In and around Panama City
For three days before a group tour of Panama in March ’11 (Feb. ’12, pg. 32), I stayed at the Suites Ambassador Hotel (5364 Calle del Cangrejo, Panama City; phone 507 263 7274).
The hotel has two types of apartments: studios and suites. If you are on your own, a studio is perfectly fine, but if you are a party of two or three, for $20 more a one-bedroom suite gives you almost twice as much room. For a studio, their website rate is $160, but I paid $95 by booking through www.hotels.com.
Request accommodations facing the front or back of the hotel, as these rooms have more light. Other rooms face neighboring buildings, so you must keep your shades drawn for privacy.
Their Continental breakfast is fine, but since each room has its own kitchenette, it’s easy to supplement.
José Barria (phone 507 6694 1869, e-mail jesus-b12@hotmail.com) is an excellent driver who speaks English well, is extremely accommodating and helpful and has a comfortable, late-model SUV. Having once been a driver for the company DHL, he knows every inch of Panama City and how to get around its horrendous traffic.
José drove me for three days as I toured museums and visited archaeological sites. He also took me on a walking tour of Casco Viejo, the Spanish colonial part of the city. The cost was $60 for the first day (eight hours) and $50 for the second day (about six).
I have a particular interest in petroglyphs and wanted a specialist guide to accompany me to La Piedra Pintada (the Painted Rocks) in El Valle de Antón, a community 2½ hours from Panama City. I had called Sendero Panama (phone 507 6429 8163) a couple of weeks before leaving the US, and they arranged for the excellent Christian Gernez, a licensed, experienced guide, to pick me up for an eight-hour day trip.
In addition to visiting the petroglyphs, we did a nature walk, visited a local artisan market, did some bird-watching and stopped for snacks and lunch. Christian was so informative, he helped me understand the history of Panama and of the canal as well as current politics and the economic situation. He also threw in interesting folk tales.
Sendero Panama has a two-person minimum for their day tours, but because it was low season they were willing to do a tour for just one person. I paid $155.
On my last day in Panama, my departure flight was at 2:30 p.m. José Barria picked me up from the hotel at 9 a.m. and we visited Cerro Ancón (the city’s highest point), stopped at the indigenous artisan market known as the Kuna Cooperative, revisited Casco Viejo for last-minute shopping and then drove to the airport. My cost for this day was $50.
Panama is much more than the canal, and I feel that a two- to three-week visit would be perfect to enjoy all that it offers.
ESTHER PERICA