Dawn and Steve

In the afternoon of our last day in Boquete we took a drive through the mountains around Boquete. There is some pretty scenery, and some interesting sights. I think the thing that strikes me the most is the difference between how the indigenous people live compared to the other middle class panamanians or the ex-pats. The indigenous people here live very simply - and their living conditions are often what we would think of as terrible. But we see them out every day like everyone else, putting their kids on the bus to school, or walking to work or to the market. Many of them have garden plots for themselves. They don't seem unhappy, for the most part you dont see them begging or publicly drunk. But their houses are something to see. Some live in ... read more

Today we planned to go river rafting. A driver picked us up and drove us first south to David, then north, almost to the Costa Rica border. We met up with some other people and all headed into an area that is all torn up with a hydro-electric dam project. I am not sure why they use this area as their put-in to the river, but they do. We got all fitted with helmets and water shoes and life jackets, then we stood around while we got the safety talk - things like how to paddle and what to do if you fall out of the boat. We wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. Then, we started to walk down to the river. The road was steep and rocky with water trickling down it, making ... read more

Well, today is Steve's Birthday. We have to take the bus to David, pick up a rental car, then drive on to Boquete. It is going to be a long travel day again. First, we had to have Jose take us by boat to Isla Colon to Bocas Town. Steve wasn't feeling well, so he didn't eat any breakfast. Then we waited to another water taxi to take us to Almirante on the mainland. As soon as the water taxi pulled into Almirante, there were brown faces yelling in the boat at people the names of the various places one could go: "David!", "Changuinola!", "Bus Station!". I looked at one and said "bus station to David", and immediately, hands reached down into the boat and grabbed my suitcase. At the same time, the same thing was ... read more

Zapatilla II (or minor) island is one of the two beatiful Zapatilla Keys. These two islands are located on a coral platform that is defined, toward the open sea, by the breakers that are formed as the waves crash on the reef. Zapatillas Keys lie inside the Bastimentos Island National Marine Park. They are famous for their beautiful beaches, crystal clear waters, coral reefs and small but shady forests. We took a picnic lunch and boated out there to do some swimming, relaxing, beachcombing, and walking through the forest on a trail raised above the swampy forest floor. The weather is hot even though the day was mostly cloudy, and we were careful to wear t-shirts to protect our backs when snorkling and to apply lots of sunscreen. The sun is strong even through the clouds, ... read more

Now we are on the second leg of our trip, and on our own. We shared a van with several other people which was nice, because we all went across the border together. Good thing, because even though I had read about this experience, it was still extremely strange. First, we had a very long ride from San Jose – about 6 hours with a short stop for a bite to eat along the way. The countryside is pretty, and the people live with very little – at least by our standards. The housing is sure different than what we are accustomed to seeing anyway. Then, once we finally get to the border of Panama, the van driver tells us to take all of our suitcases and other stuff and get off. We follow him to ... read more