Flying from Washington Dulles Airport (IAD) to Panama Tocumen Airport (PTY) was a piece of cake on Copa Airlines. We were in the air just shy of 5 hours and the PTY airport was virtually empty on Thursday afternoon at about 2 PM local time. We breezed through immigration and customs and then set off with a few immediate goals. First, Panama Metro to our Airbnb in Bella Vista. Second, Find the Airbnb itself and get checked in. Finally, get food and cook dinner. In doing so, we got our first look at Panama City itself and use of the Panama Metro.
Panama Metro from Tocumen Airport
Tocumen Airport became the only major airport in Central and South America to have a station directly at the airport. It opened in March 2023 and you can still see obvious signs of construction. Now as non-Spanish speakers this is where we hit our first hurdle. As we attempted to buy a RapiPass (transit card) we paid our fare and the machine did nothing but throw up an error in Spanish and spit out a receipt. No RapiPass…
After a little back and forth with the station manager by way of Google Translate we were let into the system and sent to Corredor Sur. This is the end of the metro spur where, after about 30 minutes with a station manager we got our card. Seems that issuing a card when the machines screw up takes a lot of time and paperwork.
Problem solved, the rest of our our first Metro experience was very easy. Line 2 to San Miguelito, a quick change to Line 1 in the direction of Allbrook, and finally our destination at Iglesia Del Carmen. All in all it cost us $2 for one metro card and $0.85 per person to travel from the Airport to Bella Vista and our Airbnb for the week.
First Impression of Panama City
Mind you we live outside Washington, DC. Stepping off the plane it hits you right away. Panama City is hot. It’s a different kind of hot though. More like South Florida. Temperature wise I think it was actually cooler in Panama City when we stepped off the plane but it is very, very, very humid.
What we saw from the the air of Panama City brings comparisons to both Honolulu and Miami to mind. Lots of high rise buildings but spread across a larger area, not concentrated in the city core. And there appears to be a large mix of high rise residential and commercial buildings. Riding metro, much of it elevated, you also quickly see huge varieties of old and new. Brand new high rise buildings with more under construction, and very old, run-down buildings and homes, many with razor wire atop fences that surround them.
As expected, the people seem helpful and nice with our limited interactions thus far. Google Translate is very helpful and so far everyone we’ve communicated with has been patient. We were able to hit a butcher shop and get some meat as well as a grocery store for milk, butter, red peppers, cheese, and a bottle of wine. Simple meal to complete the day.
Tomorrow we head off to start exploring more of Panama City.
Nice dialogue. Looking forward to being part of the journey. Thank you