Monday, January 22, 2018
U.S.A. to Panama
On Sunday we dropped off Bosco Dog at Small Paws Bed & Biscuit and left Carlos Cat in the care of my friend Valerie (Thank you, Valerie!) before driving to Reston, Virginia, so we could catch a direct flight from Dulles to Panama City. We saved $950 on plane tickets versus flying from Knoxville, so the almost eight-hour drive each way is well worth it.
We ate dinner at Red Robin and spent the night at the very nice Sheraton Reston Hotel on a parksleepfly deal ($120 for the room and 13 days' parking), sleeping late Monday morning before catching Sheraton's bottom-of-the-hour shuttle to the airport at 11:30 a.m. With time to kill, we had sandwiches at Firken & Fox with a very decent Legend Brown Ale (made in Richmond, VA).
Our Copa Airlines flight 305 left Dulles at 3:19 p.m., arriving at Panama City's Tocumen International Airport at 8:18. Panama is in the same time zone as U.S. Eastern Standard Time, so no jet lag for us! We were in a taxi ($35) by 9:15 and at the hotel at 9:45.
The hotel: Hotel Casa Antigua, a boutique hotel in the Casco Viejo neighborhood of Panama City, $80 per night, including tax. The hotel has seven rooms, and we stayed in “Portabelo,” a large room with a big bathroom and a large closet in between containing a minibar/fridge and a safe. With a router in each guestroom of the hotel, the WiFi is very strong. The hotel has a rooftop terrace with great city views and is attached to a cafe/bar called Pips, where a complimentary breakfast is served. We stayed here three nights.
Hotel Casa Antigua, Portabelo room
Jana's inadvertent half-selfie
We drank a beer from the minibar while enjoying the views from the rooftop terrace then went for a walk around Casco Viejo. We didn't venture too far because the area quickly gets sketchy if you wander out of the neighborhood. If you stay on the brick/cobblestone streets, there's a heavy tourist police presence, and it's reasonably safe. Even so, a guy offered to sell Tom cocaine within five minutes of leaving the hotel, and we were offered weed a little later.
Panama City from the rooftop terrace
Ancon Hill and Casco Viejo
We wound up at a cool brewpub called La Rana Dorada (The Golden Frog) for a couple of pints and a pizza. It was great, but I was disappointed that they were out of the porter. The prices were decent as well. We got out of there for $31. Panama uses U.S. dollars for its currency, simplifying (for us) each transaction.
Returning to the hotel at midnight, we found out our electronic key fob to the exterior door didn't work, but they were just shutting down Pips Cafe next door, and one of the waiters let us in. We weren't sure at first if we were doing something wrong, but it turns out it was the fob, not us.
"How we do it"
La Rana Dorado bar
Tom
Goetz's Homepage
|