It's been a year and 4 months that I am in Panama, it's an expensive country.
You pay a lot to receive little. However, I still love that country, it's wild, beautiful... Will give more details later.
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Surf, movies, arts, food, friends, parties
Ok, blogs are often too long and don't actually discuss the subjects that should be treated at a precise point in time, so I decided to do a braid post, wait for comments from travelers and then post more. This blog is addressed mainly to people who love to travel cheap, on a bag packers style or a bit more comfortable. I was lucky enough to have a job already when I came in Panama, and didn't need to save money. Panama is a dual country like most emerging markets. There are 2 really opposite lifestyle. One is as expensive as any other city in the developed world or even more expensive, whereas you don't get the same quality of services and products as in the developed world. For example you can spend as little as 50 -70 bucks for a 3 days week end at the beach, surfing, all included i.e. Drinks, transportation, sleep, surf rental, food, party! In the other hand if you want to make it expensive you can spend up to 500-2000 bucks. So I will wait for questions and comments from you guys and girls on what to do, how to travel, etc... And will try to give you the good tips I know.
Saturday, October 3, 2015
What most people want to know when they travel...
How to travel cheap =)
1. Accomodation: Want to have a cheap, easygoing and central location, ask me, it's free for friends and as cheap as USD 20/night for others.
2. Food: I kept a food and drinks budget this week of USD 6 per day. Of course I didn't eat sushis and cuisine francaise with good wine, but all in all, it was really healthy breakfast, good lunch and light supper. First of all, the necessary:
- olive oil (you get the necessary omega 3 from the olive oil)
- onions (onions are know to be healthy, if you're a MAN you eat them crude!)
- garlic (garlic is my natural anti biotic, boil it and you don't have the horrible garlic smell... my mother wish my father knew that earlier...)
- lentil (lentil provide me the necessary proteins)
- arab bread (arab bread is... Bread with no cholesterol, no fat and I love it anyway)
- 3 bottles of water (water is nice to have if you don't like to drink tap water in a foreign country at first)
- salt (bad... but gooooood...)
- cofee (no life without cofee! It's never been so true!)
- bananas (if you like to do sports, bananas provide you all the magnesium you need, I eat 3-4 a day)
- papaya (I love the taste of papaya, it's cheap and really good out there thanks to the rain)
- humous (if you are lucky, the cashier will forget to type it in your bill and it comes out FREEE)
It all comes down to the basics.
Pleasure:
- panama butter (yeah it feels so good sometimes to do something wrong... like eating butter)
- Nutella (for my breakfast... wrong again!) (no pictures... you know how nutella looks like =P )
- beer and you can get some at 0.85cts a can you can choose between 3 or four different.
- Coca 0 0.85cts a can as well
So basically, all in all you manage to leave for USD 182 per week, centrally located, with WIFI, fitness, Swimming pool, electricity... And you get to visit the Caribbeans =).
Today by the pool:
Just come and visit =)
1. Accomodation: Want to have a cheap, easygoing and central location, ask me, it's free for friends and as cheap as USD 20/night for others.
2. Food: I kept a food and drinks budget this week of USD 6 per day. Of course I didn't eat sushis and cuisine francaise with good wine, but all in all, it was really healthy breakfast, good lunch and light supper. First of all, the necessary:
- olive oil (you get the necessary omega 3 from the olive oil)
- humous (if you are lucky, the cashier will forget to type it in your bill and it comes out FREEE)
It all comes down to the basics.
Pleasure:
- panama butter (yeah it feels so good sometimes to do something wrong... like eating butter)
- beer and you can get some at 0.85cts a can you can choose between 3 or four different.
So basically, all in all you manage to leave for USD 182 per week, centrally located, with WIFI, fitness, Swimming pool, electricity... And you get to visit the Caribbeans =).
Today by the pool:
Just come and visit =)
Alone in Panama
Alone anywhere is not great, although I am pleased to have some free time to do things I like and to think or even start a blog! life can be surprising in good and bad ways, and as many people say, see you tomorrow if god allows it... You never know what tomorrow is made of. Fortunately until now I met only really helpful and nice people. Here is what was awaiting me today when I went to do my shopping, I had a special thought for Fabien Duvergey, my wine specialist (check out his blog:http://vin-et-voyage.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html):
First of all Panama is not only rain, rain, and rain... It's only rain... Secondly there are places in Panama which look like this:
Sorry for this post which doesn't really mean anything, I started it a few days ago and had some troubles uploading the pictures. It's done for today, and will quickly jump to the next one for a funny discovery =)
First of all Panama is not only rain, rain, and rain... It's only rain... Secondly there are places in Panama which look like this:
Sorry for this post which doesn't really mean anything, I started it a few days ago and had some troubles uploading the pictures. It's done for today, and will quickly jump to the next one for a funny discovery =)
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Budget and Healthy Food
I manage to find the cheapest and healthiest food around on the supermarket around the corner. You can basically have a meal for around USD 1.
I have bought some lentil, the 500gr pack is as cheap as 1 dollar and you can do around 10 meals with it. Bought some prepared garlic, which is really convenient. Can do about ten meals with it and cost USD 3. I bought some onions, 3 onions for USD 1, can do about 10 meals as well. Then I have olive oil, coffee, banana (bananas is one of the cheapest thing here), papaya (cheap as well). They have as well the flat bread or arab bread however you want to call it, really healthy and tasty and cheap. I coulnd't help buying some butter and nutella, still needed to have a little pleasure among all those really healthy stuff. So basically can eat for around USD 4 per day if you are carefull with breakfast, lunch dinner and desert.
Below the picture:
I have bought some lentil, the 500gr pack is as cheap as 1 dollar and you can do around 10 meals with it. Bought some prepared garlic, which is really convenient. Can do about ten meals with it and cost USD 3. I bought some onions, 3 onions for USD 1, can do about 10 meals as well. Then I have olive oil, coffee, banana (bananas is one of the cheapest thing here), papaya (cheap as well). They have as well the flat bread or arab bread however you want to call it, really healthy and tasty and cheap. I coulnd't help buying some butter and nutella, still needed to have a little pleasure among all those really healthy stuff. So basically can eat for around USD 4 per day if you are carefull with breakfast, lunch dinner and desert.
Below the picture:
Monday, September 28, 2015
First impressions
Costs: Around the same as the US or a bit more expensive maybe
Atmosphere: Friendly, still a developing third world country
Amenities: Have most of the things you need
People: Friendly and open
I arrived at the Tocumen International Airport on a Saturday afternoon with the Airfrance flight from Paris. The flight was great and the arrival was perfect and welcoming. People in the airport are friendly and smiling. To take my luggages and a cab to my appartment it cost me USD 40 split in USD 5 of baggage carrier cost, USD 30 of taxi cost and USD 5 of baggage carrier cost at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. I have asked to the staff at the hotel what was the usual tariff they charged, but the staff wasn't that smily and I decided to let him USD 5 as it was only a one time.
I stay in the Waldorf Astoria building which has actually two faces, hotel and appart hotel. The view is nice, but there are other buildings being built right in front of it unfortunately.
It is ideally located close to a really convenient neighbourhood.
The weather is quite good, around 30 degrees and sunny until now. Below is the view from my window.
The real estate is booming here and it's incredible that they continue to build in this area as there are already so many vacant apartments.
Atmosphere: Friendly, still a developing third world country
Amenities: Have most of the things you need
People: Friendly and open
I arrived at the Tocumen International Airport on a Saturday afternoon with the Airfrance flight from Paris. The flight was great and the arrival was perfect and welcoming. People in the airport are friendly and smiling. To take my luggages and a cab to my appartment it cost me USD 40 split in USD 5 of baggage carrier cost, USD 30 of taxi cost and USD 5 of baggage carrier cost at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. I have asked to the staff at the hotel what was the usual tariff they charged, but the staff wasn't that smily and I decided to let him USD 5 as it was only a one time.
I stay in the Waldorf Astoria building which has actually two faces, hotel and appart hotel. The view is nice, but there are other buildings being built right in front of it unfortunately.
It is ideally located close to a really convenient neighbourhood.
The weather is quite good, around 30 degrees and sunny until now. Below is the view from my window.
The real estate is booming here and it's incredible that they continue to build in this area as there are already so many vacant apartments.
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