[Leslie]

Hi all, I wanted to know some info. about visiting Panama
What places other than Panama CIty do people recommend.
Could someone rent a car and drive across Panama? What is
the best way to do some fishing? Are there rooms to rent or
B & B's? How much for in country trips, say to Bocas del Toro or Chiriqui area? I want some individual "local" type vacation spots rather than real crowded tourist places. How is the train ride between Panama City and Colon? Please any feedback from
people? Thanks in advance. Best days of the week for certain trips?

[whoownsthis]

Leslie,
You might want to consider visiting (you might have to "join" to search or view messages) the Yahoo group called "Viviendo_en_Panama" (Living in Panama). They offer great tips on hotels, vacation spots, even how much people can spend on a week's worth of groceries!

Fair warning, though! It's a site for American ex-patriates who retired in Panama due to the tropical locale and low (no?) taxes as well as those CONSIDERING retiring there. So much of the discussion is about that.

I posed a question about the orphanages and adoption in general, and got a littany of nasty responses from several members there (accused of being a "rich, fat American who thinks (I) can march in and steal children from poverty-stricken families"!!! ). So I would NOT mention WHY you're traveling there...just say it's for a vacation, and they will be VERY helpful!

Rebecca

P.S. The nasty responses were only from a couple of people who are ALWAYS mean in that group, but I wouldn't want to stir up that kind of nastiness again.

[Leslie]

Thanks for the info. I am a yahoo member already so I will try that site. Since we will be permanently tied to Panama we may wish to retire there someday, so I'll lead with that! Thanks, for the tip.We are not rich, and if anyone was, they aren't after adoption, happily not so!! and with all the patience you have shown, you don't need your love and commitment to any child from anywhere in the world slammed by anyone! Thanks again and keep us posted we are all pulling for you!!!! Leslie

[whoownsthis]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Leslie!

We've encountered all kinds of rude questions and snide remarks already from coworkers and even family, from "Why do you want a foreign kid?" (or the similar "Why can't you get an American baby?") to the inevitable, "How much do they cost?"

Ugh.

I found the site that Robin posted a while back to be VERY helpful in figuring out how to answer these types of questions and comments. Maybe a thread on this topic would be helpful for all of us. ??

Rebecca

[DolciLady]

Hi, Leslie,

There is a very friendly (and extremely humorous) group on Yahoo called Zonelink. It's mostly a group of folks who lived in the former Canal Zone (hence the name), but a great deal of them still live in Panama. They can give you lots of info, plus it's fun hearing their stories. And they are VERY adoption friendly, they were very excited when I announced we were adopting from Panama. They even made me an honorary Zonian, even tho I never lived in Panama. LOL

Another good site you may want to check out is czbrats.com


Robin