Casa Vieja--old area of Panama City

PANAMA CITY for EASTER

PANAMA CITY for EASTER

The bus arrived at 5 am!! at a fabulous terminal better than a lot of airports. Went to the Jungle Hostel and waited on the balcony to avoid having to pay for that night. Met an English lady that was moving to another hostel that had better info on boats sailing to Columbia. So after getting set up in my room I shared a taxi over there with her and they reckoned they could get me on a boat within 3 days. It was Good Friday so while going over to the historic Casco Viejo area we were lucky to trip over a Passion of Christ re-enactment that was very moving. The historic area was pretty empty but great buildings. Squares and churches made for a neat walk. Saw the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal from the point and lots of skyscrapers to the south. Back at the hostel they had come up with a boat sailing on the 5^th so I paid the deposit and booked a tour with them for Sunday that looks at the Caribbean side. A pretty good first day in Panama City, given a 5am start but I went back to my hostel and ‘collapsed’ about 8pm.

On Sat I did a lot of catching up on the internet and then went over to the Metropolitan National Park for a great walk that included some nice lookouts over the city and some leftovers from the war against the Noriega regime including the Castillo that may have been a nasty goal for dissidents.

Good Friday-- Panama City

BOCAS DEL TORO—Caribbean Panama

nervous water taxi to Bocas

Coral Cay

Red Frog Beach

Streetscapes Bocas Town

BOCAS DEL TORO—Caribbean Panama

BOCAS DEL TORO—Caribbean Panama

After all the anticipation of going here it proved to be a bit disappointing. You can’t do much about the overcast weather with some bits of rain. It hung around for the 3 days leading into the Easter break which Panamanians celebrate with a passion. This lead to problems with getting somewhere to stay in Bocas Town and my 2^nd place cost $40 and I was lucky to get it. I spoke to the local surf shop about going surfing on their boat but it was never good enough during my stay for them to go out. So on my last day there I took everything down to the docks and did an all day tour by boat before linking with the water taxi back to Almirante for a 7pm overnighter to Panama City.

The tour by boat at Bocas went to Dolphin Bay. Coral Cay and Red Frog Beach and it was great excitement for the locals who had never seen dolphins. At Coral Cay there was a really colourful reef to snorkel on. Bit like an aquatic flower garden and I used every bit of the time here cruising around. Red Frog Beach is being developed as a resort on the bay side and they are charging for you to walk over to the beach on the open side. It’s just like any beach back home and I could see why the surf shop never did a boat trip to the great breaks that abound around here because it was 2-3 ft and onshore.

Don’t get me wrong, this could be a great place and I was just a bit unlucky with dodgy weather and it being busy with Easter. Place was full of yachties and had some great places to eat including one lobster fishing boat set up as a bar/restaurant that I used for a beer or two with the Yank sailors.

CAHUITA—Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica--National Park on coast

CAHUITA—Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica

CAHUITA—Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica

I just went with a tip here and had 3 lovely days at this tiny little town that has 2 beaches and is the entrance to a beachside national park where there were lots of animals and coral diving. The next town Pueto Viejo had the famous Salsa Brava RH reef break but I only saw it on the way to the border, and it was tiny, as I suspected from what was coming in at Cahuita. I met some American expats here who made the stay enjoyable and I really enjoyed the laid back feel of the place.

The National Park was donated by some original settlers and has been defended from charges for entry by the locals ever since. The walk out to the point and beyond to the next beach was further than it looked and totaled about 10 km by time I got back. Had a swim in the nude in a break of the coral and scared a raccoon!!  and also saw a small sloth sitting in the crook of a tree right beside the path. Throw in a huge iguana and another raccoon like animal with a broader head and butterflies and birds and it was a brilliant walk. Check the photos!!

The border to Panama at Sixaola is a walk across a rickety old bridge and you better watch your feet. Pretty laid back leaving of  Costa Rica- for a change, and then the bus ticket scam again at the Panama end. I had an internet quote for a ticket from Panama to Columbia and a flash of that got me in. I’m learning, haha!