6
PANAMA Trip
F
orty-one TTARP members left for Panama on the
27th March, uniformed in their TTARP waist coat. All
members must be commended for arriving on time and
checking in stress-free at Piarco Airport, thereafter, like true
Trinis, who enjoy their food, the pelau and bake and salt
fish immediately came out.
The outstanding waist coats have really proved to be a
priceless form of advertising, attracting locals and foreigners
to enquire about the organization. Local customs and
immigration easily identify the group as the travelling
retirees and Copa Airlines treated us as a special group
allowing us to board the aircraft immediately after their
first class passengers. As a special thank you to one Copa
Staff member, our group sang Happy Birthday to her as she
celebrated her birthday that day. I think we outshined the
Lydian Singers, as the entire waiting gallery was transformed
into Queens’ Hall.
The flight and the arrival into Panama was smooth, at
immigration we were each given a brochure which stated
that the Government of Panama would provide free
emergency medical insurance to each visitor for up to 30
days stay in the country. This was quite impressive.
We had a short wait for the Coach to take us to the Radisson
Hotel, where we were unexpectedly requested to deposit
USD$50 each for incidentals. After some negotiation,
we deposited USS$50 per room, and about 11am were
allowed to check into our rooms. Bearing in mind that the
international check in time is 3pm, I take my hat off to A’S
Travel for organising the early check in for me. I say “me”,
as I would have been the designated person to sit and police
the entire precious empty luggage until check in time.
One of the main attractions is the awesome Panama Canal.
The men showed avid interest in the technical aspect, with
one member returning the next day on his own to satisfy
his need for knowledge. The canal tour certainly lived up
to its expectations. The canal was built using labour from
Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados, and Guyana etc with a great
many of them dying there from malaria. Many others made
Panama their home.
Panama has been reported as the second most competitive
economy in Latin America. It is also widely recognized as
the home for an abundance of tropical plants, animals and
birds some of which cannot be found anywhere else in the
world.
TTARP leaves for CUBA on 14th May 2014 with 81
members. Stay tuned for the August Issue of the O50Q
Magazine for more of our adventures.
Submitted by
Mayling Younglao,
Honorary Secretary
