I just drove back to Panama City from the Los Santos province...not a bad drive at about five hours, as the roads are really well maintained. That's both the Pan-American Highway, which you take west from Panama City to Divisa, and the newly expanded National Highway, which you can take from Divisa to the southern tip of Los Santos.
After a short visit with friends in Manhattan, boy am I glad to be back in my apartment in Panama City. Don't get me wrong...I love the Big Apple. There are a million things to see and do. But it can get overwhelming. After all that, Panama City feels so manageable and tranquil.
I recently drove from Panama City to the mountain town of Boquete. It's one of my favorite places to visit. I could have flown, but now and again I like to plan a road trip so I can enjoy the scenery, stop at roadside stalls along the way, and meander along at my own pace. Right now, because part of the highway is being expanded, the trip will take you about seven hours. But there's a scenic detour that will allow you to bypass the construction area.
August may well turn out to be one of my favorite months this year. Firstly because August is generally when the wet season really begins to cool things down. Temperatures can get in the 80s F around noon, but mornings and evenings are mid to high 70s F.
Sometimes I can't get over how modern Panama is. My cable and Internet provider just called with an offer to more than double my Wi-Fi speed—already a healthy 4MB—for an extra $5 a month. I only pay about $25 a month, so the upgrade would be well worth it. I declined, though. My current speed is good enough for me to stream movies, upload photos…everything I need to do.
I'm just back from beautiful Puerto Vallarta, where International Living held its annual Ultimate Retire Overseas Conference. It's an info-packed seminar featuring the best countries for expats today, from Asia to Europe to—of course—Latin America.
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What a month it has been here in Panama…April has only just begun, and it's already one of the most exciting months we've had in a long time.
There's always a lot going on in Panama, but summer is when things really come alive.
he construction of the PanAmerican Highway (completed in 1963) carved a path across the isthmus of Panama, from the Costa Rica border in the east to the jungles of the Darien that border Colombia to the west.