Sent off a wire transfer of funds to my friend in Ft, Lauderdale to buy the MacGregor sailboat in Miami.
Also sent a bit extra to pay for marina space for the rest of April rather than have it “on the hook” until I get up there….
And about THAT!
Went on line to see what it’s going to cost to get up to Ft. Lauderdale.
Spirit Airlines is supposed to be the cheapest, but they want $199 for a one way ticket from PTY (Tocumen). And then they CHARGE for every bag INCLUDING carry ons. Adding it up it came to $306 for what I plan on taking with me. PLUS, the flight doesn’t leave Panama until TWO IN THE MORNING!!! That’s A.M. folks. PLUS their seats don’t recline!
So, I went online again and looked at what it would cost to fly COPA which also flies into Ft. Lauderdale. Their price was $299. $7 cheaper than Spirit AND no charge for carry ons or the first two checked bags, AND their seats recline. Their flight leaves at 11:45 IN THE MORNING for the three hour flight!
Supposedly if you have “Jubilado” status (Jubilado roughly translates as “old fart”) you’re eligible for a discount on travel. I went on line and found a travel agent, Jose Palm, in David. Talked to him and explained what I was looking for and asked if there was a “Jubilado” discount.. It does, and he quoted me a ticket price of $241.14. I’m going to go to his office tomorrow morning.
Will be returning to the States either April 19th or the 26th. Don’t know which. Need to get rid of some stuff here like my bicycle and clothes washer, etc. What I’ll do is take the midnight bus from David to Panama. It gets in to Panama around 4:30 or 5. Take a cab out to Tocumen and wing my way back to Trumplandia….also known as “Murika”
So I’ve had butterflies in my stomach all day long. I’ve been talking about repatriating to the States for over a year. I’d hoped to be there last July, but the dentures delayed that, and then it moved from summer into fall and then into winter and I WASN’T going to go back up there in the winter even if it was to Ft. Lauderdale. Hell, back in ’76 when I was helping bring a big sailboat up from Key West it EFFIN’ SNOWED!!! Now the reality of picking up sticks and actually doing this thing has me a bit on edge. As they say, Talk’s Cheap. I think, well, I haven’t paid for the ticket yet and I suppose I could tell Stef not to pay Fernando and then the six yapping dogs at the house 30-feet away start going nuts and I try and picture how tranquil it will be anchored up at some small island off the coast of Florida or the barrier islands of the panhandle and I know I’m doing the right thing.
One More Good Adventure 
Going into David at noon, if you haven’t already left. I can take you to Copa.
Oops, I guess I should have read the date of your post. I still owe you that drink. Email me, and we’ll make it happen.
Old Salt-
You’d better keep us up to date with this part of the adventure, too. I anticipate every update and don’t want your (and my vicarious) adventures to end with a return to the US. Waiting for the next installment.
It never ceases to amaze me that people actually read my blog. People, literally, from all over the world. I will be ending THIS blog when I return to the States on April 24th. As the title says it was “One More Good Adventure.” That’s come to an end, and I’m moving on. This has been about my life as an expatriate in the Republic of Panama. That’s over.
BUT a NEW story will be unfolding and I’m going to detail it in a NEW BLOG –It’s called One More Good Adventure Chapter 2 OR Another Good Adventure.
The subtitle of the new blog is “An Old Man And A Small Boat.” This week I had my good friend in Ft. Lauderdale, buy me a Venture 22 sailboat. The plan, such as it is, will be to sail the littoral of the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to, eventually, the Mexican border.That will mean I will have traveled the ENTIRE Intracoastal Waterway which starts at Portsmouth, Virginia. Posts for the new blog should start appearing around April 25th.