Boat trip back from Isla Contadora was a bit on the hairy side – rough sea – so we were glad to return to Panama City. Waiting for us at the jetty was Tony, our host on Contadora, to claim the golf buggy hire he wouldn’t take with plastic. But he and his wife then commissioned their taxi to drop us off at our last accommodation, so that was appreciated.

To our last ‘home’ of Panama: we have an AirBnB’d apartment in a Block called PH Vitro Loft Studios. The flat is a duplex, with bed and bath rooms on a mezzanine floor and the end wall is glass curtain walling. The view was supposed to be stunning, but we only peer over the rear of the city. However, we are on the 12th floor. The block has 26 floors. On the fifth floor, there is an outside swimming pool as well as a washing room, a games room and a squash court. Yep, a squash court! I’ve spent the whole day walking around in my Wales Squash T-shirt, but so far noone has stepped forward

We did the Sunday thing of walking the bay, to be surrounded by families. Except we weren’t, neither was the road shut off for pedestrians only. Hard to fathom routines in this country, other than there don’t seem to be many.

When we boarded the ferry yesterday afternoon, we had to do it from another beach because the captain decided it was too choppy. We left our big piece luggage at the normal beach and Indoors spent some anxious moments watching for its arrival. Then suddenly it appeared from another boat that had loaded it from the normal beach.

Our walk this afternoon ended with the negotiated purchase of two Panama hats, neither of which I wore home for fear of losing it. Panamoia?

It’s A Wrap

Took an early morning, 100 mins long ferry ride to Isla Contadora, in Las Perlas islands. Staying in a smart guest house, run by a smarter Tony, who has lived on the island for 40 years, we have had some insight into island life. 

We have hired a golf buggy, de rigueur transport here, to explore the stunning five beaches. The island is 1.6km long, approx. 0.6km at its widest. So why, you may ask, do you need a buggy? Because it is varying between 28 and 32 degrees of high moisture heat, day/night in, day/night out. A little walk is alot of sweat. Great for four days, couldn’t live here.

Some say the island is cursed, the Spanish using Contadora to count the pearls raided from the archipelago before despatch to Spain. Certainly there are many signs of decaying buildings, many of which are so big as to be serious eyesores. Here is a good description of how the Columbian finances dried up. And check out the photo of the beached Columbian ferry which is still here. I’m not saying nuttin’, OK?

And the Panama hat has gone AWOL again. Sorry Phoebe. We left on a journey with it sat next to us on the front seat and when we arrived it had jumped buggy. Retraced our journey, but it is hiding. Maybe it knows more than it’s telling us, huh?

Almost Scraping the Sky

After a last night in Bocos Town, with a six course tasting meal at Azul, and a sleepless night at Grand Bahia Hotel (not so grand), we flew this morning back to Panama City in an Air Panama Focker prop plane. It left 20 mins late, arrived 10 mins late, but  50 mins journey instead  of an 11 hours bus journey. Hola!

We had lunch under the temporary canopy of the Marisco Market, ie fish market, which apparently has been there for at least the last 10 years. Prawn cocktail ceviche-style. Very good.

Then onto Bar and Brewery Istvo. Not only did the landlord remember us, but he also insisted I had the same special IPA brew he gave me last time – two weeks ago – and then gave me back my Panama hat.

Phoebe, we are as one again.

All around my hat

Last day at Bambuda Lodge, so tried to go on their jungle hike, previously blocked by a caiman and her baby. But chickened out when path required crossing a slippery log across a stream with wellies on (us not the stream)

So we went on the hostel’s 150 foot water slide, running from its bar into the sea, riding on a boogie board. Twice each.

And then we entered the quiz night, adding to our team Jorge and Edwin from Columbia. They had the local knowledge, we had some other stuff, as well as a lot more years. And we won! A free round of drinks. Guess what the Columbians drank? Same as me, a glass of Malbec.

Ended up the night with Robert Johnson playing through the bar and me talking blues with one of the chefs. Everyone else had gone to bed ……

Movin’ On

A four hour drive through the mountains, including many miles in cloud covered less than perfectly surfaced roadways, delivered us to Bocas del Toro, an archipelago on the Caribbean.

Well, nearly. A confusing luggage in then, sometime later, passengers for a 30 minutes boat journey to Bocas Town, at the eastern end of Isla Colon. And then another boat taxi to Isla Solarte, Bambuda Lodge, our  destination: this is the sister lodge to  our previous hostel.

Great hospitality, food, drinks, ambience et al ….. but we are here for more than that.

And it is raining. Pretty much all the time. Even though this is the ‘dry time’, ie January to March. Climate change or what?

Went to Bocas town today, with a hairy sea taxi ride, and chilled in various cafe/bar/restaurants. Found some Blues, of course, why could you not? Then had a hairier sea taxi return journey.

Winners

Staying in a modern hostel, Castle Bambuda, half way up a mountain and overlooking Panama’s highest mountain, and volcano, Volcan Baru. The hostel is about 13 mins taxi drive, 40 minutes’ walk out of Boquete, a small town overflowing with tourists from all over the world and currently featuring its annual flower festival (which is not even worth the two dollars entry fee).

Ate in the hostel last and this night, food being good and lots of interesting people around. Walked back from the festival this afternoon, after Indoors found, in the penultimate building in the town, Boquete Brewery, yep, a craft beer brewery. Beer was ace, drinking a pint of Smash before we walked.

The day was really all about the forest canopy zip lines, 12 tree platforms, 11 cables, 3 km total. And of course we were 20+ years older than everyone else. But after the first one, it was great. Would even do it again somewhere else! Really!

Another day of chilling here, then on to Bocas del Toro, a group of islands in The Caribbean.

Bocas del Toro

Everywhere you go, everyone you talk to, the headline business is The Canal.

So first thing this morning we took a very comfortable Uber ride (yep, Uber is here) to the Biomuseum. This just happens to be a Frank Gehry designed modern exhibition hall which is brilliant. Well the building is, the exhibition is pretty good, too.

Then we saw some caterpillars and were reminded “Panama” means full of butterflies.

Time for a taxi to …. the Miraflores locks on The Panama Canal. We toured the exhibition, very interesting how scientific solutions were found in the building period – 1903/1914 – and reminders of the scale of the construction. In 2015 the new, bigger locks were commissioned, but the originals are still running flat out.

We had a ridiculously expensive (but rather good) buffet lunch in the only restaurant in town, completed by the arrival of some big, and some not so big, ships, which we witnessed passing through the lock gates. If you want to know more about the workings, history, new developments, etc, I suggest you click here.

Brought up in my earliest years near the River Thames’ Teddington lock, it is only a matter of scale.

Parrillada Jimmy was the locals’ restaurant for dinner. Great bass skewers we ate in an open sided ranch type wooden building surrounded by the teeming car, van, bus and lorry traffic that is Panama City; the CO2 levels are to die for and, apparently, Yoda-ing me.

Zip Gliding Away ……

Despite ever worsening WiFi, Indoors has succeeded in booking a three night stay on the island of Cebaco. This was a recommendation of the owners of Coffee Mountain Inn. Our American family next door gave us a lift to Santiago, from where we caught a bus to Marieto, a taxi to Playa Reina, a boat to the island. We arrived to find we are the only guests tonight. Lamb chop for lunch, ceviche at 6pm, langoustines (turns out as lobster) at 8pm. Some desert island! Snorkelling tomorrow, though just watching the crab activity on the beach is mind consuming enough.

The next day is not snorkelling, but chillin’ out; again, we are the only residents.

Early morning swim abruptly halted by Indoors being stung by a ray. 2½ hrs of hot water soaking to extract poison and nursing advice from mainland later and she’s ok again. Reminded her of what became of Ray Mears. She unimpressed!

Late night talk with Bernardo reveals he and his brother run this hotel on the island, with initial support from their dad. They all moved to Panama from Columbia some 15 years ago. The hotel has been running just over one year, after which they know they can shut in October and November as ‘down months’. Cebaco is the third largest of Panama’s islands and has a resident population of about 300, with a further 100 with second homes here. So not really a desert island, though not sure how you find anyone else here.

Being the only guests is a strange, privileged, feeling.

Another group has joined us the next morning – mum, dad, dad’s dad and two young children. Different dynamic to the stay, but charming kids. All due to go snorkelling tomorrow morning – could be revealing. Tried my snorkelling kit out in preparation and the strap on the goggles snapped – the rubber has perished. So checked out the flippers, anyway. They work.

Discovered there is wine on the island, which accompanied our second lobster dinner.

Great rain attack, it felt like that, as a tropical weather front passed over. No shortage of water here ….

Returning to reality after snorkelling tomoz, with stay at Playa Reina hotel, landside of this island. Hope to find a reasonable WiFi service there so blog can be uploaded again. Then we’re bussing to Bouquete ….

The snorkelling trip was ok, but the sea had a swell, so all boating was a little more than envisaged. Went to a tiny island at the southern tip of Cebaco, white sand loads a rocks, but under water some coral and many fishes, crabs, urchins. Was OK. On the way back, however, we were stopped for about 15 minutes by a nasty looking crew of six sea police patrol. They were looking for drugs. Couldn’t understand why they were making such a big deal of it: was reminded afterwards by Bernardo that he’s Columbian.

Then we came across a pod of bottle nosed dolphins. Delightful. We were delivered back to the mainland to stay in the Hotel Playa del Raina, which is chilled & more restful than the island’s pitch black environment. How strange to find light comforting when you want to go to sleep.

The heart of Panama

Came to Santa Fe on Monday, 4,000 metres up, next to the Santa Fe National Park and the Continental Divide.

Last night and this morning we had two guided walks into the mountain jungle forests; have seen all manner of strange beasts, incl red eyed and many other sorts of frog, grasshoppers, vultures, humming birds, flutterbys, frigate birds etc. And two jungle waterfalls, after a lot of muddy scrambling.

And visited the only coffee co-operative in Panama. They make and drink their coffee in this country! And it’s very good.

Dinner with family of three Californians (dad and grown up son and daughter), staying in next room at Coffee Mountain Inn, at the Cambodian restaurant around the corner. Great view over the mountains at the back, the food was rather awesome, though the ordering went a bit askew. Special highlight was the flying beetle doing circuits of the restaurant, promptly followed by a bat chasing supper. One of the diners screamed and jumped off her chair.

The real story is that of the proprietor, a beautiful 25 year old Cambodian who started the restaurant eight years ago with her Dutch partner. He left some four years ago. So, with her sister whom she summoned from Cambodia, she runs this restaurant, in this tiny mountain village which is only busy for the three high season months from Christmas to Easter. And to have a meal, you have to book a table by 2pm. What is to become of her?

Tomorrow, we’re down to sea level and off to the island of Cebaco, without broadband. You may not be hearing from us for a few days …..

Island Life

Continue reading “In the Mountains” →

Indoors wanted a cycle ride along the Amador Causeway, a link from the eastern side of the mouth to the canal that joins up with three islands. The causeway was made out of the rock that came out of the canal’s excavations. So we made the journey, passing again the Biomuseum, in a (Indoor choice) metal chariot-type two-pedalling thang, could be alternatively called land pedalo, I suppose. After 90 minutes of inefficient travel, we handed back the keys and left. Not to be repeated (by me, anyway).

I wanted to visit Panama City’s only micro brewery pub, so after taking a bus to the city’s main bus station – that’s where the bus was going – we spent the next two hours experiencing the city’s brand new underground train and various locals’ opinions but, eventually, we found Istmo Brew Bar. Much refreshed, we hailed another Uber to take us ‘home’, leaving my so special Panama Hat made in Ecuador given to me by my youngest dottir. We’ve asked them to hang on to it until our return at the end of the month, but as yet await confirmation. Sorry, Phoebe!

And then we went to previously booked Maito restaurant. Flash, expensive, superb food. We had two courses and two bottles of their almost cheapest white wine (no wines are made in Panama, so most come from Chile). And as we walked in so we walked out. After paying the bill, of course.

Nearly everyone in Panama City with money drives a car; indeed the whole transport structure is designed around car driving, as are all the tower blocks, with the lowest five or so floors dedicated to parking. Unless you don’t have enough money for that, in which case you use the excellent bus services, which cost almost nothing and are everywhere. Then there are taxis, too, all honking for your business, all with negotiable taxi fares. There is, most recently, the latest effort to change that rut, the new underground train – one line, 25 stops.

Back to Maito: we arrived by foot – it is 11 mins walk from our hotel – to convince the car park security guards  – there are security guards for everything, even empty property – that we had a reservation. If they had spoken any English they would like to have interrogated us, but confused, they let us through. Both in and out.

In the Mountains