Long transit in Panama

Today we fly from Guayaquil to Panama City on Copa Airlines,on a 22h42 overnight transit to Buenos Aires.  This would allow us to go see the Panama Canal tomorrow before continuing.  Long transits like this are a good trick for getting a glimpse of some cities at virtually no cost.  Often indirect routings are cheaper and the stay of less than 24h are chargeable at the through fare without airport taxes.

We checked out from our hostel around 1040 and found a cab to the airport easily.  The ride was short, passing though one end of Guayaquil’s airport runway which was very close to the main road.  Obviously with a new flash terminal, it was a conscious decision not to relocate the airport to a less urban setting.

Copa Airlines operates an all narrow body fleet with high-frequency to many destinations, so their check-in desk didn’t really close after their earlier flight so we were able to bag-drop some 3h30 before our flight.

We were airside around 1130 for our flight which left a little after 1500.  Fortunately we were able to have lounge access here (despite not being listed in our credit card’s lounge directory).  After Galapagos snail’s pace (or non-existent) internet, we were still catching up on admin and photo backups on the computer, so time went by very quickly.

Our aircraft had a long turnaround of more than an hour here so it wasn’t a surprise for boarding to begin early and we closed up for departure about 15 mins ahead of schedule.  On the 2h plus flight, we had a hot sandwich accompanied with a very impressive drinks service which included wine and many spirits.

As the airline operated to US-style rules, window shades weren’t required to be open for landing.  I was fortunate to get a glimpse of Panama City before we landed.  It was very hazy but I caught some skyscrapers which feature heavily in its skyline.

It was hot and humid when we landed around 1700, but not to the same extent as SE Asia.  The airport was good but a little crowded and the moving walkways were largely/completely not in operation.   The long walk, combined with a short wait for immigration and customs saw us exiting an hour later.

Taxi prices to our hotel was USD30.  Uber showed USD11 but went up to USD17 with its surge pricing as we hesitated.  After we had requested our Uber ride, taxi prices came down to USD25 then 20.

We waited about 20 minutes for our ride at the nearby carpark and was picked up by a lovely lady Cindy.  On the way to our hotel, we asked if she could take us to Panama Canal in the morning, wait for us for 2h, then continue to the airport.  She suggested USD50 and that seemed right according to the Uber pricing I had checked up before arrival.  [Next day I realised the Uber prices can vary quite a lot and can come down to a little over half that].

We got to Saba Hotel around 1900.  Even though there were lots of restaurants nearby, we dropped our bags and headed out to Panama City’s old town straight away.

It was dark already around 1945 when we got to Casco Viejo (the old town) by Uber.  Our old guide book from 8 years ago had suggested that it may be dangerous.  But now, it was still a mix of beautiful hotels, nice restaurants and scaffolded buildings.

We walked around to enjoy the only bit of Panama City that we were going to experience apart from the Canal.  Once we had done that, we sat down for dinner in a square.  The waiter didn’t speak English except for “Tips not included” at the end of the meal.  The tipping culture of the USA has  made its way down here.

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Back to the hotel at 2100 by taxi, we settled into the comfiest bed we’ve had for a long time, in the best value hotel we’ve had so far at USD50 only (in comparison, the hostel in Guayaquil was USD70 for a private ensuite room).

We had found that our Uber ride had been charged at nearly double the quoted rate (comprised of a surge percentage, longer route and tolls).  My message to them over dinner had been promptly replied to with a resolution, revising the charge to the original rate.