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!