Back to the USA for now 2020

It has been 5 months since Coronavirus reared its ugly head in Panamá. Our blog entries had dwindled since there wasn’t much to write about other than virus-related things. The government here has had one of the strictest quarantines in the world. After much deliberation, we have decided to return to the US, at least for the time being. I can’t tell you how this has weighed on us. We truly love Panamá, the beauty, the people, the friends we’ve made…but the feeling of being trapped was overwhelming, for me especially. It has been almost a year since we’ve seen our family and friends here and I needed a change of scenery. Not being about to go on hikes and to visit the beach are some of things I missed most. Being out in the fresh air made me feel happy, healthy and alive.

We had been watching with anticipation for airspace to open up so we could travel. Just when we thought Tocumen International Airport was set to open, the opening gets pushed back another month, then another. There had been humanitarian flights, but we held off. Since we were renting in Panama and our lease was just about up, we decided to go for it. We found a Copa flight to Miami departing August 14. I had been checking with the US Embassy frequently. There had been multiple humanitarian flights April through July, mostly with Copa Air, United, and Spirit Air. All of a sudden I wasn’t seeing any and I became concerned. What was happening was Tocumen was transitioning into a mini hub, a center of controlled operations for the interconnection of commercial flights. These would be the first steps towards restarting the airline’s controlled commercial operations, but they only represent 2% of its pre-crisis operation. Panamá is still not allowing tourists in, and these flights were for Panamanian citizens and foreign residents.

Having the proper credentials allowed us to book a flight from Tocumen. Since there are no domestic flights at this time, we had to hire a driver to take us to Panamá City for the 6 hour drive through multiple checkpoints. Our driver, Marc Vargas, not only is a world class tour guide, but also a jack of all trades and good friend. He has helped us with numerous things upon our arrival in Panamá 16 months ago. His English is perfect and he will go out of his way to help you. I had to contact the US Embassy who secured a “salvoconducto” (safe passage) for us from the Ministry of Health. This document was proof that we had permission to cross the provinces to catch our flight. Without that paperwork, we had to stay within our home province of Chiriquí. The only people allowed to fly into Tocumen are Panamanian citizens and legal foreign residents as well. We will be allowed to fly back to Panama whenever we want with a negative Covid test.

Before the journey, we sold our Nissan X-Trail, TV and soundbar, and other loose ends. The food in the fridge and other household products were given to our good friend and “maestra de español” Yaira, and her family. We donated some old clothes and books to the “Fundación Pro-Integración Capítulo de Boquete”, who provides handicapped members of our community needed equipment and funds to transport individuals to appointments, and for medications and treatments not covered by social security or public health. Needless to say it was a lot of planning in a very short period of time to execute our exit plan.

I should have taken pictures of our luggage. We both had 2 checked bags each and a carry on. Their weight limit is 23 kg and 3 of our bags weighed 22.5 – 22.8 kg…whew!!! We have a luggage scale and apparently it is pretty accurate. It took a great amount of time to even everything out. Thanks to Lee and Joann for selling us their nostalgic suitcase for $5. It came in mighty handy. In addition to the luggage, we allowed ourselves one large box each of personal belongings to ship back to the US. In a pre-Covid world there would have been multiple options, but we found out much to our chagrin, that DHL Express is the only shipping service doing business in Panamá at this time. They have the monopoly on shipping right now and are truly taking advantage of people. I shudder to tell you what it cost!

When we arrived at Tocumen, we appeared to be the only flight checking in and multiple preventative measures were in place. The television station, TVN Noticias, was interviewing people while we were checking in. Alas we did not make the cut.

Our 10:30 flight was a bit delayed, and finally we started to board. Craig and I had a space in between us on the flight (although Copa couldn’t commit that the middle seat would not get sold). After about 10-15 minutes in the air, the captain came on the loudspeaker to let us know that landing gear indicator was malfunctioning and they weren’t sure of the status. What would happen in this situation is drag which would use more fuel. So as a precaution, we turned around and landed back at Tocumen. Since there are many planes grounded now, we were able to get on a backup plane in a little over an hour. We boarded once again, but this time the flight attendant told us that someone would be sitting next to us. This was strange because it was all the same people in the same seats as before. Apparently a man in the back row asked the flight attendant if he could move up because he had a connecting flight to New York, and since we were already delayed now 3 hours, he wanted to give himself a fighting chance to get off the plane quicker and make his connection.

How are we feeling about everything now that we are in Florida? Very happy to be out and about doing the things we enjoy, but in a safe manner. People must wear masks going into stores, businesses, restaurants. From what we can see, people are safe-distancing. Practicing safety while keeping the economy open is what is happening here. On the flip side, we miss Panamá and the warm welcome we have received. Boquete is absolutely beautiful and I miss seeing Volcán Barú and the mountain ranges while out for a drive; the friendships we’ve cultivated along the way, even though we haven’t been able to spend much time socializing of late due to the strict quarantine; and the comfortable spring-like climate all year long.

So at the moment we are getting our bearings and figuring out our next move. A drive up to Pennsylvania to visit our kids and grandkids will be happening soon.

We haven’t closed the book on you, Panamá, we will be back!

We will be continuing to post on this blog wherever our travels take us!