 80s.

Travel Tip: I’m trying to avoid roaming charges on this trip. AT&T charges $10/day for cellular access (however, they do max it out at $100/month). So, I basically use wifi exclusively. Here are some suggestions along those lines (and I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned these before, but they’re worth repeating):

• Subscribe to a VPN. This provides security to all my devices (laptop, iPad, iPhone). And it also lets me select an ip address from the location of my choosing. This is helpful when I’m logging into my personal financial websites, as they typically block access from foreign countries. I use ExpressVPN, which runs about $13/month (on a month-to-month basis).
• The Maps app on my iPhone detects my location via GPS, not the cellular signal. I therefore download the local map to my phone while on wifi, and then it’s stored on my phone for use with GPS as I walk around the city.
• Use wifi calling on my phone. I had used Skype in the past, and am new to the game on this. What can I say, I’m slow!

Tuesday, January 17 – Panama City

My last full day in Panama City. I’m planning on visiting a couple museums today. Again it will be an Uber out and walk back itinerary.

My first stop is the Biomuseo, a $5 ride from my hotel. The main reason I want to see this is because it was designed by Frank Gehry, the architect of such places as the Olympic Fish Pavilion in Barcelona, the Dancing House in Prague, and the Guggenheim Bilbao.

Now, I kind of dropped the ball here, because I just assumed that museum was open every day of the week but Monday, like most other museums. Unfortunately it is in fact only open Thursday through Sunday. Oops! Oh well, I mainly wanted to see the exterior anyway!

My next stop is the Panama Canal Museum in Casco Viejo, where I was yesterday (the Museum is closed on Mondays – as most normal museums are!). Well, apparently it is also closed today for some reason as well (nothing on their website warning of this). Mmmm, I’m sensing a trend. Oh, and yes, it was less crowded around here today (goodbye cruise ship!)

The last museum on my itinerary is the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo. And again, this museum is closed today. (Supposed to be open; no mention on their website) Looking through the front door, it appears that they’re changing around the exhibits. Almost a total bust on museum plans for the day!

Oh well, I ended up spending the day doing one of my favorite city things – just walking around and observing. I do have one more stop though. I want to get a closer look at a building I saw amongst the skyscrapers.

My thoughts as I leave Panama City:

• It probably wouldn’t be very high on my recommended places to visit
• It’s generally pretty dirty, except along the waterfront and tourist areas
• The traffic is terrible
• It is not pedestrian friendly (except for the waterfront path)
• No significant cost advantage versus the U.S.
• But the locals are generally friendly
• And it’s got the Panama Canal, that’s all that really matters!

And to be clear, my comments are about Panama City only, not the rest of the country.

Finally, the Covid situation here in Panama:

• No testing or vaccination required for entry
• No mask requirements (I’d say about 10% of the people I encountered were wearing masks)

Wednesday, January 18 – transit from Panama City to Bogota

My flight today is around noon, so fortunately I don’t have an early wake up! The Uber to the airport took about 30 minutes and cost $19.

And yes, the agent at the Copa Airlines ticket counter did ask me about my one-way ticket. I was ready this time though! I presented her with my onward itinerary to Barbados via Copa. No issues.

(I don’t remember going through this as went from Bolivia to Ecuador to Chile – all one-way flights, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t have the onwards portion booked prior to entry into the country.)

The flight took about 1 1/2 hours on a 737, which was full. And upon arrival in Bogota it took 1 1/2 hours to get through immigration! Brutal! The good news: I didn’t have to wait for my bag! (And no, the immigration officer did not ask about a return/onward ticket)

Travel Tip: I’m pretty sure I mentioned this before as well…I have a Schwab ATM card that charges no foreign transaction fee and reimburses the ATM charges. I use this card to get cash whenever possible. I also have a credit card that charges no foreign transaction fees.

At the airport it’s nice that they have a taxi system where you pay a set rate in advance based on your destination. My trip cost $16 and took about 45 minutes (rush hour traffic).

Sunday, January 15 – Panama City

Experiencing the Panama Canal was the main reason I wanted to visit this country. I’ve booked a tour today that will fulfill that desire. I’ll be taking a boat ride for a few hours along a small portion of the Canal. Hopefully I won’t be disappointed!

Besides the cruise, the tour ($145) also includes hotel pickup and return, and lunch served on the boat. I think I’ll do chronological style entries of the tour for this post. It might get a little dorky, so feel free to scroll down if you get bored! I don’t plan on getting into a lot of technical stuff though; there’s plenty of information online regarding the history and operation of the Canal, for those who are interested. Here’s one source.

9:00am: Pickup at the hotel by the tour company’s shuttle bus. I was told yesterday that I would be picked up between 9:15 and 9:45. This is the opposite of what I’ve experienced in Latin America – early rather than late!

10:30am: Arrive in Gamboa. This is where we’ll be boarding the boat for the ride south on the Canal back towards Panama City. I was the second of what turned out to be seven hotel pickups (11 passengers), and then it was about a 40 minute drive to Gamboa. One problem though – the boarding isn’t scheduled to start until 11:30! So we head back down the road along the Canal to kill some time at a little restaurant/grocery store.

11:30am: We’re back at the dock and the crew is ready for passenger boarding. While we were away however, several other tour buses have queued up to offload their passengers. This is going to be a full load!

11:50am: We’re underway!

12:45pm: Tied up at our first set of locks.

1:58pm: The lock begins to drain.

2:06pm: We depart the locks.

2:19pm: Tied up at our second, and last set of locks. Again, we’ll wait here until the car carrier catches up.

2:56pm: The locks begins to drain.

3:07pm: We depart the locks.

3:15pm: We arrive at the 3rd set of gates.

3:23pm: The locks begins to drain.

3:32pm: We depart the locks.

4:31pm: We disembark.

5:20pm: Dropped off at my hotel.

This was fun!. I was not disappointed!

There were 4 folks on our bus who travelled here from the States just for a long weekend, solely to take this cruise on the Canal. I spoke to a couple other people on the boat who were doing the same thing. And this was a small sample size, I’m there were others. Interesting. I guess I’m not the only Panama Canal geek!

But you may be shocked to learn that this Panama Canal cruise was NOT the highlight of my day. Nope. That’s because I made a new friend today…

Daniel is an 8 year old from Panama City. We were on the same tour bus (he and his grandfather were the first pickup), but didn’t talk on the way to the boat. Once we got onboard though, he joined me on the upper deck where I had planted myself by the railing. He would squeeze in next to me when it was crowded and go down below to get me snacks and drinks during the lulls. A very nice little guy. I had fun talking to him (his favorite car is the Supra, which I can relate to!). He wanted to sit with me on the bus as we returned and everyone was dropped off at their hotels. He even fell asleep next to me. Very cute.

Thursday, January 12 – Panama City

I’m still feeling a little tired today. Not sure why, probably old age! So, I think I’ll keep it fairly low key.

I did walk around the neighborhood a bit and made a grocery store run. The currency here is the U.S. dollar, so that’s convenient. Although the cost of my accommodation is rather inexpensive, the prices at the grocery store are generally about the same as those in the States (well, Madison anyway). Interesting. There are also several retail stores and fast food shops in this area, and from the looks of the prices I can see from the outside, again it’s very similar to back home.

Oh, and I also worked on the trip’s first journal entry today, so I wasn’t a complete waste! And I did go for a swim in the pool, so there’s that. I promise a more ambitious tomorrow!

Friday, January 13 – Panama City

Friday the 13th!! Oh Oh! I’ll try and stay busy today while attempting to ignore the perils that I may encounter.

My target today is the part of the city called Old Panama (Panamá Viejo). This is where the country’s capital used to be located and was the first place that Europeans settled when they landed on the American continent. The city was in operation from 1519 until 1671, when the area was looted and set afire by the English pirate Henry Morgan and his sailors. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site that contains the remains of the original city and a museum ($10 entry fee to the museum and archeological site).

It looks like the walk from my hotel will take about an hour, but I think I’ll save that for the return trip. Instead, I’ll take an Uber over there ($4).

Time to make my way back to the hotel. I noticed that there is a big park on the way, so I’ll definitely be making a stop there. But first…

I got back to my hotel in the late afternoon and was kind of hungry, so I decided to stop at a cafe nearby. I had walked by there last night and it was pretty busy; that’s gotta be a good sign, right?

Saturday, January 14 – Panama City

I need to get some advance trip planning done this morning. I brag about how my winter escapes have no itinerary, which allows my stays to be flexible if I like a place and want to stay longer than anticipated (or visa versa). Buenos Aires is my benchmark in this scenario. But it also leaves me susceptible to fluctuations of flight costs and schedules, and the availability of reasonably priced accommodation.

My follow-on from Panama City is a perfect example. I’ve already booked a flight to Bogota. From there I was planning on visiting one of the nearby ABC islands (Aruba, Bonair, Curacao). And that still makes sense, because flights to these islands are very inexpensive. The problem is, departing from there to one of the other islands in the southern Caribbean is expensive. The short of it is that I spent a LOT of time today looking at a LOT of different scenarios on where my next few stops will be. Here’s what flights I’ve got booked so far…

• January 18: Panama City to Bogota
• January 21: Bogota to Barbados (short stay in Bogota unfortunately)
• January 30: Barbados to Grenada
• February 05: Grenada to Saint Vincent & the Grenadines

I have an airbnb booked in Barbados, but I still need to sort out accommodation in Grenada and SV&G (hopefully the cost of the options won’t be too exorbitant!).

This effort took way longer than expected, so I finished the day by making a grocery store run and then hitting the pool! Sorry, another boring day to read about. I promise tomorrow is going to be much better though. In fact, I have an excursion planned that will tick the box for my main reason to visit Panama. Intrigued? I hope so!

Tuesday, January 10 – transit from Madison to Toronto

Welcome back everyone! Thanks for following along as I begin Winter Escape #4. This will be my first travel outside of the United States since I exited Argentina in March of 2020 at the beginning of the Covid shutdowns (thanks again for the heads-up Kait!). The plan this year is to start out in Central America (Panama), then dip into South America (Colombia), and conclude by working my way north through the Caribbean. I’m hoping to visit at least 12 countries or territories over a period of 3 months or so. Kind of ambitious, I know, but I’m not getting any younger! (And to be honest, I have a goal of visiting 100 countries in my lifetime, and this is an easy way to cherry-pick a few. I currently sit at 70.)

My trip to Panama will include an overnight connection in Toronto via Air Canada. I booked through AC because I have a credit from them due to their cancellation of my return flight from Buenos Aries in 2020 (the credit expires in March of this year). Taking into account the credit, the net cost of my one-way ticket to Panama City was $61. (Seems high, right? Inflation I guess)

I’m starting off by taking the bus from Madison to O’Hare (thanks for the ride to the Lake Street stop Chuck!). The trip takes about 3 hours and costs $36. Fortunately, my flight doesn’t depart until 3:30pm, so I don’t have to leave on a super early bus from Madison. Unfortunately, the 6pm arrival in Toronto means I’ll have a 14+ hour layover until my flight to Panama City leaves at 8:30 tomorrow morning. And I don’t plan on spending it at the airport! So I booked a hotel close by for $125.

The bus ride goes as planned, arriving at O’Hare around 1pm, well in advance of my flight (which, as you will soon learn, becomes critical).

I’ll lead off this part of the story by saying that I tried to check in for my flights a few times online since the opening of the 24-hour window. All to no avail though, due to a generic error message. I wasn’t too worried however, because my booking was confirmed. I even had seat assignments. I figured it was just some glitch in the Air Canada system. So, when I got to the airport I also tried to check-in at the kiosk. Still no luck. Next stop, a visit with the ticket agent. And this is when I’m told that I will not be allowed to check in for the flight. Wait, WHAT??? The reason given is because I only booked a one-way flight; a return is also required. I explained my plans to the agent (visiting multiple locations over 3 months, next stop is Colombia, no set return date, etc.), and she seemed agreeable to let me check-in. However, she needed to run it by her supervisor, who was adamantly opposed. Ugh!

The friendly agent suggested I just buy a cheap return ticket for some date in the future. I agreed that that would be my best, and likely only, option. But before I went away to search on my phone for a ticket, I wanted to have a talk with the supervisor. My point of contention was the timing in which I was informed of my no-travel status. Obviously the system had flagged my reservation early, hence the error message when I tried to check-in. Why was I only informed of this issue at the last minute, when there was very little time to correct things? Her only response was that “the entry requirements of the country being visited are the responsibility of the passenger”. Mmmmm…

So as I contemplated how I should go about booking this return flight (make it changeable so I can actually use it when I return to the States; make it fully refundable; go with a low-fare carrier and just eat the cost, etc.), Then I remembered that U.S. airlines provide full refunds on bookings that are cancelled within 24 hours of purchase. Problem solved! I ended up buying a one-way ticket on American for $280, going from Panama City to Miami in March.

This task complete, I went back to the ticket counter and showed (the same) agent my confirmed booking and was good-to-go. She was really nice about it, saying she would have let me go if her supervisor wasn’t around. She even gave me some suggestions about what to see in Columbia, where her boyfriend is from.

Upon my arrival at the Toronto airport hotel, I went to work on a few things:

• Review the Panama entry requirements. It turns out having a return or onward ticket is one of the criteria for entry. That’s on me for ignoring it. What stood out in my case though was the onward part; a ticket to Colombia would suit me just as well as one to the States.
• Cancel my American reservation. Full refund please!
• Book a flight from Panama City to Bogota, in case Panama immigration asks. I had already reserved my hotel in Panama through the 18th, so I booked a one-way departure flight on that date for $154.

Wow! This was kind of a long narrative. Sorry about that, but it was an eventful day!

Wednesday, January 11 – Transit from Toronto to Panama City

The flight to Panama City was on an Airbus plane similar in size to a 737, and was pretty full, but luckily I had a empty middle seat next to me. The flight took about 5 hours, arriving around 1:40pm (they’re on US Eastern time).

The line for immigration was fairly short, and I made it through in no time. In case you’re wondering…NO, the officer did NOT ask me anything about a return or onward flight!

(I have a theory about this (probably obvious to most other folks!). I think the airlines and immigration agencies work together on enforcing some of these entry rules. The airlines are the first point of contact, so are in the best position to confirm if a passenger has the proper passport, visa, and flight requirements. That way a passenger doesn’t make the journey to another country and is ultimately turned back. In fact, I faintly recall going through a similar situation in the past (memory issues!), where a ticket agent informed me that airlines can be fined if they allow a passenger with improper credentials to board an international flight)

I reserved my hotel via Booking.com, and as a promotion they offered a free car service ride from the airport. Nice! That was worth around $30.

I was going to roam around the neighborhood a little bit this evening, but I was beat. I have many days ahead of me on this trip, no need to rush it!