Blogs from Panama City, Panamá, Panama, Central America Caribbean - page 14

'...A person needs new experiences. They jar something deep inside, allowing him to grow. Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.' Duke Leto Ateides, 'Dune' (David Lynch, 1984) TJ, Anja and I made our preparations to leave our friends at The Naked Tiger hostel in San Juan del Sur. I gently kissed long-term travelling companion Ben's passed-out forehead by way of good bye and then toyed with the idea of smothering him with a pillow. Such is the effect that Ben has on people, the cocky little twat. Genuinely though, I was worried that I wouldn't see the lad because, like some kind of twisted sadist, his plan was to head back to the Posta Rojo tree house for a couple of weeks. Presumably he liked being dirty and enjoyed ... read more

Just 32km over the border from Costa Rica is the Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro, a series of six forested tropical islands surrounded by the turquoise waters of Panamas oldest marine park, a excellent place to chill (or more accurately bake) for a few days. Trying to maintain my pastey whiteness I ignored the beaches for my first afternoon & headed inland to La Gruta limestone caves near the centre of Isla Colón. The caves are known for the thousand of bats that roost within during the day & so having paid my $1 entry fee I set off armed with a head torch and a camera. Following a trail through the forest I quickly came to the first chamber which was alive with bats, the whole ceiling was a writhing mass of furry little bodies ... read more

Oioi, I'll start by telling what I will be doing in the coming week. I will be travelling to Colombia by pampampam ;p boat, a sailboat to be precise. The trip will start somewhere in the area of Colon, Panama. After setting sail we will be island hopping the San Blas islands for 3days(google San Blas if U want to see some really nice pictures ;) ) after which we will travel trough open sea to northern Colombia where we will sack the city of Cartagena ye-arrrr(this still needs to be discussed with the captain though, alternatively we might just dock instead in a peaceful manner..). And then from there I will make my way down to Ecuador etc... Kay, Panama City. Obviously when visiting this area one has to check out … aye, the canal. ... read more

Throughout Central America, chicken buses have been ever obvious, decorated to greater or lesser degrees as they chug along roads and through towns, conductors shouting from the doors s they pass, trying to entice people on board. Many of these buses have been changed from the standard yellow American school bus style and given a more Central American style! When we arrived in Panama City though, we realised the obsession with decorating buses has been taken to a whole new level. Buses are decorated in incredibly ornate styles with intricately designed murals covering the buses. The skill of the artists is really quite amazing. Neon lights are often fitted around the edge of the buses, one bus we saw even looked like the Coca Cola "Holidays are coming" advert as it was so covered in strips ... read more

I'm sitting on the patio at our hostel this morning & listening to this crazy guy (truly crazy) harrass a taxi driver about taking him to the airport. The only reason I noticed is because I heard the exact same conversation last night while sitting here. It's funny because the guy is dressed really nice & he looks normal. But apparently he only wants to go to the airport. The best part is he's a local guy but when he asks to go to the airport he says it with an accent like he's trying to speak English. It's really funny. He's in the cab drivers face & he's acting like he doesn't even hear mr. crazy. Finally, mr. crazy smiles a bunch & tells him something in really fast Spanish & walks away all happy. ... read more