Panama – Panama City

Flew on points to Panama City and arrived at 8:30 PM. Customs and immigration were fairly efficient and I was getting a taxi by 9:00. The cab driver spoke English and spoke a mile a minute. He suggested an alternate hotel (and I’m sure he gets a kickback for doing this) and since it was late I agreed. Hotel Terranova was barely acceptable. I didn’t do a thorough TripAdvisor search before leaving and I regret it.

I couldn’t get out of the city fast enough. The drivers are aggressive and fast. I was worried about getting hit while trying to cross the street. No street signs so I got hopelessly lost. People tried to help even when they had no idea where my hotel was and sent me in the wrong direction. It was a long morning.

I had originally planned to rent a car and had one reserved at $240 for 2 weeks. I was already thinking I didn’t want to try to navigate the car on congested streets with lunatic drivers when I found out Panama makes everyone get 3rd person insurance that costs more than the daily rate for the car. The true cost of renting would have been $600 for 2 weeks.

Scratch that idea and head to Albrook Bus Terminal and get a bus for $9 to Santiago.