Blogs from Panamá, Panama, Central America Caribbean - page 52

"Hola" again. The most interesting sight in Panama is without a doubt the public buses. We suspect they were all American school buses on their "young" days, but now on the streets of Panama they star as renovated moving art. Dressed in incredibly colorful attires, they are all unique, displaying names and splashing drawings of loved ones, particularly kids, religious figures, sayings, etc, etc, etc. I wish the joy displayed vibrantly on the outside of the old buses also reflected the mood of the passengers inside them, but that is to wish way too much. How could anyone be cheerful inside such humid, hot and invariably fully packed vehicles, which move living behind great trail of dense smog? On a more serious/political note, let me share with you that our hotel was just a half a ... read more

Sorry to say not much to report today. Apart from we visited probably the worst airport in the world. For an international airport catering for Americans (and there are a lot here due to the canal and the banking industry) we had high hopes. To start with it was just like any small airport with not a lot to do. Once through security we knew there would be restaurants and shops. However we were surprised to find several each of the following: Lacoste store, sunglass shop and perfume shop. And one very small restaurant - charging what it liked as it had no competition. It was like a market with each shop selling exactly the same as their neighbours. To cap it off there was not a single newsagent or any shop selling a book or ... read more

Since there is absolutely nothing to do within several miles of our hostal - with the notable exception of Miraflores Lock, which we visited yesterday, we caught a bus downtown. Unfortunately downtown Panama City doesn't have an awful lot to offer and to make matters worse it is spread along about 10 miles of ocean. We decided to restrict ourself to one small bit a 3 mile long causeway that stretches out into the Pacific. A hundred years ago there was a clump of 4 small islands of shore, but when they built the canal they put a lot of the excavated earth and rocks to good use by constructing this causeway. This wasn't with one eye on the needs of 21st century tourists but rather was just because they needed a 3 mile long ... read more

Arrived from San Jose to the caribbean coast of Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica and it looks so amazing, very Caribbean.....so laid back....true Caribbean time here.......no rush maaaan!! Stayed in Licas Cabañas, which is off the main strip for 6 dollah a night..very cheap, Went out to celebrate the Jewish new year with 12 Israeli people, had a great night and ended up with a few English guys who knew how to party a little better so decided to hit a few bars and the local club Johnny’s , dogeramaa........lots of locals and it was all Reggae music, so at the end of the night the English guys being gentlemen walked us back to our hostel which was in a different direction to their hotel, there was 7 of us in total, We noticed that 3 Caribbean ... read more

Bienvenido a Panama Along the narrow isthmus bridging the Americas, the wildlife and terrain of two continents melt to form the striking contrasts of Panama. Ocean, forest, mountain and jungle set the stage for countless adventures. You can go whale-watching along the craggy Pacific coast, snorkel around tiny islands in the Caribbean or surf good breaks off either coast. If you have had enough of the heat, escape to the highlands and go rafting down class-five rapids, hike through cloud forests or bathe in crisp mountain streams. Panama's jungles are some of the least explored areas in the world. You can visit indigenous villages, marvel at some of the country's 940 bird species or wake at sunrise to the view of both oceans at your feet. Panama's diversity doesn't end in the countryside. With immigrants from ... read more