Return to Panama 2017-2018

We enjoyed Panama so much last March that we decided to do a return trip. This time we flew down to Panama City just after Christmas, stayed five nights at The Canopy Lodge with a birding package, spent several nights in the hills of Boquete at The Panamonte, then returned to Panama City for two nights in Casco Viejo at The Concordia.

Flights are direct Boston to Panama City on Copa, and US dollars are used in Pamama. You do not need a visa. Transport can be part of your lodging. These factors make the basics easy.

The Canopy Lodge http://www.canopytower.com/The%20Lodge , is one of four Canopy eco-properties one can visit in Panama. It is certainly more comfortable and better situated than The Canopy Tower. The Lodge will pick you up in a van from the airport in Panama City and drive you  two hours to the Lodge, located in Valle Anton. This a lovely area with a small town, markets, a Serpentarium and Butterfly Farm.  Rooms are simple and very comfortable, but windows are partially screened with no AC or heat. This would normally be fine, except that the weather we encountered was unseasonably wet and everything in the room felt damp. The food is solid and plentiful with three squares every day, and sometimes (like New Year's Eve) a special meal. There are special animal feeding tables close to the lodge which are stocked every morning and afternoon with fruit, and the birds (and other critters) come visiting en mass. The guides are amazing, especially Danilo, who has been there since the Lodge opened.
This is not a cheap option. I think staying at The Lodge may cost as much as $400. pp per day. But lodging, meals, guides, transport, and snacks are included. Lots of education and entertainment value.

Napping screech owls

Three-toed sloth at Canopy Lodge

From Panama City, we flew to the city of David, the closest airport to Boquete. It is a fairly inexpensive flight on Copa. There, a driver from Panamonte http://www.panamonte.com/en/ picked us up and deposited us at the inn. The inn has comfortable accommodations, a very nice bar, a small interior garden, and a restaurant. It's location is walking distance from the town of Boquete, which is convenient for dinner and shopping (what there is of it). Next time I might elect to stay farther north of the town. The area up in the hills is quite beautiful -- full of coffee plants, banana, coconut and fir trees -- and some of the inns have lovely grounds, trails and activities. You can book birding, white-water rafting, etc. We enjoyed an excellent Coffee Tour booked through the hotel:

tasting coffee, touring the plants, and "honey"roasted beans

In town, we ate our best dinner at Retrogusto, where two Italian guys from Napoli produce real homemade Italian food at very reasonable prices. The salads are super fresh and delicious, and the lamb ravioli with mint pesto was excellent. However, the restaurant is chaotic, with lots of people getting turned away, and an over-worked staff. Not relaxing. We also ate at Colibri, which was good but not amazing. A very solid place for breakfast and lunch is Sugar and Spice -- fabulous salads, smoothies and burritos in a casual atmosphere. Excellent value.

Back in Panama City, we had a very good stay at La Concordia in Casco Viejo. http://panamahotelcollection.com/en/aboutus/affiliated/la_concordia/ . Casco Viejo is the oldest part of Panama City, and has been made into a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is a new hotel that was created in a completely re-habed old building. The rooms are lovely. The staff, especially our angel Norka, is wonderful. The only problems are (1) traffic next to the hotel on weekend nights, which is loud, and (2) local discos that play loud Latino dance music on weekends until 2 am.

We had two amazing dining experiences in Panama City. The first was at Calliope http://www.calioperestaurant.com . This was our second visit to this restaurant, but the trick we learned this year is: sit at the kitchen bar. They treat you as family and bring you many tasty (free) treats. We had the slow-cooked beef short rib with mushroom risotto, and the purple cassava gnocchi with sweet gorgonzola and lavender cream. Both were superb. The staff was very friendly and enthusiastic. The kitchen worked flawlessly. High grades.

purple cassava gnocchi at Calliope

We also dined for a second time at Intimo, a restaurant that has garnered some excellent reviews in the past year around the work of Chef "Chombolin." Intimo has been awarded the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence for 2017. Read more here: https://www.intimorestaurante.com/ We enjoyed some inventive cocktails, a very fine tasting menu, with special bread service (the warm marrow spread was incredible), a delicious piece of sea bass and a cool take on Chinese fried rice. Incredibly, the chef bought us dinner (maybe because it was my birthday?). Amazing!

We also returned to Gehry's BioMuseo because it is so wonderful. http://www.biomuseopanama.org/en

One can use taxis or Uber in Panama City, but be careful to negotiate with taxi drivers before you take off. Ask a local what the fare should be, or you will almost certainly pay too much.  Uber works, but there may be dropped rides and traffic, so give yourself enough time.