The journey was worth it.
I used kiwi.com to book my flight from Australia to Panama because it was the cheapest. It was the cheapest because 1.) two flights were on JetStar, which is the spirit of the east part of the world, 2.) each flight was booked individually meaning I would have to get my bag and check in after each flight 3.) it was 40 hours of travel with four flights and 4.) the layover times were long. Sooooo with all the being said, I was in for it. Carolyn dropped me off at the airport early in the morning and we said tearful goodbyes and I tried to mentally prepare.
My first flight was to Melbourne, second to Hawaii, third to LAX and fourth to Panama City. Good news, I have lounge access with Priority Pass through my credit card so that would help. However, some of the airports had no lounges or lounges without food (who does that??) There were no major issues, other than the fact that I needed to book my exit out of Panama on the spot. I made it to Panama the next morning around 11am after many, many, long flights and a few hours of sleep. But let me tell you, jetlag is REAL. It is a 17 hour difference between Australia and Panama. I booked a few extra days in Panama City because I knew I would need some time to adjust and sleep.
La ciudad de Panama.
My first day in Panama was a blur. My first stop was Panama City. I walked around the hostel area and got a salad – need more greens in my life. I found a yoga class (Dharma Ashtanga Yoga Center) in the evening. It was an ashtanga class. For those of you that know what ashtanga is, it’s not easy. I was the only one signed up for the class so I got a private lesson. The instructor taught me so much during the two hour session. I was going to be SORE. I slept 14 hours that night and struggled to get out of bed the next morning. But duty calls. I booked a free walking tour through Guruwalk to see the historic part of the town in the morning called Casco Viejo. The tour lasted a few hours and I found a cute cocktail bar for some happy hour drinks. I booked dinner at Diablicos, a local bar and restaurant that has a live show every night with cultural dance and music. It was not very busy, but a great show, nonetheless.
The next day, Elisa, a beautiful German I met in the hostel, and I went back to the historic district for lunch at Coca Cola Cafe, the oldest café in Panama that many famous people have visited in the past. We rented bikes and rode around for a while. However, we were greeted by construction on the bike path on the Amador Causeway to the islands where the Panama Canal starts. So, we turned in our bikes and had drinks for happy hour instead.
The next day I visited the Panama Canal at the Miraflores port. I had no idea what went into building this phenomenon. There was a 45-minute 3D movie before you went to see the ships. The movie was super informational and gave the history behind building the man made canal. I got there at around 10am and the next ship was scheduled around 1pm, so I had some time to wait. After the movie, I got a coffee and empanada in the café and went to the viewing platform. The process of a ship moving through the canal is quite slow. There are four locks to get through each major port. Each time the locks fill with water is about 10 minutes. So it takes about 45 minutes for each boat to go through. Each day about 15 ships or so pass through. The tariff for each ship depends on the weight of the vessel, averaging about $150,000. CRAZY. I stayed for three boats to pass and enjoyed the engineering of the locks. It is quite impressive how much goes into the operations of the canal.
I don’t surf.
I did a lot of research to figure out where to go after Panama City. There are so many different blogs to read and places to see. I choose to go to Santa Catalina, a small surf town that is the starting point for Coiba National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the same corridor as the Galapagos Islands (which I visited in January). The city is on the Pacific coast, so opposite side from San Blas Islands. Because the country is so narrow it is only about five hours or so to get from one side to the other. First order of business, visit the national park. I went with a group of about ten other people (my friends Yves and Elisa included) to the cluster of islands, about an hour boat ride from Santa Catalina. It was a rocky ride, that is for sure. We snorkeled a few times around small islands with beautiful coral and fish. We saw lots of turtles, but no sharks. BUT on the way back, since it is whale season, we saw a humpback whale!! I fortunately snapped a great video and my friend Yves got a photo with his good camera to capture the moment (see here). It was incredible. I have never seen a whale so up close and personal. Everyone soaked in the beauty of these amazing creatures. We made it back in the late afternoon to enjoy some wine at a beach bar followed by live music at Elisa’s hostel. It was a great end to a beautiful day.
My favorite part about Santa Catalina was the lodge I stayed in, Sasy Tipis. It was my very own tipi on stilts. It was brand new and away from the main center of town in between the two main beaches, Playa Santa Catalina and Playa El Estero. I had my own space, I had a hammock underneath to read, a cement floor to do yoga on each morning, a kitchen to cook in/make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and it was so quiet. It is slow season for most of Central America right now because of the rainy season (April through November more or less) and the towns/hostels are quite empty. This can be a good or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. I for one didn’t mind the peace and quiet after lots of travel.
My second day in Santa Catalina, I slept in, did my morning yoga, went to a delicious breakfast, and lazily walked to El Estero beach to mosey around. There was an ominous sky making for a beautiful beach walk with clouds and reflections in the water. After walking the beach, I stopped at a beach bar for a cold beer only for it to start pouring rain. I mean POURING. It never stopped raining. I had about a 15-minute walk home, so I stayed at the bar for a few hours and read more than half my book, thank goodness I keep my kindle in my purse wherever I go. I eventually decided to brave the rain in the dark and managed to stay mostly dry.
Island hopping.
San Blas Islands are made up of 175 islands and well known in Panama for the pristine waters and remote islands inhabited and ran by indigenous people. Elisa and I booked a two night-three day trip on Diablo Island. There are so many islands to choose from, and without knowing much we decided on this one. We had a car pick us up at 6:30am to make the journey to the islands. After three hours in the car on a very windy, dirt road we made it to the dock. Another 30 minutes and we made it to the island for some much needed relaxation. The island was incredibly beautiful with only about ten people living there owning the lodge/restaurant. We had lunch, fresh whole fish, and chilled the rest of the afternoon. There were several children on the island that we bonded with and played volleyball and in the water with. One of the highlights of the trip! My volleyball skills are rusty, but I pulled through. We watched the amazing sunsets and did yoga each morning during sunrise. It was like a dream.
The next afternoon we took an excursion to several different locations, the first stop was Isla Perro Chico, right next to Diablo Island. We had an incredible lunch, walked around the island and paddleboard. Next, we stopped at the Natural Pools, almost like a sandbar in the middle of the ocean, to swim then to a different location to snorkel with the biggest starfish I have ever seen. Our last day we asked the boat owner to go on another excursion to see nearby sharks and he agreed to pick us up at noon. Unfortunately, they never came. I was furious, crushed, and emotional at the same time. Instead we just hung out at the beach until the boat picked us up at 2:45pm to head back to the city. While that was a lowlight, there were so many highlights mentioned above and best of all I got to spend time with Elisa. We got along beautifully, and she is such a delight to be around.
I heard about Bocas del Toro when I studied abroad in Costa Rica. I never made it there, so I vowed to make it there one day. That day is NOW. I planned four days on the islands to explore. Two days on Isla Colon and two days on Isla Bastamientos. There is an event called Filthy Friday that happens every Friday. It is just a giant party/bar crawl…the biggest in Central America. About 500 people show up each week to partake in the festivities. It costs $45 just to participate – which is a joke if you ask me – and then you must buy drinks and food throughout the day. It started around noon, so I took a yoga class in the morning at M&W Yoga. I was the only in class, so I had another challenging private lesson. Much needed for the day ahead. Many friends I met throughout Panama would join me for Filthy Friday and it was bound to be a great day island hopping. The event organizer took us on boats to many different bars with stunning backdrops. There were DJs, dance contests (no I didn’t participate) and fun had by all. We swam throughout the day to stop from sweating. We enjoyed cold beers. We jumped off giant ledges into the center of the bar – who thought this was a good idea for a bunch of people drinking? We danced well into the night and made memories for a lifetime.
The next morning, I planned an all-day boat trip to see dolphins and other remote islands. It was me, five Panamanians, and two Brazilians. They did not know I spoke Spanish until about an hour in and laughed when they found out as I was listening to their conversation the entire ride. They were a great time and kept things interesting throughout the day. They were loud, passionate, and most importantly kind. We got back to the main island around 5:30pm and I hired a boat to take me to my next destination for the next two nights. I was staying in a remote lodge called Palmar Lodge on Isla Bastamientos to get away from the action and relax. It was tucked away in the jungle and exactly what I needed. I read, I walked the beach, I did yoga each morning in the shala, I ate delicious breakfasts and fresh ceviche, I went to bed early, and I caught up on some Netflix binging. I could really get used to island life.
Mountain town.
Boquete is a small village in the middle of volcanoes and coffee plantations. It is beautifully lush and people come from all over the world to visit. There are more than 5000 retired Americans living there and you can easily spot them in the coffee shops each morning. Many of the small shops and restaurants are owned by them and I had the best breakfast skillet I have had since I left the US. It was filled with sausage, peppers, tater tots and loads of cheese. Reminded me of home.
One of the most popular things to do in Boquete is hike Volcan Baru. There are many organized tours that leave early in the middle of the night to hike it for sunrise. After much research, I decided to skip it. The organized groups were expensive, I couldn’t find anyone to do it with me to avoid paying a guide, and more importantly the hike was grueling and LONG. To go up and down in one day was about 12 hours and more than 6000 feet of elevation gain. I didn’t have it in me at the time. I have hiked some amazing volcanoes and mountains so missing this one didn’t weigh too much on me. Instead, I hiked a smaller trail, El Pianista, with Charlotte from the Netherlands and Yves from Switzerland. It was still beautiful. We walked through green pastures into a jungle with rivers and monkeys with a beautiful view at the top. We ended the afternoon with pizza, beer, and a fun game Charlotte introduced us to called Regenwormen (a popular game in the Netherlands) that is like Yahtzee but instead of points you get worms. I looked to see if I can order it on Amazon, but I cannot…surprising. Charlotte will just have to mail me it when I get back. The next day I went ziplining in the cloud forest with four Austrians I met in San Blas. We had stunning views of the volcanoes and had a blast zipping from treetop to treetop all afternoon. For as many times as I have ziplined, it doesn’t get old.
My last day I spent at a coffee plantation. Based on a recommendation from another couple we met on the hike, I chose Finca Casamanga and scheduled my afternoon tour. It was very intimate with only one other couple. Our guide, Enrique, was extremely knowledgeable and taught us all about the coffee making process from planting the tree to roasting the beans. We got to go through every step and take home our very own roasted bag of coffee to our liking. I have been on a lot of coffee tours, and this was by far the best. I really felt like I was part of the plantation and have a better understanding of the full process instead of just tasting a bunch of different types of coffee. I would recommend this tour to anyone, especially if you are a coffee geek. I ended the evening getting a nice dinner with Elisa for our last day together. We spent the last week together and hope our paths cross again in the future!
The jen essentials for panama.
- Sunscreen (the Panamanian sun is NO JOKE)
- Travel towel (preferably two – one for the beach, one for the shower)
- Energy to play volleyball (kids have way more energy than I do and yoga doesn’t prepare you for this type of exercise)
- Friends for Filthy Friday (they made it that much better!!)
- Diner food for breakfast (Olga’s kitchen in Boquete was my favorite – the chef came around after you ate and gave you a big hug and a kiss – how precious)
- Regenwormen (the popular dice game from the Netherlands, we had a blast playing every night!!)
- Coffee (One of Panama’s largest exports is coffee and now I know why)
- Organized shuttle buses (getting around in Panama is a breeze with so many organized minibuses taking tourists from one spot to the next – it made traveling around the country so easy)
- Yoga mat (has there been a list without this? I don’t think so)
- Return ticket out of Panama (most airlines do not let you get on the flight if you cannot prove you have a ticket out…so I acted quickly and bought a bus ticket in the airport to prove I was not planning to stay in Panama longer than I am allowed)
Wrap it up jen.
Panama exceeded my expectations in so many ways. The islands are a dream. The transport system caters to tourism and make traveling around hassle free. The people I met were wonderful humans and great company. The locals are kind and accommodating. The three weeks I spent there were not enough. There are many hidden gems in Panama that I didn’t have time to visit, but I know they would have been just as wonderful.
Between all the island hopping and unique cities, I think seeing a WHALE up close and personal was a highlight. However, meeting such amazing people to share these moments with was the cherry on top. I have realized on my travels that the people I spend time with are what make a place great. I will always look back on my time in Panama as a WHALEY good time. Thank you to all of you who were there to make those memories with me.
Up next: El Salvador, a place I know very little about…excited to learn more.
Signing off for now,
Jennifer