Blogs from Panama, Central America Caribbean - page 126

Yesterday I visited the Kuna and today I visited the Embera Indians. These past two days have been unreal. Today we traveled into the rainforest at Chagres National Park, about an 1½ hour drive from the city. Just driving to the park was an experience. About 10 minutes outside the city you could start to see the economic status of the people outside the city. Panama City is so prosperous it is easy to forget about the poverty in the country. About 35% of the people in this country live in poverty. Our tour guide told us that the average income out here was about $5 a day. It was easy to see this as we drove through the mountains. Most houses are about 3 rooms, made of cinderblocks. There are no glass windows except ... read more

We have been on the island of Bastimentos here in the Bocas Del Toro Island chain for the past three days and are planning on heading back over the mountains to David tomorrow morning to rent a car for a week. It has been an interesting stay as the town on Bastimentos has no road and loads of trash. The people speak a dialect that combines Indian and Spanish and were pretty friendly considering that they have a constant onslought of white people that they have no idea who they are walking on their sidewalk saying hi to them. After a few days you start to get to see the same people over and over, so that was kind of nice. Arisa and I hiked over the mountains through the rainforest to Wizard Beach, very ... read more

I came to Bocas del Toro looking for the classic Carribeean island paradise. White sand beaches fringed on the one side by coconut palms swaying gently in the sea breaze, and bordered to the other by crystal clear turquoise waters with waves gently lapping in. After some trying times, I eventually found it. I also made a few other delightful finds in my time on the island. Arriving at Bocas from Panama City after a 7 hour overnight bus, a cramped 5 hour ride in mini bus and then a 45 minute trip in a leaky boat with what looked like a neanderthal at the tiller, the only thing on my mind was finding that dreamy Carribbean beach scene as a matter of pressing urgency. I bought a map of the archipelago which had a ... read more

Sitting at 6,000 feet surrounded by rainforest gives your mind clarity and lots of napping time. Fortunately the place where we are staying has awesome comfortable hammocks with views of the surrounding beautiful valley. Check this place out and get here sometime in your life. http://www.losquetzales.com/ We had a morning guided hike in the national park Volcan Baru looking for birds and smelling oxygen. Awesome peace and beauty. We are the only ones here and keep saying how if this place was in Costa Rica there wouldn't be a room open. I can't figure out for the life of me why people don't come to Panama. But it is nice being here before the crowds get clued in on how nice it is. Thoughts on a dog.... Solana I hope you never read this ( ... read more

I thought Panama City was fantastic, I'm just not exactly sure why. Maybe in the process of writing this blog I'll figure out what I liked about it, but maybe not. I think it was just the 'vibe' of the place. In some parts, the standard big city hustle and bustle was there to be seen, but in Casco Viejo (the old town) where I stayed and mainly hung out, life seemed to move pretty slow. I think part of the reason for the laid back attitude of the Panamanians is the canal. Handling around 40 ships a day with an average toll of more than US$50,000 (yes, I went to the Panama Canal Museum), it is a handy little money spinner for the country, especially considering that it was built mainly with American finance ... read more