Panama: An alternative meeting place

[Stevieboy]

Admin, sorry for not posting this in the right area.
OK, so I didn't want to visit Colombia this time, and my current gfriend lived deeper into Col, which would make my trip about 17 hours with layover one way. There wasn't much to do in her town of Neiva, and it's hot and humid with mosquitos 24/7. NO THANKS. I had toured Panama City before and figured, why not just fly her there and meet her at the airport?
.
I booked a vacation package (Travelocity) of round trip flights for both of us (her from Col, me from Texas) and 4 nights at Hard Rock Hotel. The rooms were Gold Suites with living room/kitchen and king bedroom overlooking the ocean and city buildings. I made the reservations on the phone, not online, and insisted my plane arrive at the Panama airport from Houston (4.5 hr flight) one hour before hers, and depart within an hour of both our flights so as to see each other off. Her flight from Neiva to Bogota to Panama was 5 hours. Yes, she can visit Panama with only a passport, however, read next paragraph.
.
Her flight round trip: $ 892
My flight round trip: $ 860
Hotel 4 wkend nites: $ 650
Food, Drink,
Gambling, Bus Tour
Rm Service, Taxis,
Souvenirs, Tips       $500
Engagement Ring   $168
Total:              $3070     
.
This is where it got messed up. As she is not used to traveling, especially to another country, she was very nervous that we would miss each other and she would get stranded in a different country with no money to return. I instructed her to print my flight itinerary and write down my phone number from a Moviestar phone I had from my last trip. As my flight was taxiing, the pilot came on the speaker and mentioned the plane had technical difficulties and more than likely our flight would be late. I call her immediately as she was still in Bogota waiting for her other flight and instructed her that I would arrive after her, and for her to take my itinerary flight # to the desk and inquire when I would arrive and wait there. Did she do that? NO! I arrive at Panama and she's not at the gate. She's been there an hour now, and her phone says it's turned off. I'm running around the airport looking frantically for her and having her name called on the intercoms with no results. After two and a half hours i figure she might be at baggage claim. The only problem is, you have to go through immigration, and once thru, you cant go back. So I get to the immigration gate and explain to the officer that I cant find my gfriend, if she could help. No. She mentioned that my gfriend may have already gone thru, but if she didn't have at least $400 spending money on her, she might be at the detention office for deportation. So, I run to that office and find no one has been detained. So, I go back to immigration, I settle on passing thru and taking my chances. As I'm pressing my fingers on the fingerprint scanner, my Moviestar phone rings in my pocket, and it's her yelling "where are you"! The officers yell at me that I cant use the phone there, and I ignore them and tell her to come thru immigration. There's two different immigration gates and when she went to the other one, they almost didn't let her pass until I ran up and she recognized me as her bfriend to the officer. Yes, if she doesn't have money, she's OK if she's with you as her sponser. So, after they let her through we hugged very hard and we practically tore each other's teeth thru our lips, we kissed so hard. That was a pretty scary ordeal. If it wasn't for the moviestar phone I had in my pocket, she wouldn't have gotten a hold of me.

So, now we're in a taxi on the way to the Hotel and from then on, it was smooth sailing. The food at the hotel is great, and there's other restaurants in the building. The water from the faucet is potable, and breakfast buffets are free. Did I mention Casinos? Yes, practically every hotel has them. The Sheraton is also a nice hotel I've stayed at too, but this one has more stuff and a better view for the money. One of the best things about meeting her in Pan, is she's amazed at the modern westernized conveniences and the luxury of a hotel. She gets swept off her feet. You also meet other couples here as we did from Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Honduras. We met a guy from Canada on the tour bus, and we partied and ate at the islands off the bay. There was a gringo named Michael who was engaged to a Ven girl and he also lived there. He's in the picture next to us at the bar.  I highly recommend their seafood too, especially the ceviche at La Casa De Marisco in the bahia. Another thing to remember and be aware of is that there's lots of good looking women at the hotel that come to the bars. I have a hard time keeping my eyes to myself and even comparing my girl to them (bad habit of mine). I had to take myself back to my hometown and compare her to those women instead, whereas there was no comparison. Her compassion, personality, and respect for me (as many Col women are) is nothing like the women back home, but this one had extra magic dust, so I proposed to her. She didn't want anything fancy at all. She just wanted something on her finger as a symbol and a promise to marry her and bring her home. No prob, you got it Baby.
For privacy purposes, I'll erase these pics after a while. I'm posting a few so you can get a taste.
 

Hotel room living room window overlooking the bay. Awesome room for price. Picture does
little justice.


 Me and Alejandra at Perico Island
       
 
Pic from the open tour bus on the causeway looking at the bay toward downtown where our hotel is. 


Couples we met at the hotel bar from other Latin countries. There was a rock band playing Elvis, and
my gfriend had never heard of him.     


 At a different bar in the hotel balcony
 

          Cool stage with drum set at the hotel lobby

[robert angel]

Heyo Stevie--that was quite a read! Real nail biter for a while there man! Bet you were sweating bullets. But as the Bard said: "All's well that ends well" and as that goes, things seem to be moving along nicely. Maybe I'm not clicking on something right, but all your pictures seem to be the same hotel window view--check--went back and the pics all posted--she's a doll! ,And look at the two of you-'Panama hats'?--LOL While I'm sure the lads here love to get a look at you and your fiancé, the tale you wrote above was worth the price of admission alone.
 
And you didn't even get SICK! 

Keep em coming.......

[whitey]

Hey Stevie ... thanks for the report and the pics.


She's very pretty ... congrats to you both!

[Stevieboy]

Thanks! OK, it took a while, but the pics are up. Yeah, I didn't get sick, whew! There's too much food and drink too choose from at the hotels. I'm still editing the fotos with captions. Give me a minute

[DRGUY1]

Cool story Steve,... it has a better ending than beginning.. [size=78%]. Congrats too on the engagement.[/size]


I like the idea of a 3rd country to visit together. I was actually thinking about doing the same thing with my gal if things keep progressing.


I was thinking about an all inclusive beach resort in Cuba or maybe Mexico.

[stnmasn]

Nice Stevieboy….congrats.


Good read.

[Stevieboy]

Cool story Steve,... it has a better ending than beginning.. [size=78%]. Congrats too on the engagement.[/size]


I like the idea of a 3rd country to visit together. I was actually thinking about doing the same thing with my gal if things keep progressing.


I was thinking about an all inclusive beach resort in Cuba or maybe Mexico.

.
Another thing to consider is Panama's currency is the US dollar.

[fathertime]

Hey Stevie!


THose pictures are great, your lady is...well she is SPECTACULAR looking!    Sounds like you  are going to be in for an adventure in the months/years to come... 


Congratulations on going for it despite the naysayers!
Fathertime!

[Awesome]

Great story!  But for a first meeting it may have been safer and easier to keep it in her country.  Maybe santa marta or cartagena if you're looking for a beach scene.  Looks like it turned out good for you both though.  She's a cutie.

[Stevieboy]

Hey Stevie!


THose pictures are great, your lady is...well she is SPECTACULAR looking!    Sounds like you  are going to be in for an adventure in the months/years to come... 


Congratulations on going for it despite the naysayers!
Fathertime!

Thanks, Bud. Yeah, next move is to smuggle her in my man-made submarine thru the gulf and into the Rio Grande. 
If I had listened to naysayers my whole life, I'd be another naysayer living in mediocrity naysaying someone elses party .
 
 

Great story!  But for a first meeting it may have been safer and easier to keep it in her country.  Maybe santa marta or cartagena if you're looking for a beach scene.  Looks like it turned out good for you both though.  She's a cutie.

.
Safer? Have you been to Col or Pan? Your profile says zero visits.

[robert angel]

 
>>>Hotel room living room window overlooking the bay. Awesome room for price. Picture does little justice. <<<
 
No problem~~If was me, I wouldn't want folks seeing all the clothes on the floor! 

[Awesome]

Thanks, Bud. Yeah, next move is to smuggle her in my man-made submarine thru the gulf and into the Rio Grande. 
If I had listened to naysayers my whole life, I'd be another naysayer living in mediocrity naysaying someone elses party .
 
 .
Safer? Have you been to Col or Pan? Your profile says zero visits.

I meant safer as in less confusion and less chance of encountering the problems with immigration.  I wasn't referring to security.  You came really close to disaster with the flight delay issues.  And yes I hang out in colombia, in areas most gringos would never dare to venture.

[Stevieboy]

I meant safer as in less confusion and less chance of encountering the problems with immigration.  I wasn't referring to security.  You came really close to disaster with the flight delay issues.  And yes I hang out in colombia, in areas most gringos would never dare to venture.

.
True that, on what happened at the airport with immigration, but that's because she didn't follow directions. I'd rather get lost in Pan airport than BAQ airport any day. I've had an ordeal there as well thanks to incompetence not on my part, and missed a flight and had to wait 6 hours for the next flight. She also lives nowhere near Santa Marta or beaches. If I had to do it again, I'd do Panama again without a doubt. You may want to update your profile so there's no confusion as to your experience.   

[beulah]

Great story steve,  I'm glad you found such a beautiful young lady. 

[pchip]

Nice one!!!  Congrats!


Something similar happened to my wife and I when she arrived in Nassau. (She was detained a little but everything worked out in the end)  Thank God there was only 1 immigration there (whew).


Good luck and God Speed

[Stevieboy]

BTW, I don't want to paint a bad picture of Col or BAQ. I just went a bit unprepared my first visit, and I've been to Panama already and knew my way around and what to expect. I also hate traveling and layovers, so Panama was my answer for a short flight comparably. I will say that I may always regret never have tried Jaime's services at least once and when guys come back with trip reports, I will read them eagerly, yet a bit envious.   

[robert angel]

I'm sure there are a lot of amazing airport stories here. I remember one time I flew into the Philippines--into Manila, landing after mid night. Locals can't get near the international terminal--you have to go to them. We didn't have phones. When I got to the area where locals  wait, it seemed like thousands of people, all crowded and sweaty, outside in low light conditions. Total mess. Some teenager saw my bewildered look and asked me to describe the gal I'd flown 9000 miles to see. He found her in minutes--I was happy to slip him a $5 spot. That kid ought to work for Interpol!

 
We had a terminal mix up when I first flew to meet my now wife. After a while of waiting at the wrong place, she thought I wasn't coming, for some crazy reason. (I'd only known her 4 years) When we finally found each other, she was an emotional wreck--in tears. But as Stevie pointed out, sometimes sweet sorrow turns into sweeter kisses!

 
After USCIS approved our case and she was ready to fly here, she almost got me to fly there and take the trip back to the US, holding her hand all the way!

[Awesome]

 She also lives nowhere near Santa Marta or beaches.

Yea I know where Neiva is at.  It's actually not too far from Buenaventura which has beaches but I'm sure you'd never want to go there lol.

[benjio]

NICELY DONE STEVIE! I knew when we first started talking you were dead serious about finding someone. Congrats!
 
And by the way gents...I've been harping on Neiva for as long as I've been posting here. If you're willing to travel off the beaten path, the women there are spectacularly beautiful. Neiva is a pageant town. There's a freaking pageant for everything from the city itself to local dishes. So the more attractive women there have participated in a least a couple before they become an adult. This means the women there take impeccable care of themselves from a very young age. My ex-girlfriend wouldn't leave the house without being put together perfectly. Hair, makeup..the whole nine yards. It got a little annoying but goodness gracious...each time she walked out of that room I told myself it was worth the wait. I went to the gym in Neiva once and there was a line of gorgeous women waiting behind each treadmill. Nothing to do there...I told Stevie that months ago. But if you just want to date, it's no better or worse than Barranquilla. I would place Armenia in the same category.

[fathertime]

NICELY DONE STEVIE! I knew when we first started talking you were dead serious about finding someone. Congrats!
 
And by the way gents...I've been harping on Neiva for as long as I've been posting here. If you're willing to travel off the beaten path, the women there are spectacularly beautiful. Neiva is a pageant town. There's a freaking pageant for everything from the city itself to local dishes. So the more attractive women there have participated in a least a couple before they become an adult. This means the women there take impeccable care of themselves from a very young age. My ex-girlfriend wouldn't leave the house without being put together perfectly. Hair, makeup..the whole nine yards. It got a little annoying but goodness gracious...each time she walked out of that room I told myself it was worth the wait. I went to the gym in Neiva once and there was a line of gorgeous women waiting behind each treadmill. Nothing to do there...I told Stevie that months ago. But if you just want to date, it's no better or worse than Barranquilla. I would place Armenia in the same category.

I must say Benjio, you gave Stevieboy a very good steer!


Fathertime!

[mambocowboy]

Admin, sorry for not posting this in the right area.
OK, so I didn't want to visit Colombia this time, and my current gfriend lived deeper into Col, which would make my trip about 17 hours with layover one way. There wasn't much to do in her town of Neiva, and it's hot and humid with mosquitos 24/7. NO THANKS. I had toured Panama City before and figured, why not just fly her there and meet her at the airport?
.
I booked a vacation package (Travelocity) of round trip flights for both of us (her from Col, me from Texas) and 4 nights at Hard Rock Hotel. The rooms were Gold Suites with living room/kitchen and king bedroom overlooking the ocean and city buildings. I made the reservations on the phone, not online, and insisted my plane arrive at the Panama airport from Houston (4.5 hr flight) one hour before hers, and depart within an hour of both our flights so as to see each other off. Her flight from Neiva to Bogota to Panama was 5 hours. Yes, she can visit Panama with only a passport, however, read next paragraph.
.
Her flight round trip: $ 892
My flight round trip: $ 860
Hotel 4 wkend nites: $ 650
Food, Drink,
Gambling, Bus Tour
Rm Service, Taxis,
Souvenirs, Tips       $500
Engagement Ring   $168
Total:              $3070     
.
This is where it got messed up. As she is not used to traveling, especially to another country, she was very nervous that we would miss each other and she would get stranded in a different country with no money to return. I instructed her to print my flight itinerary and write down my phone number from a Moviestar phone I had from my last trip. As my flight was taxiing, the pilot came on the speaker and mentioned the plane had technical difficulties and more than likely our flight would be late. I call her immediately as she was still in Bogota waiting for her other flight and instructed her that I would arrive after her, and for her to take my itinerary flight # to the desk and inquire when I would arrive and wait there. Did she do that? NO! I arrive at Panama and she's not at the gate. She's been there an hour now, and her phone says it's turned off. I'm running around the airport looking frantically for her and having her name called on the intercoms with no results. After two and a half hours i figure she might be at baggage claim. The only problem is, you have to go through immigration, and once thru, you cant go back. So I get to the immigration gate and explain to the officer that I cant find my gfriend, if she could help. No. She mentioned that my gfriend may have already gone thru, but if she didn't have at least $400 spending money on her, she might be at the detention office for deportation. So, I run to that office and find no one has been detained. So, I go back to immigration, I settle on passing thru and taking my chances. As I'm pressing my fingers on the fingerprint scanner, my Moviestar phone rings in my pocket, and it's her yelling "where are you"! The officers yell at me that I cant use the phone there, and I ignore them and tell her to come thru immigration. There's two different immigration gates and when she went to the other one, they almost didn't let her pass until I ran up and she recognized me as her bfriend to the officer. Yes, if she doesn't have money, she's OK if she's with you as her sponser. So, after they let her through we hugged very hard and we practically tore each other's teeth thru our lips, we kissed so hard. That was a pretty scary ordeal. If it wasn't for the moviestar phone I had in my pocket, she wouldn't have gotten a hold of me.

So, now we're in a taxi on the way to the Hotel and from then on, it was smooth sailing. The food at the hotel is great, and there's other restaurants in the building. The water from the faucet is potable, and breakfast buffets are free. Did I mention Casinos? Yes, practically every hotel has them. The Sheraton is also a nice hotel I've stayed at too, but this one has more stuff and a better view for the money. One of the best things about meeting her in Pan, is she's amazed at the modern westernized conveniences and the luxury of a hotel. She gets swept off her feet. You also meet other couples here as we did from Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Honduras. We met a guy from Canada on the tour bus, and we partied and ate at the islands off the bay. There was a gringo named Michael who was engaged to a Ven girl and he also lived there. He's in the picture next to us at the bar.  I highly recommend their seafood too, especially the ceviche at La Casa De Marisco in the bahia. Another thing to remember and be aware of is that there's lots of good looking women at the hotel that come to the bars. I have a hard time keeping my eyes to myself and even comparing my girl to them (bad habit of mine). I had to take myself back to my hometown and compare her to those women instead, whereas there was no comparison. Her compassion, personality, and respect for me (as many Col women are) is nothing like the women back home, but this one had extra magic dust, so I proposed to her. She didn't want anything fancy at all. She just wanted something on her finger as a symbol and a promise to marry her and bring her home. No prob, you got it Baby.
For privacy purposes, I'll erase these pics after a while. I'm posting a few so you can get a taste.
 

Hotel room living room window overlooking the bay. Awesome room for price. Picture does
little justice.


 Me and Alejandra at Perico Island
       
 
Pic from the open tour bus on the causeway looking at the bay toward downtown where our hotel is. 


Couples we met at the hotel bar from other Latin countries. There was a rock band playing Elvis, and
my gfriend had never heard of him.     


 At a different bar in the hotel balcony
 

          Cool stage with drum set at the hotel lobby

Congratulations Stevie! Way to think outside the box!

[Stevieboy]

I must say Benjio, you gave Stevieboy a very good steer!


Fathertime!

.
Yeah, I met her on LatinCupid and had been talking to her for a while. She was from Neiva, a small town I hadn't been to and hundreds of miles further south in the middle of nowhere. She would talk about how hot and mosquito infested it was there every day, and there wasn't much to do, So, I asked Benjio if he'd ever been there. Sure enough, he has. He's the man to ask about a town you've never been. Although I would have liked to have seen how many beautiful gals he mentions there are there, I would have only been visiting one, but was afraid I'd be bored to death. I was originally gonna stay a week there, but opted for a shorter, more fun visit in Panama.
.
Beware, she might be too impressed. She had so much fun with our time and things she's never done or seen, now that she's back home to reality, she's 10 times more anxious. She cries sometimes and can't stop asking me about trying a faster way to get her to the US. It gets a bit annoying explaining daily that the process takes time, and that I don't have friends in high places like she seems to think I have. I have an Uncle who flies for Copa Airlines, and she thought maybe he could sneak her on a plane and fly her to the US. That was kinda cute. The long wait can make or break the relationship. She needs to keep herself busy. Good thing she works 6 days a week. I'm in no hurry, and don't mind the long wait as there's much to prepare and save money for. I also want a bigger place for us. A man needs space in the home to go to when there's a nagging wife haha.

[fathertime]

.
Yeah, I met her on LatinCupid and had been talking to her for a while. She was from Neiva, a small town I hadn't been to and hundreds of miles further south in the middle of nowhere. She would talk about how hot and mosquito infested it was there every day, and there wasn't much to do, So, I asked Benjio if he'd ever been there. Sure enough, he has. He's the man to ask about a town you've never been. Although I would have liked to have seen how many beautiful gals he mentions there are there, I would have only been visiting one, but was afraid I'd be bored to death. I was originally gonna stay a week there, but opted for a shorter, more fun visit in Panama.
.
Beware, she might be too impressed. She had so much fun with our time and things she's never done or seen, now that she's back home to reality, she's 10 times more anxious. She cries sometimes and can't stop asking me about trying a faster way to get her to the US. It gets a bit annoying explaining daily that the process takes time, and that I don't have friends in high places like she seems to think I have. I have an Uncle who flies for Copa Airlines, and she thought maybe he could sneak her on a plane and fly her to the US. That was kinda cute. The long wait can make or break the relationship. She needs to keep herself busy. Good thing she works 6 days a week. I'm in no hurry, and don't mind the long wait as there's much to prepare and save money for. I also want a bigger place for us. A man needs space in the home to go to when there's a nagging wife haha.

Hey Stevie!   If it were me, I'd be curious to see where my fiancee lives...meet her folks...It may be a godforsaken place, but who knows it might be pretty cool to see actually....and besides then you can write about it here! 


I wouldn't be too hard on the lady for being emotional and crying and the like, you must have impressed the bejesus out of her and I guess ladies are just like that sometimes....you seem to have the power to be this lady's dream come true...I hope you can pull it off!


If you don't mind my asking, what type of work does your lady do?  My lady also worked 6 days a week in Barranquilla...it wasn't easy life, as the work day was about 10 hours...so not much time for other activities.






Fathertime!

[mambocowboy]

Hey Stevie!   If it were me, I'd be curious to see where my fiancee lives...meet her folks...It may be a godforsaken place, but who knows it might be pretty cool to see actually

Fathertime!

my only issues with Stevie's strategy is I'd never marry a woman without meeting her family. Also, seeing how she lives will help you get a sense of her life over there so you can imagine some of the challenges she'll face and some of the positive and negative things she'll leave behind. But Stevie's a grown ass man and obviously pretty ballsy. Getting married is a gut feel thing and a man reaches a point in his life where he trusts his instincts...

[Stevieboy]

Hey Stevie!   If it were me, I'd be curious to see where my fiancee lives...meet her folks...It may be a godforsaken place, but who knows it might be pretty cool to see actually....and besides then you can write about it here! 

She doesn't have much relationship with her parents, and they live in Florida. She lives with her grandma. I speak with her grandma by Skype time and agin, and my gal hates where she lives, so she's not eager to show it off. It would however be good to visit grandma in the next months to give respect even though she gives blessings to my novia to "go for it". Plenty of time, considering the K1 wait. Maybe fly grandma to Panama, haha. 

I wouldn't be too hard on the lady for being emotional and crying and the like, you must have impressed the bejesus out of her and I guess ladies are just like that sometimes....you seem to have the power to be this lady's dream come true...I hope you can pull it off!

I try not to be too hard on her, just toughen her up a bit so she can last the wait. She's very sweet and has a huge heart. She's still fresh from our trip and still has stars in her eyes, not just of me, but the whole America thing since Panama City was modern to her and people spoke English everywhere. She'll get stronger with time I'm sure. I hope I can pull it off too, it's worth trying. 

If you don't mind my asking, what type of work does your lady do?  My lady also worked 6 days a week in Barranquilla...it wasn't easy life, as the work day was about 10 hours...so not much time for other activities.


Fathertime!

She's a dental assistant doing stuff like braces, cavities, or teeth whitening Mon-Sat, 12 hrs a day for about $2 an hour without overtime. She also had to pay three days of wages to her boss to pay the wages of someone else covering her place to be with me. That pissed me off, and I had this fantasy of walking into her job and punching her boss in the nose, then whisking her away from there. She seems to learn English fast too because she loves the language, so that's a good sign. I tell her that if she learns even bad English, she could make $15-18 an hour here and not feel like a slave.
.
What did your wife do in BAQ? Did she get a better job later? Or does she not work? I myself prefer a woman who works so she keeps busy, and doesn't stay home getting brainwashed by daytime TV and get fat. Downside to work is possible feminist peer pressure from female co-workers.