We arrived in David Panama late yesterday afternoon so here are some initial impressions. Hot and humid, no surprise. In 2013, David (pronounced with the accent on the second syllable: da veed) was about 145,000 people. It is near the closest city to Costa Rica, at least from the route we took (about a 7 hour bus trip, including going through Customs but with 3 stops along the way). It is about 7 kilometers (4.25 miles) to where the bay/ocean start.
Our hosts are very congenial. Corrado and Sintia own the Hostal La Libertad which is on the edge of town. They have 4 rooms available for rent with a private bath for each room (and some have AC like ours does). She is from the Dominican Republic and he is from Italy. (They were introduced to each other when her sister needed a fourth person for an activity).
Don’t you love this picture of them in Genova (Genoa) Italy? She said she was very contented when it was taken. It reminds me of something from a movie from long ago, a guess because of her hair and the pose.
Tonight we are eating with them for dinner. Corado showed me some fresh lobster he got yesterday morning. I think he is the cook. We are paying for our dinner but fresh whole lobster for $15 per person, I’m in!
Which brings me to a brief comment on currency. Panama uses US dollars for their bills and it seems for their coins as well although they do have one Balboa coins that they use as well. One Balboa is equal to one US dollar. Prices are listed as “B” for Balboa. You can see the recent bimetalic Balboa here.
In the picture you shared of your hosts, he looks like Richard Gere. Maybe it is the hair. How did you hook up with them, and all the other people you have stayed with so far? Are you planning to go to Peru? Macho Pichu?
I think it is the hair/suit. I found out this is their wedding picture from 5 years ago.
We find most of our places to stay via AirBNB; it is how we found these folks. For us, of primary importance are: WIFI, AC or window screens, and sometimes kitchen access. Of course price is a prime consideration above all else. We have used Booking.com or similar sites once or twice. Most of the time booking.com has been ok but the place we hated the most was via that website and we never got an opportunity to review it. AirBNB has a great system where the hosts and guests review each other so if there is a problem, potential guests/hosts are aware. Usually the problems are minor, at least in our experience and our reviews as guests have been good.