Shabbat in panama

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• Entry from Panama City

Trip Start Oct 29, 2009 Trip End Mar 02, 2010

  Panama City, Panama
Monday, November 2, 2009

Sharon and I left Edmonton a week apart, and we finally made it to Tocuman airport about an hour apart on the 27 of October.  The first difficulty this year, was that our personal concierge had flown to Mexico for 2 weeks, and his driver was ill.  Thus our car was at the beach far, far, away.  Of course, why don't we fly to David, and get pickup up?
Great question.  The new trick is that you fly in with 2 50 lb suitcases, and 2 pieces of hand luggage stuffed with extra weight, and then when you taxi over to the other airport, for the local flight, you find that the weight allowance is 1 piece of 25 lbs and strictly 10 lbs of carry on.  Well, I do not particularly care for small planes, nor did I want to spend a fortune in excess baggage.  Perhapps the bus is the best alternative with luxury seats, movies, and air conditioning.  this was a strong possibility.  I would recommend this for most travelers as this is an inexpensive, but comfortable 6 hour trip.  For us though, we had reached the tipping point, as we needed to bring not only our luggage but we needed to shop for our kosher supplies, adding another 100 lbs to our luggage and more pieces to handle.  So despite the outrageous drop off charges, we drove ourselves.  But I am getting ahead of the story, as I wanted to tell you about the Shabbat in Panama.  This time we stayed in Paitilla so we could visit with the smaller Syrian Shul.  We had a terrific time, were we invited for meals, and planning to go back often to spend Shabbat in Paitilla.  The Paitilla Inn has large rooms, with fridges, and have been renovated.  The only trick is to arrange for a low floor, or to get help from the front desk for the elevators and the electronic lock.  They are most accomodating.  We just can't figure out why they would not have a shabbat elevator.  Who knows.  The kosher deli market, the new superstore of kosher is alive and well.  This is a great place to shop.  They have everything, plus roasted chickens, a deli, a bakery, a meat restaurant, a dairy restaurant, and the owners will go out of their way to help you.

Now we are back on the beach, and our home is in terrific shape.  The maid we  had over the summer took good care, not like the previous one.  So all is well in paradise. Our friends are back, and we are settling back into the beach life, as we prepare for some friends and relatives to visit us in the near future.

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