Travel

Just got back from a great week with Ron and Laurie, things are looking good down there - Copa now fly direct Toronto/Tocumen and it was the most pleasant piece of airtravel we have experienced in the past 5 years or so, worldwide - certainly beats anything through North America - yes and that includes Air Chance of course in the bag of trashy North American airlines and their trashy service level - 5.5hr flight, incredible service including a meal with steel cutlery(dunno how the steel knife got thru security but it was there all nicely wrapped in a knapkin - cost us $1250 for two all in return, okay a promo price, and the equipment was outstanding - brand new A300-700 or 800 - when you book choose either rows 12 or 14 for emergency exit and huge leg room.
Our new GPS with Panama city and Santiago maps of course helped a great deal and we never missed a turn this time - a little under 4 hours from Tocumen to Hotel Heliconia - versus nearly 8 hrs last time and strong discussions for about 6 hours about seperation and divorce - he, he.

Bienvenido a Nuestra Comunidad!

For those of you that are still working on learning Spanish, "Bienvenido a Nuestra Comunidad" means "Welcome to our neighborhood"...
And yes, we have some more great folks who have decided to make the "plunge" and buy a little piece of paradise on the Azuero Peninsula.
We're delighted to announce our two newest property owner's; Tim, lot 18, and Allan & Teri, lot 13. Hope you all enjoy it here as much as we do!

A useful link on Panama

Follow the link to this site - a very useful one packed with information and resources.

http://www.panamainfo.com/

Airtravel Toronto to Panama

After much research the best deals going are with Copa direct Toronto and return to Panama City - okay I will forego my requirement to avoid the traffic and driving through Panama City for about $1200 and 2 days lost travelling through San Jose via David.

Air travel to Panama from Canada

Having experienced the good intentioned low cost trip(didnt factor in the cost of checking a bag and cheap fly rod!!!) from Buffalo via Atlanta via Tampa and then onto Panama City (two days) and then doing the 4 plus hours drive(actually took near 10 with a flaky GPS that died when you needed it and never ending torrential downpours - yes it was September, we came to the conclusion that there must be a "BETTER WAY". What factors define a better way - in my opinion:
- Cost
- Airport security and hassles
- Time wasted traveling
- Getting across from Tocumen to Morrillio

From Toronto to Tocumen Copa are starting direct flights in June - fantastic but still getting across Panama city is a frustration.
Another option, and we intend to do this next time we visit beautiful Morrillio and settle a few cheap beers(cheap only in price) with Ron is Air Canada direct from Toronto to San Jose Costa Rica (believe it or not with Air Chance it is C$416 Tango style), transfer to a puddle hopper and fly direct onto David - from David hopefully the drive to Morrillio will be quicker and less eventful - Ron says it is a more scenic drive and should be less painful.



Panama City - actually most major cities - traffic jam - Grrrrrr!!

 If anyone has a humorous travel experience or suggestions(backed by experience - he,he) on how to get to paradise within the above constraints please share them with everyone - there is bound to be someone out there who knows how to do this better!!!

Panama beer is the least expensive in the world

Follow the link for a discussion on beer costs - beer in Panama is cheap and based on the dozen or so i have consumed there on a par with most and - no headaches!

Excerpt from internet site:

Another great thing about drinking local beers is that they are cheap! A returnable bottle is 35–40 cents, plus a 10 cent deposit. The bottles are 9.5 ounces. Twelve ounce cans cost about 55 cents, and are cheaper in larger supermarkets than they are in the local convenience stores.

Here is another Panama beer link:

http://thepanamagringo.com/2009/05/30/local-beer-and-breweries-in-panama/

Some more newbies

A hearty welcome to Rick & Tammy, new owner's of lot 16! We apologize for being a few weeks late in making this announcement.

Rick and Tammy, please be sure to buy lots of sun screen before your next trip to Panama! Wait a minute, do they even sell sun screen products in the snow belt of Alberta? I guess you can always find some at the international airport. : -)