Discovering Panama I

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Hi! We are Erika and Fabio, two italian guys from Genoa and we went to Panama two times, then we moved to Chiriquì! We'd like you can discover the beauties of this country, by telling you our travel story!
In the first trip we reached Panama City in a very hot panamanian summer night. The nocturnal atmosphere of the capital was marvellous, with its "skyline" of its new skyscrapers of “Punta Paitilla” seen by the "Casco Viejo" or "Casco Antiguo", the old neighbourhood in colonial style of world heritage UNESCO.
A mix between modern development and colonial atmosphere so pretty! We stay in the capital just for two nights, at the "Hospedaje Cascoviejo" situated in the historic centre, visiting in the two following days the same Casco Viejo, the Miraflores locks and its museum, situated across the famous channel in the pacific side of it, in the port of Balboa and the "Causeway" or “Calzada de Amador”, a fantastic street with extensive pedestrian walk, built in the middle of the sea, at the beginning used as military and adapted in the time in a touristic one, that for all its extension connects three small islands in front of the capital.
At the end of these two days, we left by plane toward the airport of David, the capital of Chiriquì, with one of the internal flights performed by Air Panama (one of the two air companies that offer interior flights in the national territory, the other is Aero Perlas) by where we left again with a bus to Las Lajas, a small town situated very close to one of the better beaches, in all the American Pacific coast.
The small town of Las Lajas is situated close to San Felix on the famous interstate "panamerican" that crosses all American continent, from Canada to Chile, 360KM far from Panama City and 70KM far from Davìd City in Chiriquì province. It goes to the coast of the Pacific Ocean, where its beautiful beach extends for 15KM in all its beauty and nature, colours and tranquillity, offering to its visitors unforgettable walks at naked feet and giving to the heart and to the eyes beautiful sunsets and sunrises!
We stayed in Las Lajas for nine days. Not far from there, very close to the beach there are some bars, typical restaurants, cabins and one hotel. Very important! Its waters are not dangerous! The waves are always long (We are speaking about the Pacific Ocean), but in this beach there’s no danger for swimmers, that really can enjoy its incredible hot water and having good waves for bodysurfing, also for beginners too!
We spent nine days in Las Lajas Beach with many new friends; we left again, not without sadness, to “Santa Catalina” with Ryan, a Canadian guy that we met during our stay in Las Lajas. Santa Catalina, is a pleasant town, situated on the Pacific Coast, in the south of the peninsula of Azuero, some kilometres toward Panama City, in the province of Veraguas and is crowded of young tourists, especially by the surfing lovers and it offers several accommodations of every kind. It’s not rich of pretty beaches, but it’s a very strategic point to reach the beauty and the nature of Coiba Island, situated an hour of boat far, that you can do with a diving centre that operates in the town and gives you the necessary for snorkelling.
Coiba is a marine nature national reserve of splendid tropical beaches of white sand and very rich crystalline water with splendid coral reef full of many different tropical fishes where you can watch also some very big sharks! It’s an island full of trees and nature and there isn’t any kind of tourist accommodation, except for the ranger’s station. It’s allowed camping if you have all necessary that you need, rations of food included.
After this short stay in Santa Catalina and Coiba Island, we reached the town of Sonà and then Santiago, another important Panamanian city for dimensions and population in Veraguas, to continue our trip to the Capital and our return in Italy. We arrived in Santiago the same night and we stayed in a hotel just waiting the morning, when we left toward “El Valle de Antòn”, province of Coclè, a small town on the mountains: you have to reach the “Las Uvas” stop on the pan-american. In "El Valle", below the “India Dormida” (mountains that take up again according to the legend the form of a native woman sleepy), you can be passed some days in tranquillity without suffering for tropical hot (maybe) and very fresh night.
You can rent a bicycle or walking, visiting the "Chorro Macho", a nice waterfall inside a very green park that form also very clear tiny lakes (better in the dry season from November until April, because in the humid season the level of the water is too high). You can visit the public thermal zone where with few dollars you can enjoy its pools and the very hot thermal water or also the "Piedra Pintada", an enormous stone with strange signs on the surface not yet identifying. Probably, during the Panamanian summer, when schools are closed, some children at the beginning of the road could wait for you to bring you to the Painted Stone telling its supposed history with great pride. Another particularity of the town, are the square trees. We did not see them because along the way with the bicycles, we had various technical problems to the pedals, and our reserve of air already was finished! But they exist and are very funny, as an Italian boy that we met in the following trip in Panama, (that of this year February – March 2010), said to us.
No matter about your accommodation. In El Valle there are good hotels and restaurants not too expensive, but it closed soon in the night! After our relaxant visit to El Valley, was time to comeback in Panama City, were some bureaucratic practices for purchase our lot of land in Las Lajas were waiting us, then finished the first journey in our future country.

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Photos

Diablo Rojo
Bus in Panama City. Now they are going to be replaced by standard buses.

Islote Granito de Oro
Little island close to Coiba Island. Fantastic snorkelling with sharks!

Piedra Pintada
Petroglyph near El Valle

Casco Viejo
Old quarter of Panama City

Isla Flamenco
At the end of the Causeway there are three little island with a marina, restaurants and hotels.

El Chorro Macho
Waterfall near El Valle.
Canopy tour!