Blogs from Panama, Central America Caribbean - page 2

After Panama City, I had decided to do Bocas Del Toro, considered by many as the best location on the Caribbean coast in Panama. Many give that credit to the San Blas Islands, I tend to agree. So I decided to do Bocas Del Toro before San Blas (save the best for last logic), even though it's a roundabout way of traveling (follow your heart, not the map). I flew to Bocas from Panama City and stayed on Isla Colon (the main island). Bocas has multiple islands which are accessible by water taxis. My first day at Bocas was exploring food, I was craving some India food and found a restaurant run by an Indian lady from Canada. The view from the restaurant was stunning and the food satisfying. Later in the evening I went to ... read more

After the bag incident, I woke up ready to explore Panama City. I was staying in Casco Viejo, the old part of Panama City. Panama City which was built in early 1500s was burnt to a rubble in response to a pirate attack in the late 1600s. And the new Panama of that time that was built is Casco Viejo. So I was visiting a place roughly 350 years old and recognised as a world heritage site. Casco Viejo streets are best explored early morning when people and traffic is light and you can get good pictures of the empty streets. It's an area with many street art, lots of restaurants, cafes and nightclubs. But most importantly, it has the old world charm. Casco Viejo also has many rooftop restaurants from which you can see the ... read more

Patrick Twomey took time out of his in-person group tour to show heygo voyagers parts of Panama City. Always plenty of interesting facts to learn from Patrick. Portobelo, meaning beautiful port, due to its natural beauty, was discovered and named by Christopher Columbus in 1502. By 1597, the beautiful bay of Portobelo had become the main crossroads for merchandise between Europe and the Americas. With so many valuables passing through the area, Portobelo became a frequent target of pirate invaders, including such historic names as Henry Morgan and Francis Drake, who attacked the city and took the port several times throughout the 1600s. http://www.heygo.com... read more

Today is the highlight of my trip and it doesn’t disappoint; we are doing a partial transit of the Panama Canal. It’s a southbound transit – ships travel northbound through the locks north in the morning and south in the afternoon - so we are picked up by a minibus around midday. First, we have time to watch some of the Panama Ironman, with the cycling discipline passing by our hotel. The event started with a 1.2 mile swim in the canal, which really doesn’t look like the right colour for water you’d want to immerse your face in. Then a 56 mile cycle up and down the flyover – by the now the temperature has reached 32 degrees - rounded off by a half marathon up and down the causeway. That’s quite a feat – ... read more

Last night was not great; the old man’s wriggling kept making the bed shake (not exactly what one has in mind vis a vis their husband making the earth move!) That, plus the noise from the a/c, which sounds like a boy racer revving up a Concorde, make sleep impossible. At 5.30 I get up, douse myself with insect repellent, fight my way through the mice in the bar to retrieve a Diet Coke, and sit on the veranda reading my Ukrainian penguin v mafia novel. It seems I’m not the only one who can’t sleep; a few minutes later the howler monkeys start their pre-dawn chorus (how can something so small make such a big noise?) and the Germans emerge with torches and announce they’re off to see the animals. By 5.45, the old man ... read more