Panama Trip  2/15/03

Decameron Hotel,   Playa Farellon

By Tab Hauser

Decameron is a very nice place. I would rate it 3  star out of 4.  The rooms are basic.  AC in each room was good with no controls other than on or off.  The temperature was always set at a comfortable 74 degrees.  There is cable TV that is mostly in Spanish. CNN is available for those that need to know what is happening as well as a movie channel in English. Bathrooms have soap, a hairdryer and a few towels.

To bring this place up ½ a star I think shampoo, a clock (which we missed) and extra towels as well as nice  would be a good start. None of these points would keep me from visiting or recommending this place to anyone.

The grounds are very pretty.  There are shallow pools with lounge chairs in them where adults and children play in.  There are also 2 deeper pools by the ocean and another nice pool at the edge of hill with drop down views. (This was a retreat for one of the Mom’s on the trip.)  Food is available 16 hours a day and there is always a few bars open within 45 seconds from any of the thatched umbrellas. There is no food 4PM to 6:30 and from about 1AM until 7AM)  We found the buffet pretty good compared to other places we have stayed at in the Caribbean. Breakfast had fresh squeezed tropical and other fruit juices. Omelets and eggs cooked to order with no line. There were always Latin foods on all the meals served here including breakfast .  Lunch here had plenty of choices as well  a different main course and pasta station always to pick from in case you did not like the 8 items served in the hot tray. The pasta I had made was excellent. From what I saw the couple of hundred Italians at the hotel I think agreed with this.  There were always fresh tasty ices of all flavors served at lunch. These included papaya, lemon, guava, tomatillo and  banana to name a few served over the week.  There is the Mediterranean  themed place to eat lunch that serves hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken burgers and steaks as a alternative to the buffet but we found it very plain and not worth a second visit.

Places we liked for dinner included El Canal seafood, El Cayuga BBQ where we ate twice, Mongo Mongo the Thai theme and the Atlantis buffet.  I would pass on the Japanese style grill as it is not what it says it is. There is no sushi served even though the name is sushi sambai.    .

Activities and day trips are numerous.  You can sit all day on the beach or pool as we did most of  the time or you can take a kayak, sunfish or pedal boat on the ocean.  You can also pay for the best $5 banana boat ride one can get. It worth the $5 as a trip like this in Jamaica would be double the price or shorter.  The kids did this 5 times. The adults did it once. A few of our group did the one hour dive at Farellon Island. This is not the Caribbean gin clear waters of 75 feet of visibility I am used to diving in. The dive here is 20 to 25 feet with visibility only 20 feet at best.  As the place has a free and near free intro to dive program,  Gary, one of the adults in our group tried it.  After about an hour they charged him what he thought was a reasonable $20 and said they would take him out to Farellon Island for the $40 fee.  Normally I hate “resort dive” courses and think they should be banned but this was an exception because of the 20 foot max depth and the fact that Pablo the dive master and I were literally on top of him.  After some weight adjustment he did well and will pursue this to full certification.

On Tuesday we tracked down Sergio at the Palmer Surf shop as the kids wanted to try this.  DeCameron does not have much in the way of waves.  Palmer has been know as a good beach for beginners and for moderate surfers.  It took us over an hour and half to find the place as no one in the resort had any idea where it was.  After passing the place twice we realized Palmer Beach was 15 minutes on the nose from the hotel.  You can get there by renting a car for $56 including all the ridiculous insurances National makes you pay.  The surfing on Tuesday was kid friendly.  Sergio is not going to get rich doing this as he charged us $10 each for 5 real boards and asked us to tip the two boys helping the kids $5 each.  We would up giving him an extra $10 for his help.  There are jelly fish in the water at times so take a thin dive skin if you are sensitive.

On Wednesday we rented a Coaster Mini Bus and a driver from a salesmen working for CB Tours just outside the hotel. This is the company across the street from the hotel that offers ATV tours. He requested we did not say anything to the hotel about this as they are hitting into the hotel tour commissions made.  For only $150 the 13 of us had 21 seat mini bus and driver.  This is far better than the $50 per day the hotel charges for tours.  The driver, Carlos, spoke enough English to know what we wanted to do.  Our day took us to the Miraflores Locks outside of Panama City. We arrived around 10:30 to see a giant ocean going vessel enter the locks and rise 18 meters. After it entered the lock and started rising we saw the 8 minute show on the canal and came out just as the ship was finished being lifted and leaving the lock.  When it raised from the lower the lock and entered the upper lock where spectators can see the operation we could not see the much of the boat hull. In fact there were some  tug boats that entered the lock that we did not even know about until the lock filled. I would put going to Panama and not see the locks on par with going to Egypt and not see the pyramids.  We also learned that the Seabourne cruise ship going through the next day with about 300 passengers was going to cost them $25K to go through.  This is a small  ship by cruising standards. The larger ships can pay $55K for a one way toll.   Next our bus took us in the causeway islands where we did a little shopping at the mini mall on the last island and then back tracked to the first island for a good regional lunch at a place called Pinces.  One small note, while Maureen and I were buying something in one of the shops a film crew came in and interviewed us for “Mall TV” which is a  show on shopping. Gary and his trusty video got us and the crew filming us.

After lunch Carlos drove into Casca Viejo or the old town.  This was a big let down as it was not the quaint old town we have seen in many countries. In fact the driver told us where to walk and not to stray as the area is not very safe.  We then drove through the Central Blvd of the real Panama City. It was bustling with shops and outdoor stalls.  The adults would have wanted to walk several blocks to get a feel of working P.C. but with 13 of us including  7 kids it would not have worked. I would leave second half of this trip out. (more on this later)

The other day trip we did was w days later on Friday.  We left 8:15 for the Gamboa  Eco Hotel have way up the canal.  Gamboa is a 2 ½ year old Spa and Lodge in a bay where the Chagras river runs into the canal. We arrived too late for the morning boat trip but signed up for things after lunch.  We wandered around this beautiful lodge for about 30 minutes before going to a delicious buffet lunch.  At lunch we met Senator Chavey of R.I. who was on a tour to learn about Panama.  Mike had a photo opp with him.  What started the conversation was his Legislator Director noticing my Galapagos shirt and asking questions about the islands.  I promised to send info on our trip there to her on our return.

The tours we signed up for at Gamboa were the canopy cable car ride.  They take 3 – 4 adults (or all 7 kids and a guide as the kids insisted to be w/o the parents) per car and give you a guide on the way up and down.  He explains the different vegetation as well as any animals you may see.  At the end of the ride there is a 30 meter (96 ft) tower you go to the top of. It is a very easy walk up ramps to the top.   The view, maps and discussion of the area was very interested.  You also see the large ships pass up and down the canal cut from around the corner.  We all went back with our guides down the cable car and to the tram where they took us into a butterfly house, then an open building with some fish tanks and finally a snake building.  (Both the fish tank and snake exhibit were nothing to speak of but they were quick). It is worth noting that outside the butterfly building there were some natives selling there craft of small baskets.  These are very tightly woven and hand dyed soft baskets in which it may take 3 weeks to make one measuring 6 - 8 inches across and several inches high and cost about $30 each.  If you buy more  than one they will bargain reluctantly.  It should also be noted that the tour was about 2 ½ hours and we were always sheltered from the sun and not uncomfortable hot.  The cost was $35 per adult and under 12 ½ price. If you take a group, the leader goes free on this.

After this part of the tour the group split up. The 7 kids and 2 adults  wanted to rent a kayak in the bay by the lodge while 4 adults and one of the teenagers wanted to take the one hour pontoon boat tour.  The pontoon was driven by a local guide and accompanied by a U.S. intern who also guided.  This was a wonderful experience of learning and seeing some of the wild areas just outside the main channel.  The bonus of this tour is that to get the remote islands you actually enter the canal system and see some of the large freighters.  While cruising out we saw 4 crocodiles. Most of them were small sizes ranging from 4 to 7 feet.  They can get to be larger than 16 feet.  When we got close to a couple of islands we saw white face monkeys.  As boat got near a few  came out looking for hand outs of fruit or bread.  They are adorable creatures with a body no larger than 2 feet.  Two of them came right to stern so Maureen could give them there snack.  What excited us the most about the tour was that we spotted a 2 toe sloth climbing up a tree on one island.  We went all over Costa Rica 3 years earlier looking for these elusive and slow moving creatures.  After spotting howler monkeys on another island the guide showed us a 3 toed sloth asleep on a branch upside down holding a branch.   We arrived back to the dock a ½ hour late and were very pleased we were not rushed. The cost was $20 per adult.   When we got back we learned the kayakers had a good time exploring the bay as well. They did not see any crocs but did see a lot of birds.  We all hoped on the bus and with one stop for some fast food for the kids and driver we were on our way back. 

The last day was Maureen’s Birthday.  For 11 of the last 13 years Maureen has always had the good fortune to be somewhere warm and very pretty.  This day, our last day here was no exception. Today was another cloudless days.  I got up early and saw the sun rise. (yes, I did say rise over the Pacific).  This is I think the only place in the western hemisphere where the sun rises over the Pacific and not sets.  While it was very peaceful at 6:42AM it is a lot more fun to watch a sunset with a rum punch.  I then  secured a large thatched umbrella with 6 lounge chairs and made dinner reservations early. The kids ate at 7PM in the Thai place,  the adults ate at 9PM   (Being that this place was full you need to grab an umbrella by 8AM.  I recommend going to the complete right or complete left away from the Atlantis pool where it is quieter)  After a late breakfast Maureen & I walked through the ruins of the former bad guy dictator of Panama, Manuel Noriega’s beach house just a few minutes down the beach.  The place has been stripped down by the natives and is now just sitting there with all its windows and part of its roof blasted off.  We picked up a piece of his tiled bathroom as a souvenir and headed back to the ocean for a swim and then lunch.  The kids arranged to all get wave runners at 2PM. Melissa and Daniel had there own for the first time, Dave and Jessica  paired off,  Mike and little Allison as well as Gary for the first time with his daughter Julie.  I had my own as water was a little choppy for Maureen’s back.  The kids had a blast running near  full speed most of the time through the water bouncing around.  Dave may have gone a little too fast and turned the handle a little too quick and had him and Jessica fly off.  It was a good thing Jessica had the emergency shut off leash on you wrist as they were found about 30 feet from their wave runner floating with their life jackets on.  The kids really liked the idea of controlling their own craft.

Saturday evening was spent packing for us until our 9PM dinner reservation. All the children met us for cake and presents at 10.  The adults had a last drink on the beach and called it night at 12.  The kids headed in we believe around 1AM.  Wake up the next morning was 5:15AM to get on the bus back the airport at 6:15.

Comments:  Sandy said at the airport that this place “hit a homerun” as far as a vacation went. The only thing a bit stressful was going back and forth for our day trips.

As Mike in our group always says, hindsight being 20-20 I would recommend people change the trip we did a little to their benefit.

Getting from NYC to Panama City is easy. I would recommend the direct flight out of Newark instead of changing planes in Miami or Houston.   However I would recommend that anyone going here take the last 2 nights (or first 2 nights at the Gamboa Hotel and Spa.  The reason is two fold.  First you will not have to go back and forth from the hotel and second, you will be just under an hour from the airport for your return home.

Another option is to take a day tour leaving 7:30 AM from the hotel stopping at the locks by about 10AM. From there you can continue 20 minutes more to the Gambao for lunch and the tours. (this would actually be better if you want the quick version of Gamboa)  I would pass on the old city as well as the drive through the city.  This is what we should have done because we did not want to change hotels.

As for other tours, Decameron offers a bunch of other tours.

Overall this place is a very good option over many resorts in the Caribbean. It is easy to get to, has a good price and friendly people.  I am sure as word gets out among American’s that Panama is a nice place to go, this Hotel DeCameron will go up in price. American’s need to be more educated on the world and not think that Latin America is the drug infested dangerous place run by dictators you see in the movies. When we traveled with 3 families all over Costa Rica ignorant people gasped about my taking my family all over the country side in a Central American Country.  What they did not know is that Costa Rica is probably one of the best democracies on this side of the Atlantic. It would be hard for a military to over throw them simply because there is no real military to do the overthrowing.   Sure Panama City can be dangerous, but the same can be said about parts of N.Y., L.A., Detroit, or any large to moderate city in the USA. The same can be said about that in Nassau in the Bahamas, Kingston and Montego Bay in Jamaica, Christ Church in Barbados and St Thomas as well as some other large towns in the tropics.  Common sense rules here like in other places in the world.  Enough of my babbling from my pulpit.  Have a great time at the DeCameron and remember the bars open at 10AM.

Cheers!