Happy New Year everyone!Or should I say
Feliz Año Neuvo todo!
It's been an interesting couple of weeks although I don't think we made the best of Panama. It didn't help that the weather was not kind to us but on the whole I was disappointed with our experience here and especially with Panama City which didn't meet expectations.
It began with a stop in David the second city of the country and nothing to write home about. It's a dirty and depressing city and the only purpose it serves is as a stop-off before hitting the highlands of Boquete or the islands of Bocas del Toro. It was a culture shock too having just come from the jungle too the hectic pace of a city. The first thing we noticed was how rude everyone seemed to be. We hoped this was a city thing and characteristic of Panamanians in general! We spent one night here and got out as quickly as we could heading for Boquete in the highlands.
Boquete is a beautiful town in the Chiriqui region overlooked by Volcan Baru the highest volcano in Panama. The clean air and crisp climate were a welcome relief from the sweaty humidity of David. We checked into a lovely hotel called Pension Marilos and then went to check out the town. We booked some white water rafting for the following day and a trip to some thermal springs that afternoon with an eccentric 65yr old Feliciano who was one of those older people who just never stop and seem to have an endless supply of energy. He drove us in his 4X4 to the springs and joined us as we alternated between the increasingly hot pools and the cool waters of the Chiriqui Viejo river.
The next day we went white water rafting. This is something I've wanted to do for years and it didn't disappoint! Five hours on the Grade IV Chiriqui Viejo river with over 90 rapids, most of us fell out more than once, Mel was the only one who managed to hold on and stay in the boat. Luckily the boat never completely capsized but we came close to it more than once. Our guide Ivan was a nutter and it seemed to me that he was trying to enter the rapids such that we would be thrown out! It was a brilliant day that I will never forget and a fantastic introduction to rafting. Some pics here.
Rather than go all the way back to Boquete we had arranged to be dropped off at La Concepcion so that we could begin the Los Quetzales walk the next morning from the other side of the volcano and return to Boquete in the afternoon where we had left our packs. We stayed at a fantastic lodge called Los Quetzales and had the whole dorm to ourselves.
We awoke early and took a taxi to the start of the walk and began a steep walk to the top of the ridge where we had stunning views of the valley all the way to the pacific. We trekked all day through dense rainforest stopping once for lunch but we never did find that elusive Quetzal!
We left Boquete early in the morning for Bocas Del Toras where we were to spend Crimbo. Bocas is an archipeligo of islands on the NW of Panama with a distinct Carib vibe. Bocas itself is the main town on the island of Colon where we stayed but there are many other islands that are more chilled out hosting some very expensive ecolodges. Unfortunately, as soon as we arrived, the weather caught up with us and it started to rain heavily. According to the captain of the boat which took us to Bocas the weather had been fine for the precedding two weeks without one drop of rain! Our hotel was Los Delphines just off the waterfront and was our first taste of luxury this trip. That night we drank rum at the local bar and ended up in a club (Hundido).
24 Dec - Xmas Eve
We awoke to a heavy rainstorm. Luckily, we went on a diving trip to a couple of local divesites (my Crimbo prezzy from Mel) called Hospital Point and Crawl Cay. We were also dropped off at Red Frog Beach where surprisingly enough there were some red frogs. By this time the weather had improved enough for me to hone my body surfing skills (no film unfortunately!). We got back just in time for it to start raining and this time it didn't stop all evening. So, we had no choice but to retreat to a bar (Mundo Taitu) for the rest of the evening before heading back to the hotel for a very good nights sleep.
25 Dec - Xmas Day
Of course it was raining today but that didn't stop us from enjoying a champagne breakfast! After making some calls to parents and friends we found a good place (Hotel El Limbo) for Crimbo lunch where I had steak and Mel had lobster. We spent the rest of the day wholed up in the bars talking with locals and other travellers. As Xmas Days go it was fairly quiet and it was fair to say that I missed my friends and family today.
26 Dec
We had to vacate the hotel today as we only had it for three nights so we spent the morning looking for another one eventually finding Casa Max on the main street. Later in the afternoon we made our way by taxi to Playa Del Drago where we chilled on the beach before rerturning back to Bocas.
Panama City
After a dull day updating the blog and avoiding the weather we left Bocas by plane for the city of Panama. After finding out that the hotel we had chosen was a brothel we took the taxi drivers advice and agreed to be taken to Hotel Montreal, a far better proposition near the old town.
Our first impression of the city was of heavy pollution and humidity so we made our way to the old town to escape from it all.
The next day after visiting the embassy to pick up my credit cards that had stolen in Guatemala we took a bus out to the Panama Canal and Miraflores locks which was absolutely awesome. Read here for a history of the canal, it's too much to go into right now but there's some good pics here.
30 Dec
We checked into La Estancia B&B in the Cerra Ancon area on the western part of the city. It is a smart B&B perched on the side of a hill and is in an area that used to belong to the Americans before they handed back control of the canal in 1999. Although we liked the monkeys and sloth outside the balcony window the place was full of English and Americans and a bit stuffy for us. That evening we ate at a local restaurant with the owners and their very drunk daughter.
31 Dec - NYE
We spent most of the day looking for somewhere where I could get my hair cut and eventually found a hairdressers in a shopping mall the other side of town. After stocking up on supplies from a supermarket we made our way back to begin our NYE festivities. We decided it would be a good idea to aim for an ex-pat pub in town where we thought we might obtain some info on what was going on town later. However, on arrival we found it was closed and the city pretty deserted! At 9pm on NYE! After walking around for about an hour we eventually found a place to eat. After more fruitless searching for a party we eventually decided to hit the casino and it was here that we saw the new year in. What was even more bizarre was that as the clock struck midnight no-one apart from Mel and I flinched, they just continued gambling at the tables!
So, there we have it, NYE a complete washout. We returned to bed about 1am tired and drunk. We found out the next day that everyone spends NYE at home with their parents and only come out to party at around 3am by which time we were tucked up in bed!
1 Jan 2007
I woke up fully clothed this morning with a hangover, had breakfast with the monkeys and drank some more wine. We went for a short walk this afternoon and saw a baby sloth.
Tomorrow we leave Panama for Quito in Equador and the beginning of stage two of our big trip, South America !!!
Facts
Currency: US dollar
Hotel Iris (David) - nice hotel in centre only $10/night
David to Boquete 1hr by bus
Pension Marilos $15 per room
Los Quetzales Lodge dorm $13 per night
Los Delphines Bocas $60 per night for double room en suite
Casa Max $35 per night en suite
Hotel Montreal $30 for double with pool
La Estancia $49 per night for double
Panama Hats are made in Ecuador
No comments:
Post a Comment