Ten days in Panama, and a round up 🇵🇦

We spent a short 10 days in Panama, partly because like Costa Rica it’s very expensive, and partly because we were excited to cross into Colombia and South America. We visited three places in Panama - a beach, the mountains, and Panama City. 

Relaxing at the beach in Bocas Del Toro:

After a swift three weeks in Costa Rica, we got a short shuttle over the border into Panama and onto our next stop: Bocas Del Toro - an island off the Caribbean coast of Panama. The bus only took a few hours, even though our bus broke down and we had to wait for another one to pick us up! After the bus we had an hour boat ride to take us to Bocas town where we stayed for four days. The town itself was busy, noisy and dirty, and our hotel room was basic (but did have aircon!). 

We spent most days exploring the nearby beaches. We went to Estrella (starfish) beach, which was a beautiful white-sand beach with crystal clear water, and quite a few starfish! 

We also went on a boat trip to the Zapatilla cays, and we enjoyed chilling on the beautiful beach and cooling off in the clear water. 

Unfortunately we both became quite unwell at Bocas, with what is described as ‘Bocas belly.’ We suspect that we caught something from the water, which isn’t safe for consumption. It took us both a few days to recover at our next stop to get back to normal. 

Spending a few days in the mountains at Santa Fe:

To leave Bocas and head to our next stop, we had a choice of an expensive shuttle ($40 each!), or to make our own way on public transport. We chose the latter, and after catching a boat back to the mainland, we grabbed a taxi to take us to the bus station, which turned out to be a bench on the side of the road. We waited a long time for our bus to come, only to realise it was too full to get on! Ee hadn’t factored in that as it was Sunday, lots of locals were using the bus! Three more full buses paaaed us before eventually we got on the most cramped bus we’ve ever been on (Ash had someone’s genitals on his shoulder for over an hour!), and made our way to the city of David. We did a quick overnight in David, and the next day caught two buses to the mountain town of Santa Fe.

We stayed at a lovely eco-hostel with it’s own yoga shala. We had booked a nice private room which we were glad about because we were feeling so unwell we mostly rested during the three days we spent here. 

We went for a walk to a nearby swimming spot on the river one day, and we were lucky to have the whole spot to ourselves! The town itself was small, very local, and didn’t have much going on. We struggled to find places to eat at night (our hostel didn’t have a kitchen to cook!). There are lots of amazing trails here, including to the highest mountain Cerro Tute. If we came back to Panama we would definitely return to Santa Fe to do some hiking. 

Panama City:

After a lovely few days relaxing in the mountains we got on a bus headed for Panama City, with a few days to explore the city before catching our flight across the Daríen gap to Colomb no ia. Though Panama and Colombia are joined by land, the Darien gap is dense jungle, with no roads, and lots of drug and people traffickers - making it very dangerous (impossible) to pass by land between Central and South America. We could either fly or go by boat, and we managed to get a good deal on some flights. We arrived in Panama City with three days to explore before our flight, but also still both feeling under the weather. 

We booked an Airbnb appartment, and it was great to have our own kitchen, a sofa to chill out, and a washing machine! Our apartment was in the old town of Panama, which was the original city but had been left to ruin after it was destroyed by pirates. Recently, some of the old buildings have been restored, leaving a strange mix of beautiful colonial buildings sat next to ruins. Actually we felt a real disparity in Panama City between rich and poor, more so than in other Latin America city’s - there would be 5* hotels right next to people living in slums. We spent some time walking round and exploring the old town, and honestly the vibe was a bit strange and unsettling.

Our first job in Panama City was to parcel up some souvenirs and in-used items to send back home before our flight (as we only paid for hand luggage!). We had to go into the heart of the business district to find the DHL office, and we took some time to walk around the high rise buildings. We also enjoyed the views from a few roof-top bars whilst we were in the city, and had some good food too! 

One of the things we were looking forward to seeing in Panama was the famous Panama Canal. We went to the Panama Canal museum, and later to the Panama Canal to watch some boats going through the Miraflores locks. The locks viewing platform was very crowded, but it was a good experience. It was interesting to learn the history of the canal, the real feat of engineering it took to build, and the lives that were lost during construction (25,000 people). We also enjoyed the IMAX cinema at the canal locks, showing a 3D film about the canal construction, including the recent expansion. 

Panama - a round up!

Total days: 10 days

Total trip days: 164

Distance travelled: 505 miles 

Total distance travelled: 10,159 miles

Number of places stayed: 3

Number of planes: 0

Number of ferries: 2

Number of buses: 4

Number of trains: 0

Highlights:- Seeing the Panama Canal, learning about it’s construction, and watching ships go through the locks. 

- The beautiful beaches around Bocas del Torro, having a dolphin swim alongside our boat, and seeing lots of starfish.

Reflections: 

Panama wasn’t what either of us were expecting - we hadn’t done much research before we arrived, and from what we had heard we were expecting an urban, Americanised metropolis of skyscrapers, and lots of wealth. Actually although there are parts of Panama City that fit this description, we actually experienced Panama to have lots of nature and natural beauty, poverty and deprivation. The local people struggle with a lack of amenities and opportunities, and we were taken aback by quite how poor some of the more rural areas are. Despite that, we found the people to be kind, friendly and welcoming. 

We enjoyed Panama more than we had anticipated, and we are glad to have seen more than just Panama City. The beaches in Panama were really beautiful, and though we didn’t get chance this trip to go to the famous San Blas islands off the coast of Panama (inhabitited by the native Guna Yala people, who recently won the battle to have the rights to their islands), we would return to explore them.