Blogs from Colón, Panama, Central America Caribbean

It was a strange relief to step off the dark, “comfortable,” air conditioned coach bus from the capital and into the rain and humidity of Las Sabanitas, a commercial hub outside of Colón. The intersection felt more like Latin America than anywhere else during my Panamá trip. The only constant from our vantage point under the steel supermercado awning were women seated at folding tables selling lottery tickets and counting wads of twenties. Packed repurposed U.S. school buses stopped every few minutes and the locals stuffed themselves into the aisles. Ours arrived about a half an hour later and surprisingly had empty seats. PUERTO LINDO Just walking through this village is an experience. A narrow dirt path handlebars off the main camino and cuts between wooden bungalows with the tide at their doorstep and rubbled concrete ... read more

Here I keep a list (and pictures if i have) of the bats i caught :) Carollia castanea Carollia perspicinata Artibeus jamaicensis Dermanura sp. Lonchorhina aurita Lophostoma silvicolum Vampyrodes caraccioles Phyllostomus hastatus Uroderma bilobatum (only seen)... read more

Geo: 10.8678, -79.8993We were awake and up in time for breakfast in the dining room today for the first time. I have been anticipating having eggs Benedict, but, no, it was not on the menu. As far as I remember, eggs Benedict has been on the daily menu of every other ship we have sailed. Breakfast was still good although the waiters were rushing, and I felt a bit hurried. We had a slow day today. We watched the old move Charlie Chan in Panama on the TV in our room. That was fun. I can't remember ever watching a Charlie Chan movie; I just remember the character from people imitating and caricaturizing him. Philip and I worked on one of the jigsaw puzzles in the library, a composite picture of neon signs of Las Vegas ... read more

Our first official port was Cartagena, Columbia. Out waitlisted tour came through and we drove to the National Avery. On the way our guide Sergio told us about the history of the revolutionary movement. The FARC started out as a protest by villages that were being shortchanged by the cities and the National government. Unfortunately the movement joined with the drug cartels to get money to buy weapons. The conflict went on for sixty years and a peace treaty is currently being negotiated, the first one was rejected by the people. We drove through an industrial area where oil refineries and chemical plants pollute the air and ground. Although the soil was once very fertile, nothing grows there now. The Aviary is a national treasure. We wandered the trails for three hours and saw all kinds ... read more

My second time in Panama. Contrary to many of my previous trips, I didn't change place to sleep every 2 days, but did only 2 places in 2 weeks. I spent 8 days in Hotel Summit Radisson near Gamboa, and Bocas del Toro, 6 days. Highlights: 1-Soberania national park: easily accessible; I walked 8 days in the trails and forest is full of animals I saw 2 new species of monkeys: Geoffroy's tamarin and Panama night monkey. Finally, I saw all species of Central America! Yahoo! 2- Bocas Del Toro: Bastimentos island: national park on it, really nice beach. 3- Zapatillo Caye: colour of the sea is splendid! Lows: 1- Bocas del Toro: Bocas town. The city sees an army of tourists, but it isn't the nicest city. Be careful of porters at the airport!! They ... read more