A Special Upscale Tropical Home in a Great Location Central location is ideal to base your vacation Albrook Airport (~3 minutes by Uber) A peaceful atmosphere, away from traffic, noise and pollution Abundant wildlife you will not see in the city Within walking distance of many restaurants, food trucks, shops, stores, clinic, dentists, parks Nice safe neighborhood to explore walking Excellent breakfasts (extra) include smoothies made from home grown fruit High Speed internet ~100 Mb/sec A really nice home Originally built ~75 years ago as a Canal Zone home for US officers' families, it has been thoroughly and modernly remodeled. We have excellent water quality, safe and good tasting. Our utilities are reliable and all underground. Unlike most places in Panama, all of the animals are protected. You will see coatimundi (gatos solos) and agouti (ñeques) every day, plus a variety of tropical birds. If you look for them (and have a little luck), there are many other tropical animals to see including monkeys, two types of sloths, pacas, iguanas, armadillos, weasels, otters, possums, and capybara (the world's largest rodent). I can guarantee that you will see and hear a variety of beautiful birds while you eat breakfast in my patio screen room. I will also give you a map to find caiman crocodiles, tropical slider turtles and Jesus Christ lizards (run on top of the water) about a 10 minute walk from my house. You may see other animals as well as you walk through the neighborhood. This is considered a very safe neighborhood. People are out walking or jogging at all hours, day and night. My central location between Panama City and many of the sites that you will probably want to see (such as the Mira Flores Panama Canal Museum, Casco Viejo, the Causeway, the Cinta Costera, Parque Metropolitano and Ancon Hill) make this an ideal location to base your vacation in Panama. The large Master Bedroom has a small balcony where you can sometimes see coatimundi and agouti in the yard, a comfortable King size bed, large screen TV with cable (many high definition English and Spanish channels), a desk, and an attached large bathroom with shower/tub. Living room with entertainment center and premium cable for TV and movies Kitchen Dining Room Screen room (hammocks, ping-pong, eating area, lounging area, bird watching) Upstairs Gym (Stationary bike, VersaClimber climbing machine, Elliptical machine, Ab Coaster, Rodeo Core) Upstairs Guest Bathroom All yard areas High speed internet WiFi is available throughout the house and yards. My excellent bi-lingual taxi driver, Jose, can pick you up at the Tocumen International Airport and deliver you and your traveling companion(s) direct to my house for $40, about a 30 minute drive. This is about the same as the airport shuttles charge. I give Jose your name, photo and flight info and he will meet you as you exit baggage. Jose is also a good tour guide and you can schedule excursions with him. I also know an excellent bi-lingual wildlife/fishing guide, Roberto. I recommend having Roberto take you in a boat into the Chagres River part of the Canal for sightseeing/nature tour with optional fishing. He picks you right up from my house and has never failed to find monkeys and lemurs who will often hop right into the boat. The huge ships and other canal features are amazing to see as you pass right by them on the water. If you like to fish, he certainly knows where to find them. This is true for both freshwater and saltwater fishing. Bird watching tours, wildlife tours, kayaking, visits to Embera Indian villages, etc. are also available. There are many interesting areas to see and walk. In the early morning and near sunset, you will see wild ñeques (agouti). You can also see an occasional coatimundi, armadillo, possum, paca, sloth, mono titi monkeys, weasel and iguana. You will frequently see and hear the cacophony of the large Chachalaca birds. If you walk down to the creek, you may see Capybara (world’s largest rodent that grow up to 200 lbs – we see these at night using a flashlight available for your use), Jesus Christ lizards (they run on top of the water), and water birds. There are occasional crocodiles and otters. There is another location about 10 minute’s walk from my house where we can see crocodiles, tropical slider turtles, and Jesus Christ lizards. Walking around the neighborhood is interesting too as you will see a variety homes, lifestyles, and interesting tropical landscaping. There are also several parks, including an exercise park and a kid’s play park, close by. During mango season (which lasts for about six months), you will be able to pick up fallen mangos to bring back to the house for a snack. Excellent Restaurants – there are at least 20 eating places (restaurants, food trucks, etc.) within a 12 minute walking distance or a couple of minutes by Uber There are several small shopping centers and two large grocery stores within 10 minute’s walk. The shopping centers include a large pharmacy, clinic, dental offices, oriental grocery/general store, seamstress, bakery, Mail Boxes, etc., fruit/vegetable stand, dry cleaners, restaurants and car wash. My home is close to (approximate times shown are for Uber or taxi): The Panama Canal ~5 minutes MiraFlores Locks Canal Museum - a must see for any Panama Visit ~8 minutes The Causeway (~5 km paved walking and bicycling paths, or driving to many island shops and restaurants – ocean view on both sides) ~10 minutes Biomuseo ~10 minutes Cinta Costera (~8 km of paved walking path and biking path along the beach and jutting into the ocean) ~12 minutes Ancon Hill – short hike with great view, giant flag ~10 minutes Casco Viejo – high end restaurants, night life ~10 minutes Panama City ~12 minutes Albrook Mall, the "Largest Mall in the Americas" ~7 minutes Albrook Airport for flights within Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia ~3 minutes Bus Terminal adjacent to the Albrook Mall ~7 minutes Metro Station adjacent to the Bus Terminal ~9 minutes The Wyndham Hotel (conferences) at Albrook Mall ~7 minutes Olympic sized public pool (the “Pool in the Jungle”) ~1 minute (or a 9 minute walk) Rental Cars (at the Albrook Airport or across the street from it) ~3 minutes ATM Machine ~1 minute (or 5 minute walk) Panama Canal Railway Station (to do a fun trip across the Isthmus) ~7 minutes Local hiking at Parque Natural Metropolitano ~8 minutes Hiking or mountain bike jungle trail near the Soberania National Park Zoo ~25 minutes Soberania National Park Zoo ~25 minutes Gamboa Rainforest Resort (beautiful place with lots of tours/activities) ~35 minutes drive Old Panama – ruins ~20 minutes Americas and Centennial Bridges across the canal ~ 10 minutes and 15 minutes Panama City points of interest and museums ~15 minutes Panama City Night Life ~15 minutes You can also take the Panama Canal Railway (train station close to my house) across the Isthmus on a beautiful one hour ride to Colon on the Caribbean side. From there you can take a taxi to a number of places including: Portobelo Scuba diving Zip lining, hiking and horseback riding and lazy river inner tube riding in the jungle Gatun Locks Canal Museum and the Panama Canal Expansion Fort San Lorenzo The Free Zone Walking Uber/InDriver - comes right to the front door Taxis (you can walk a few blocks to the main road where there are plenty of taxis) Private taxi (ask Greg) Large bus terminal at Albrook Mall ~7 minutes Metro Station near Albrook Mall ~9 minutes Panama Canal Railway ~7 minutes Albrook Airport for flights within Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia ~3 minutes Rental cars are available at the Albrook Airport (within walking distance) and across the street from it. Because rental cars, with their mandatory extra insurance, are expensive in Panama, and the driving can be extremely stressful in Panama City, I do not recommend getting a rental car for the local area. They are fine if you plan to do longer trips to other parts of Panama. If you do get a rental car, I recommend getting all of the extra insurance available as they can be very picky about even the slightest damage when you return the car. I recently wrote an article titled “Recommended Things To Do in Panama”. I think you will find this useful, whether or not you decide to stay at my home. It’s easy to read and has a lot of photos. It also includes a section at the end of General Recommendations that covers everything from transportation, to tipping, to water quality, to cell phones. My email address is "greghawley123" and then the at sign, and then moc.liamg (spelled backwards). If you send me a quick e-mail I will be able to respond with that document. (Sorry for the cryptic way of giving you my e-mail address, but Airbnb hides e-mail addresses.) This document will probably answer many of the questions you may have about Panama. Maria, our full time onsite maid, keeps the premises clean and orderly. She also makes our delicious Panamanian breakfasts (available for an extra fee). Maria lives downstairs and has her own private room and bathroom. We have two Labrador retriever dogs, Wookie and Bongo, father and son. They are very friendly. Caution, if you do not close your bedroom door at night, they are likely to hop into bed with you!