Advertisement
Published: March 17th 2013
Santa Catalina – Panama Days 9-11
The drive from Bocas to Santa Catalina took longer than expected due to the bad weather I mentioned in my earlier post. It was still raining the morning we left Boca Town and continued raining all the way through the mountains. About ½ hour into the trip we were stopped in a line of traffic due to a tree down in the road, caused by high winds from the night before. No one could tell us how long we would be there, so we hunkered down not knowing what to expect. A few crossword puzzles later ( hour and a half), the road was cleared and we were on our way. The rain continued until we crossed the last mountain range and started driving toward the Pacific.
Located on the western most coast of Panama, Santa Catalina is a small village that survives on the tourism generated by surfing, diving and fishing. Main Street ends in the Pacific Ocean, but oh what a view. The people, like everyone in Panama are friendly and go out of their way to help strangers. Jim and I commented there must be a politician living in or
View Coming Out of the Mountains
Driving back toward the West Coast of Panama from Boca Del Toronear Santa Catalina, because the road from Sona to Santa Catalina was fantastic. The best road we have traveled in Panama. For a small town, there are several restaurants, a bakery run by a French couple who make a fantastic cup of coffee, not to mention fresh croissants and French pastries available every day. They also provide “Ranch Sacks” for divers and fisherman who will be spending their day on the water. The cost is $6.50, and include fresh baked bread for the sandwich that is the size of a hub cap, with a varied assortments of meats and cheeses along with a fresh fruit cup and juice.
Since I’m still struggling with ear problems, I spent the day at the beach watching the surfers and doing a little body surfing while Jim went diving with Scuba Coiba (I have attached some of Jim's underwater dive pictures in the additional photos available at the end of this post). I was pleasantly surprised the water was as warm as the Caribbean (80-82 degrees) and the waves were 8-9’. I finally had to quit when I realized I was too tired to get up from the last misjudged wave that beat
me senseless, rolled me across the ocean floor and spit me out on the beach. I would love to try surfing, but these waves are too big for a beginner like me.
Wi-Fi is scarce is the village but a few of the restaurants do offer service. So I went back to our hotel and washed the sand, salt and ocean off, and headed for lunch at a café called Buena Vista to see what was happening in the rest of the world. The special was fish tacos, and breaking my cardinal rule of never eating fish out, I decided to give them a try. I don’t know what it is about Panamanian food but it is the best food I have ever eaten! The fish was Red Snapper which was excellent, but the tomatoes, onions and cilantro tasted as though the cook had walked out back and picked them from the vine just for me. Delicious!
The highlight to our trip was meeting new friends, Marta and Keith Hill. Marta was born in Panama and is a wealth of knowledge on all things Panamanian. We loved her stories of the rich and diverse history of Panama. Of
Scuba Coiba Dive Cener
Santa Catalina, Panama course her ability to speak the native tongue came in very handy for a couple of gringo’s like us, who sometimes had trouble just reading menus! Keith is an avid fisherman and Jim and I were very fortunate to be invited to dinner with Marta and Keith to enjoy his catch of Bohala a delicious white fish cooked on the grill by Eduardo and his family. Keith and Marta also served as our guides on a stop in Santiago on the way back to Panama City, something we would have avoided if traveling solo. Marta invited us to share one of her childhood favorites, (I can’t remember the Panamanian name) but it was shaved ice, with your choice of flavoring, with sweetened condensed milk over the top. It was delicious!!!
We have been home from Panama for a week now, and have been asked a million times, “Well how did you like Panama? Is it someplace you could live for 5-6 months a year?” The answer is, “Yes, we loved Panama, the country, the people, the food, the culture and the weather. There are parts of Panama we would not spend an extended period of time, such as Panama
City as it is too big and congested for our lifestyle, but on the whole Panama is a wonderful country, that welcome tourists with open arms. Without a doubt we will go back!”
Advertisement
Tot: 0.051s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 10; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0241s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Molly
non-member comment
Wonderful!
What a wonderful trip, and blog Patty. It was great being with you all along your journey. xoxo