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Published: November 8th 2016
Panama city
We flew into Panama city and coming from Cuba the city seems like a different world. A large, busy, modern airport and skyscrapers galore. The difference in wealth between Panama and Cuba is striking. We setup camp in the old town of Panama which is part crumbling and part superbly renovated, home to the president and several wealthy Panamanians and yet situated only metres away from a very poor community and dodgy "don't go ther after dark" neighbourhood.
Up until recently this was not a desireable location and most of the buildings were in ruins. Then someone discovered that tourists like old colonial towns and started to renovate. Now the whole place is either renovated, being renovated or waiting to be renovated. It will be quite beautiful in the near future. There are many impressive buildings, high end restaurants and bars, some intriguing churches and pretty plazas/squares all within a small distance. Also not far is a bustling fish market with plenty of cevice and fish stalls a good place to tuck into lunch.
Dillon and Kellie set out one morning for a newly opened funky chocolate cafe near our hostel and managed to interrupt a magazine
photo shoot for Chanel which took place in the café. Dillon won over the model (Karina from Panama) and managed to get a shot with her in action.
Our main motive to come to Panama city was to see the Panama canal (one thing to tick of the bucket list) which is certainly a construction marvel considering it was done at the beginning of the last century. We went to the Miraflores locks where huge ships are lifted or lowered 8 metres depending on which direction they go. We were lucky to arrive when a large ship from Hong Kong was passing, watched the tugs directing it and the several small trains guiding it through the locks. The whole thing is quite unspectacular as everything happens in slow motion but seeing such a huge ship bein raised is very interesting. The lock museum tells the history and the extension that was just finished.
We also whittled away some hours stocking up on supplies and new shoes for Dillon in the 14th biggest mall in the world. Quite a difference to Cuba where most things weren't available.
Boquete
After the big smoke we headed towards a respite from
the heat in the retirement calpital of Boquete. It was named the best place to retire by the American Association of Retired Persons (no joke) which meant a huge influx of American retirees who now live in gated communities around the place.
Our ride there was unfortunately not very comfortable. We took an over night bus and thought we were well prepared for the notoriously cold buses. We wore all our warm gear, jackets, shoes, long pants, you name it we had it on. Unfortunately we didn't count on the crazy bus driver who was conducting a experiment to find out if you can make it snow inside a bus. After an hour of living in this freezer that also doubles as a bus, I spoke to the conductor if he could turn down the Aircon, to which his answer was no. He must have felt for us through as he invited us to a small seating area behind the bus driver, which I assume is usually used for the bus conductor to sit. It was small and cramped and a far cry from out comfortable seats but at least it was warm. We will definitely not take any night
buses anymore as it took me nearly a week to get over the head cold that i got in that bus.
Boquete made up for the journey though. Well it was mainly the hostel we stayed in. Definitely the best hostel I stayed in all my life and Kellie kept commenting "like a home away from home". If you are in Boquete then definitely go to "La Jungle Experience". Apart from a super comfortable bed, they had (to Dillons and my delight) a huge tv area with two electric recliner seats, cable tv, HBO on demand and Netflix. After a couple of months on the road these are the things that gets us excited. Here we spent way too many happy hours watching moviesand catching up on game of thrones.
The hostel has also a large kitchen which we took advantage of to finally cook our own meals. Then there was the outdoor area with foosball table, hammocks, tv and beer fridge. What else do you need? Ah yes two dogs and two cats to amuse Dillon. Our hosts Mamie and Greg and fellow backpackers made it a social hub also. We were quite happy that it rained every afternoon
so we had an excuse to come back and relax.
Boquete is situtated high in the cloudy mountainous rainforest, it has a temperate and mild climate, has some superb walks, rivers and waterfalls which was a nice bonus 😊
We were adventurous one night and visited the local roller skating rink a brief walk from our home. Given I hadn't been on roller skates for decades it's a miracle I didn't break anything. Dillon did very well and was being pulled all across the floor.
There was also a large native Tica community living in the mountains whose women dressed up in colourful traditional smock style dress. On several occasions we rode the communal bus with them and saw them alight at their homes in the coffee plantations.
We came to Boquette for 3 nights and had to force ourselves to leave after 6 otherwise we would still be there.
Bocas del Toro
Island paradise is one way to describe Bocas if you ignore the rather average town we stayed in. The town would be quite fun if we would still be in our twenties and without Dillon as it seemed to be a party town. We are
in bed by 8 so this was of no use to us.
We did however do some excellent boat tours to the islands around which are a carbon copy of what you see in tourist brochures. Crystal clear water, palm trees, fine sand, corals, snorkeling opportunites and no buildings in sight.
On the way to the islands we saw dolphins, huge sea stars and our first sloth. Sloths are as strange looking in real life as they are in the pictures and they are seriously sloooooooooow but somewhat cute. Not that I want to give them a cuddle as their fur is home to everything from ants to cockroaches.
Part of our boat tour was also deep boarding. Deep boarding is holding onto a semi circular translucent plastic board that is attached to a rope which in turn is attached to a boat. The boat drags you along and depending on if you point the board up or down you go up or down under the water. This must be the best way to see corals as there is not much to do apart from coming up for air once in a while and you cover a load of ground
in a short time. What a fantastic way to see the reef.
Bocas was already the last stop in Panama now it's off to Costa Rica. It was better than what I expected. Not that I did have any expectations. We initially planned to stay 4 days but in the end we stayed 14 and we had a great time.
Video
Check out the video of our Panama trip..
Panama in 13 seconds Click here for the video. Password is warta
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