No guide book... no phone... No Problem

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Over confidence in a foreign country can land you in a heap of trouble. But when you have your mind and heart set on one thing, the blindfold is on preventing you from seeing anything else but your one goal.

WARNING: This story is not recommened for those who hate to travel without a plan or itinerary. If this is you, please cease from reading.....



Panama’s location on the globe gives a traveler the possible advantage of seeing humpback and sperm whales during mating season which is August through October. The whales are migrating from their feeding grounds as far north as the icy shores of Alaska to breed and frolic in the tropics of the Pacific Ocean.

Therefore it was obvioulsy necessary for me, a lover of all sea creatures except for sharks, to find a way to see the whales from my lush, tropical mountain locale of Boquete.

So I started inquiring around town. I found it best to ask a local vs a tourist, as the locals know the best and cheapest way to get things done. Of course for me, this requires lots of hand gestures in addition to my ever improving Spanish skills. But one must take into consideration that not everyone from here has been to the Pacific or Atlantic. It is like people in the USA who live next to Disney but have never gone.

The inforiation I received was contridictory- I was told THIS was not the season, that you couldn´t get to a good location to see them from here, or tour boats were only available in Panama City or if I did find a boat, at least 4 people would be required at a minimum of $45.00 a person up to $75 and it would be an alll day event.

Super! I love challenges. Now I don´t have a phone nor a guide book or a lot of money but my inner gut was screaming louder than Mr. Doubt so on a whim and a prayer I found 3 people who were willing to go with me to see whales. Keep in mind they thought I actually had a plan.

I learned our starting point needed to be a town called Boca Chica which had a beach and fishing boats. Once there I would obvioulsy figure it all out right?!



By this morning of our travel we were a group of 6, all foreigners. Well at least we had over the minimum to get on a boat provided we found one. We hopped an early bus outta town to the next big city David. It was by no means the Express bus (it is a school bus) and we picked up and dropped off many passengers along the only major road out of town. One member of our group had been to this city the week prior so we relied on her to get us there. Our ride was a little over an hour and a half

Once we arrived at the bus terminal, we asked about buses to Boca Chica and were pointed in the direction of a bus going to Horoncito. As a team of 6 we can form one complete sentance in Spanish. It is quite humourous to watch us in action I assume. Each of us have different vocablularic strengths. The bus was leaving in a half hour so we hung around and boarded at 5 minutes of and sat, and sat, and sat. Panamaniun time is very different from USA time and there are no firm schedules to go anywhere. Sowe sat for over an hour waiting to depart. Buses I have leanred must be filled to maximum capacity before they depart.



On our way in the tiny bus with the hot pink curtians we began the second phase of our trip, 2.5 hours more to go. Thje bus stopped many times on our way to Horoncito- Boca Brava and we chatted loudly over the reggaeton music blasting form the speakers. The bus bus picked up and dropped off people as we went. There is nothing concerning about people boarding with huge bags of fruit and rice or the occasional machete.

Not having had coffee this morning my Spanish suffered greatly and at one point the bus driver asked me a question and said “¿esta Italian?”. I turned to my friend Kim and asked if the bus driver just asked me if I was Italian. Kim roared with laughter and said “Noooooo he wants to know if you are ?¿esta Bien? which mean “are you good”. Doh!

The bus pulled into a town 50 meters from Boca Chica and we were pinted in the direction of the beach or so I thought. We trekked down the hill to the beach well it should have been a beach ,but instead as a dock with tiny taxi boats floating in the water amidst the mangroves. Uh oh this is not what I thought we would encounter. Now what? Valid Question! We gathered around the taxi drivers (boat captains) and asked about a beach and fishing boats. They yes-ed us to death and pointed somewhere out into the water beyond the mangroves. We had a quick huddle and then picked the water taxi that looked the sturdiest and the driver that looked most honest and we got in the boat.

The boat had 4 tiny benches, a motor and an awning and trustingly off we went to who knows where. The water beneth us looked inviting and I was tempted to go for a swim, then I remebered reading an article that advised ¨where there are magroves, there are crocidiles” . On second thought I think I will stay in the boat. We arrived at an island with a huge flight of stairs going up. Quizzically we asked the driver where we were and once again asked where the beach is. In a more adamant voice, we expressed our interest in seeing whales. (Just so you know students learning Spanish never make a statement without a questioning intonation in their voice because we are never certain we are saying it correctly)

The driver named Henry told us he (and his tiny boat ) could take us to see the whales. Some of us laughed and some of us looked downright worried. We did a once over of our watercraft and thought well “ he doesnt want to die today so it must be safe”. We asked several times more to ensure he understood us and we understood him and the group agreed we might have no other option so sink or swim we would go. We all asked for life jackets and negotiated the price of $20.00 a person and off we went.

The seas were rough with large rolling waves, course if we had a bigger boat it might not have seemed so dangerous. We passed some beautiful islands with tiny beaches as we continued our journey out to sea. The waves got bigger as we went.As the woman next to me hummed the Gilligan´s Island song, I stealthy pulled out my pocket knife and secured it to my life vest. I had seen the Tom Hanks film and although I would not have the volleyball Wilson for company, I wanted to make sure if we ship wrecked I would have a way to hunt for food.

The Captain slowed the boat and started searching the seas and low and behold a spray of water emerged from the Ocean.. It´s a WHALE!! Every one stood up on the tiny vessel to get a view of this magnificant creature cresting the water. It was ginourmous and simply beautiful as it deftly moved through the water. None of us could beleive what we were seeing. We were in awe.

Then moments later a momma whale and her baby presented themselves in front of us and we followed them with our boat for photo ops. They were up close and personal. I silently wished I had the camera and the skill of a National Geographic photographer. Everyones´s heart rates on the boat slowed. Faces of concern over capsizing vanished and the energy on our boat changed in an instant. We couldn´t beleive our luck.

We saw one more whale after that then the sun came out and our Captain took us to a island for a romp on a beach. We went swimming but the current and rip tides were quite strong and being on a secluded beach alone sort of made it feel like we were in the opening scene of a B movie. A couple of us got the heebee-geebees and resigned ourselves to the beach.

What a glorious day!! Back on the dock we inquired about a bus to take us back to the city of David. What we did not know is there are no buses after 3pm on a Sunday. It was 4:20pm. No worries we had a taxi´s number to call. But we soon leanred his car was in the shop so we were stranded in the tiny non beach town. We began to press the locales for transportation options and finally one kind gentleman said his brother could take us. Leery but with less than no other options we accepted the ride from this stranger´s brother and got in his truck. Three in the cab and 3 in the bed. I opted for the bed. Probably not the best idea I thought minutes into the ride, as Panamanians are some crazy drivers and pot holes are as much fun to drive over as speed bumps at 50 miles an hour.

The gentleman wanted way too much money to go to David but could take us to the local bus terminal 30 minutes away. We agreed to go there for $20 dollars. We should have asked more questions before going as the bus terminal turned out to be corner on a 4-way intersection on the Inter-Americano highway. We paid, he left and we stood there laughing at our naivety not knowing what was next.

About 45 minutes later a bus passed, we boarded exhausted from our adventure and headed back to David. Ana, the student who had been to the city of David one week prior suggested we eat in the city at a Columbian restuarant which turned out to be the perfect meal to a crazy perfect day. (The restaurant is called Mi Terra Columbia, about 8 minutes from the bus stop by taxi) I had the most savory beef dish.

We caught the bus back to Boquete exhausted but smiling just the same.



Apparently we had been very lucky to see the whales as other tour groupd who took the longer trips to Panama City and paid 3x what we did, had no sightings.

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Photos

another beach
It seemed like the beautiful beginning of a B rated horror flick.

Volcanic rocks and blue shores
when you travel in Pananma securing your valuables is important. Mine are all strapped to my stomach and hips. Sometimes reaching for extra cash or making change is a bit awkward...

EL Bus stop
Dropped on the road side, we were told it was the bus terminal. We stood for an hour roadside, having no idea if a bus would actually come and in which diretion we were headed. Good times!!!