Blogs from Panama, Central America Caribbean - page 16

We continue to explore the surrounding area by bus. We are toying with the idea of renting a car as they are inexpensive but the insurance is costly. So far buses work well and cabs are cheap, driving seems suicidal in this city. We do a lot of walking as well which is a good thing because we sure are eating out a lot. I have the bus schedule on line so I locate places that are day trips, do a bit of research as to what is there and off we go to the bus terminal. We decided on Pedegral, a small suburb of David past the airport. We intended to go to the airport to check on car rentals as well. We get to the terminal and I ask about a bus to Pedegral ... read more

Dear friends! I’m glad to add one more post to my blog, in which I’m going to share my memories about the vacation in Panama that took place three years ago. I have always dreamt of visiting Central America, but there was always something that prevented me from doing that. When I traveled to Mexico in May 2012, I initially planned to travel to South Africa as well. However, Mexico proved to be so engaging and interesting that I stayed there for two months (I will tell about it in my future posts). I also managed to prolong my vacation, so I changed my mind and bought a ticket to Panama and I never regretted the decision. In this post, I will share my memories about the travel to the capital of Panama, the Panama City, ... read more

Today, we visited the quaint touristy town of Boquete where the expats live. We walked 20 minutes to the bus terminal and boarded a yellow school bus for a one hour ride up the mountain to Boquete. The bus stops along the way to pick up locals who simply wave to flag the bus down. It was hot with no air conditioning but at least no one was carrying chickens. The cost for two one way was $3.40. We saw more substantial dwellings than those in David and still all are behind gates and fences although in the country they had sturdy looking low rock walls. Good fences must make good neighbours. The soil seems even rockyer than in Newfoundland hence no gardens or any crops to be seen. We did see some skinny livestock and ... read more

On November 10, 182 the residents of Azuero declared their separation from the Spanish Empire, without sanction of the cental government in Panama City. Their declaration was called El Grito de La Villa de Los Santos (Cry From the Town of Saints). The central government dismissed the action as impotent and meaningless. However, separatist sentiment had been speading, and El Grito had been heard by the entire country. Feeling out numbered, the acting Govenor General decared Panama City's support for independence, and the military stood aside. The Panamanian people were free from Spain. Now, though, Panama was a department of Columbia. It was not long before the Panamanians grew tired of a distant, government. They made several attempts to secede. War erupted, in 1899, as a reaction to a treaty with the United States. The battle ... read more

I wanted to visit Boquete to go white water rafting, apparently it's really good and cheaper than in Costa Rica. We put our names down for the next day on our first morning, and then crossed our fingers - the activity only runs with a minimum of three. It didn't look hopeful for a while, but eventually two more signed up and we were good to go! At 8am we headed off to the river, which is in Chiriqui, but about an hour or so from Boquete. The river is used to generate electricity in the province, and luckily it was the last day before a three day holiday in Panama, when the dam wouldn't be opened it the river wouldn't be good for rafting. After getting our helmets and life jackets on, our guide Teeny ... read more