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Published: January 15th 2008
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Well my first few days in Panama have been really great. I've been checking things out around the city while Jota (no one calls him Jaime here) has been at work. I also got to watch 3 out of the 4 playoff games this weekend - I know it's lame to watch TV on vacation, but it is the Playoffs!
I mostly have been getting around by taxi when I'm by myself. The public buses here are something else. They are old school buses that have been painted up all crazy - I mean they are extensively airbrushed from top to bottom. The cab rides are pretty insane, but really cheap. Yesterday I took a 20 minute taxi all the way across the city to the causeway and it only cost me $5 - and that was being generous, I probably only had to give him $3. I feel kind of bad for the taxis because while some things are cheap here, gas isn't. Gas is almost $3.50 a gallon so they really can't be making much money.
Ahhh ISLA TABOGA..... la adventura
There are beautiful, small islands of the coast of Panama City. The islands (islas) are almost like
minature mountains surrounded by water. One of these islas is called Taboga "island of flowers", and you can take a ferry there from the causeway. This is a relatively touristy thing to do, but Panamanians go there a lot as well, not just foreign tourists. It is a good day trip if you want to go to the beach beacuse the water surrounding Panama is pretty dirty.
So the ferry departed at 8:30am and I made it there in plenty of time, bought my roundtrip ticket and found a spot on the top of the boat. The sky was overcast and I was hoping that we wouldn't get rain. The ferry ride took just over an hour and it felt good to be out on the water. The ferry weaves through all of the massive container ships that are waiting to access the canal. While on the boat I looked through my backpack and realized that I had forgotten my sunscreen. It was overcast, but I knew that this could potentially be a problem because my skin hasn't seen the sun in four months. Anyways, the ferry finally made it and I liked isla Taboga from the beginning. It is
I Spy the Cross
(the tiny white spec on the top left) a small, brightly colored village at the bottom of the hills with beaches on both sides. From the boat, I headed down to beach on the corner of the island. I was disappointed to see that there was trash everywhere so I decided to check out the town and go for a swim later. Walking through town took about five minutes. The main road is a one lane sidewalk that people drive on (I saw one truck and two golf carts), but the houses, although mostly run-down were really colorful and unique.
I decided I would try to find el Cerro de la Cruz (The Cross on the Hill). My guide book mentions it and I saw a few signs. I followed the paved road until it ended and turned into an over-grown jeep path. I followed that up the hill thinking that I would run into other tourists. This road went up quite aways and eventually ended at a small sign that pointed to a narrow path that went straight up this exposed hill about .5 miles to the cross. I had no idea that the cross is pretty much the highest point on the island. So I
made it to the cross and spent quite a bit of time there - there was lots of breeze and really nice views. I met a brother/sister duo from New York up there. They had just spent two weeks in the Darien province (the jungle at the Panama/Columbia border), so I got to hear all about that. They each had hundreds of mosquito bites - I don't think I will be going to Darien.
The sun finally came out and I could feel my skin started to cook so I decided I would head back down towards the town and get some food. I went to this restaurante called Aquarios - it might of been the only restaurante in Taboga and it only had 4 small tables. With a little help I ordered the fish of the day and a beer (Atlas). After about 15 minutes I got my beer and the cook/owner came out carrying a plate with two red snapper on it, she wanted me to tell her which fish I wanted - big or very big. That was probably the freshest fish I've ever had in a restaurant (besides Coastline of course). My fried fish - head, tail, and all - came with plantains and tomatoes, all that with 2 beers came to the grand total of $7.
I had about an hour until ferry and walked across the road to the beach. I was about to go for a swim and spotted a worthy picture so I went to grab my camera from my backpack and realized that I had left at el Cerro de la Cruz! This is about a 4-5 mile trek up a pretty decent hill, but I thought I could make it if I ran. I ran up from the beach and a couple of people started to yell something I didn't understand and point back to the beach. I told them I'm sorry I don't understand, but I have to go. I ran about five minutes and noticed that my backpack was open and both of the water bottles had fallen out. That is what those people were yelling about. So I ran back and someone pointed to me on the beach exactly where I lost them. At that point I was thinking the camera was a lost cause. I knew no one would be going up there that day, so as long as it didn't rain I could come back tomorrow and it would be fine. I ran into the people from New York and they told me that ferry was actually at 4:30, not 4 - so I still had a full hour. So back up the hill I ran. I was just about to the end of the paved road and I stopped a man driving a golf cart in the opposite direction. I somehow convinced him through broken spanish and gestures to drive me up the hill (it was an off-road type of golf cart). His name was Francisco and he drove me up until the road ended and waited for me while I ran up the hill and found my camera sitting next to the cross, then he drove me back into town. I gave him $10 as a thank you and I think it made his day. I was back at the dock with a few minutes left to go for a swim. The ferry ended up being about 20 minutes late, so I hung out in the water for awhile.
This was a day that was full of excitement from beginning to end. I got the bird's eye view from the top of the hill, ate the best red snapper of my life, met some really nice people that gave me their Panama guide book, got a sunburn, got my camera back, swam in the pacific ocean, and had a nice sunset ferry ride back to the city. I know, all in a day's work.
I know this is a really long entry, but I'm trying to stay indoors today because of my burn, so I have some time to kill. It was certainly a colorful experience - I loved it!
I just tried to upload pictures from the day, but I can't figure it out. When Jota gets home I'll see if he knows how - so check back
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