spaswinefood: Dining out in Panama

It was a pleasant drive from Rio Sereno to Volcán © Spaswinefood

We left Southern Costa Rica mid-September and crossed into Chiriqui Province in Northern Panama at Rio Sereno. From Rio Sereno we drove to Volcán, a quiet mountain town where we bought lunch at a local bakery. Since we are not fond of humidity in the hot tropical lowlands, we decided to head to Boquete in the western highlands. From what we had read Boquete had the coolest temperatures in Panama.

Boquete, Panama

Boquete is one of the top places to visit in Panama. Boquete is a small charming village in the western highlands. It is located at an elevation of 3,200 feet on the eastern slopes of Volcán Barú. The result is that temperature ranges from 60-80 F, which means Boquete has an ideal climate year round. Given the near perfect climate, Boquete has become one of the top retirement places in the world. In addition, there are so many exciting things to see and do in Boquete. The Caldera Hot Springs near Boquete is worth a visit.

There is a good selection of restaurants in Boquete. While in Boquete we ate at a number of these restaurants. We stayed at pet friendly, Pension Topaz for two nights. During our stay at Pension Topaz we ate breakfast in their pleasant courtyard.

Great breakfast © Spaswinefood

Great fruit!! © Spaswinefood

Karla and Gary --Breakfast, Day 1 © Spaswinefood

Breakfast, Day 2 © Spaswinefood

Panama City
After two days in Boquete we were off to meet a shipping agent in Panama City. Reluctantly, we headed back into the tropical lowlands and onto Panama City. It was so good to be driving down the highway in an air conditioned vehicle. All the time we drove the Pan American Highway south, we knew that our final Central American destination would be Panama City. In Panama City we would finalize arrangements for shipping our SUV to Columbia.

Driving through the tropical lowlands one hot humid day in September © Spaswinefood

After a few hours we arrived at the Bridge of the Americas, which took us across the canal and onto downtown Panama City.

Driving over Bridge of the Americas: shot #1 © Spaswinefood

Shot #2 © Spaswinefood

In Panama City we stayed at the pet friendly Costa Inn Hotel. Our dog was greeted every time we left or entered the hotel. The hotel staff was great with both our pets.

Panama City from top of our hotel © Spaswinefood

A night view © Spaswinefood

We stayed five days in Panama City while we waited to ship our SUV. During our stay we had so many delightful meals in the hotel restaurant. I remember having Tortilla Espanola a number of times.

Great Breakfasts!! © Spaswinefood

Panama City is home to many good restaurants at reasonable prices. There is a world-wide cuisine selection to choose from -- so do not plan on dieting while you are there. You can choose from Indian, Italian, Lebanese -- to Panamanian. Tripadvisor lists 146 restaurants in Panama City. Given the time needed to (1) make shipping arrangements; (2) get documents for taking our pets to Columbia, we did not get enough time to explore all the culinary delights. We did however get to check out a few.

One of our favorites was an Italian restaurant called Rinos. We visited twice - once at lunch time and another time for dinner. They have a good wine selection at reasonable prices.