More Panama - Week 2 (Part 4 of 4)

We headed out of Boquete bright and early. Because it was a weekday, there was, of course, construction. This time the only detour was right outside Boquete (starting right after the tourist agency building at the top of the hill as you leave town), and it was never more than 1/4 mile or so from the main road.

We had an uneventful trip into David, and stopped for a morning break before heading out on the Interamerican Highway (the local name for the Pan American Highway). I had our wonderful map out, and we tooled along the road.

At one point, we were slowed by a demonstration. There were a group of protesters walking along the road. They appeared to be Ngöbe-Buglé and were chanting and singing. All along our trip that day we saw some roadside gatherings, and places where the road had clearly been blocked at one point. The first group had a police escort. I will search some, but I am interested in understanding the reason for their upset.

One of my goals for this trip was to visit the Pacific beach. I had originally thought to go to the beach nearest David, but the beach was towards the Costa Rican border rather than towards Panama City, so I gave up that idea.

I looked at the map, and about an hour or so from David saw Playa Las Lajas marked on the map. We read the guide books (well, Miss R read while I drove), and since we had plenty of time, we decided to give it a go. We turned off the main road, and drove a few miles towards the ocean.

I noticed the change in the light, and the terrain as we got closer to the sea. I don't know if it is my imagination, but it sure seemed like the light was that on the Cape (or as you get close), and the trees were sparser, and it just felt like we were getting to the salt water.

All I can say is WOW! The area was definitely not upscale, but there was a very sandy access road which I pulled into (and was grateful again to have an SUV). We got out, and it was much warmer and nicer than in Boquete (cool in the mountains) and David. The beach went out for miles....and it went on in either direction for miles. And it was essentially deserted. (Look at the pictures!)

Here is the link to the set on Flickr. Playa Las Lajas photos are not the last 3, but the four before that.

We got back on the road, and drove. The Interamerican goes inland for a bit, and cuts across a peninsula with some hilly country. It was funny, at times it seemed like we could have been driving in the high desert country of New Mexico or West Texas, or the high plains of eastern Colorado.

After a while, we started to look for a place to stay for a couple days. The guide books recommended one place which was (unfortunately) full -- even mid-week! We wound up at a large resort near Playa Santa Clara. It was a fun couple of days, and then home.

Because I was driving, and the road signs were not even minimal, there are no photos from driving across the Panama Canal, or through Panama City. Suffice it to say, we got to the airport safely, and headed back home.

More Panama - Week 2 (Part 3 of this series)

We left David bright and early, and headed out of town. We had done this drive several times before on our prior trip, so we were not concerned about getting lost. They are doing road construction to improve the road, to replace some of the bridges, and to widen it to four lanes. It seemed like no big deal, until we got to a detour. My Spanish is "limited." (That may even be an exaggeration....I can read a few things, recognize key words, and often get a concept across. Road signs can be a challenge!) It took us far enough from the "main road" that I dragged out my trusty iPhone, and opened up the map/GPS application. I am glad I did, because otherwise, at the end of the detour, I would have headed off in the wrong direction. I think I mentioned that there are no route number signs, and very few directional signs!

We got to Boquete successfully, and found the place we were staying. We had to kill some time (having lunch, etc.) while our room was made ready. We reacquainted ourselves with the town.

Boquete is up in the mountains, and sits in a valley. The first day, it was sunny and warm, although breezy. Throughout our stay it was windy, and actually after the first day, it was mostly cloudy and rainy. We were staying on the other side of the river from the main town, and a little bit up the valley. We had a great view looking up towards Baru and the mountains. There are a couple photos in the Flickr set. (The last post in the series will have the link, I am still organizing the several hundred photos I took.)

After the weekend, we headed out, and that part of the trip will be the fourth post.

More Panama - Week 1 (Part 2)

While we were escaping Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Carnivale was happening in Bocas. Little did we know. As we walked through town to the water taxi, there were large costumed characters in the town square. There was dancing and gaiety. Bocas is part of the heart of Panama's Carnivale culture.

We were out on Red Frog Beach, most of what we saw were large crowds on the beach. (Many kids, it was a school holiday...) The day after Mardi Gras, we ran into one of our fellow travelers to the island from the airport. She had spent a day or so on Isla Bastimentos and then went to Bocas Town. She asked how we did with the power outages. They had happened two nights in a row, apparently, and in both cases at the height of the celebrations. Our reaction? What outages? The island we were on must have had its own power, because we did not notice it. It made us happy to have been where we were.

After a happy few days, it was time to go. We had not made any definite plans for after our stay at Red Frog Beach. I made a plane reservation for what I thought was the right day, and we took the water taxi back to Bocas town. Once we got there, we looked again, and discovered that the flight was for a week later! I called both airlines, and neither had ANY seats out for a week! Plan B....we took a water taxi ($5 each, 20 minute ride) to Almirante (a large banana and oil shipping port on the mainland) and then a cab to Changuinola ($20 ride to a big banana center) where we rented a car.

The drive was interesting. 2-lane, winding roads through the jungle and coast to Chiriqui Grande. That is where we turned to go through the mountains and over the continental divide. This road was also two-lane with the added "adventure" of having not only more curves than the coastal road (which had a bunch), but also some steep grades. Oh, and there were the potholes. Some were really large! Part of the road goes through the Ngöbe–Buglé Comarca (territory governed by the indigenous people).

On the water taxi, one of our fellow passengers was an ex-pat who mentioned that the President (of Panama) was talking on TV that night, and that if he did not say the right things, there could be road blockages, as there had been earlier in the year. This was an impetus to get to David that night.

It took about 5 hours, but we made it. We got a little lost in downtown David while looking for a hotel. Our only prior visits to the city had been "through trips" to and from the airport. We had a good night's sleep and headed to Boquete in the morning.

More Panama - Week 1 (Part one of maybe 4)

My new camera is great, but the tiny laptop is hard-ish to deal with many, many photos, so stay tuned.

We left New Orleans early on a Saturday morning (6 am flight, 4:15 cab pick up). Because we were traveling internationally, we could each check a bag for free (yay!). So we did. As we thought about this trip and the logistics, we realized that traditional luggage could be an impediment, so we packed in our backpacks. Ria's had not been used this way for a while (it still had an airline tag about a decade old). We got them out of storage, and packed. (I put my stuff in 2 gallon plastic zip bags -- just in case.)

The flight to Miami was uneventful. In addition to our checked luggage, R had her sling bag/purse, I had a day pack (computer, paperwork, travel books, etc.) and camera bag. We changed flights, walked the length of Terminal D, and the flight to Panama City was also uneventful.

Clearing immigration was no big deal (short lines), and to clear customs there, all, and I mean all, luggage is x-rayed (again). We had reservations at a mid-city hotel, the Hotel El Panama. It is in a central location, has a great pool, and was a great room! We walked some around the city, had dinner. In the morning (since we had an afternoon flight out..) we went to Casco Viejo. That is the oldest part of the currently Panama City. The guidebooks were right, it reminded us in many ways of the French Quarter! Narrow streets, slight decay, buildings with balconies, scenic views. It was Sunday morning so it was very quiet. There will be some great pics on Flickr later!

That afternoon, we taxied over to Albrook Airport. [Panama City has two airports: Tocumen (PTY) is the international airport, about 20 km south/east of the city; Albrook (PAC), a former US airbase, is along the Canal and serves domestic flights.] Since we were last there (in July), construction has moved along, and there are visible improvements. There are two airlines, Air Panama and Aeropelas.

Our flight to Bocas del Toro was more or less on time, but was very full. The flight was uneventful, and we got there and collected our luggage. That is when things began to fall apart. We were supposed to be met, and driven from the airport to the water taxi. No one was there. However there were two other groups (of three each) there, and an enterprising young man convinced us to walk with him the 3-4 blocks to the waterfront to get a water taxi. It was a hike, and we were glad to have backpacks rather than some other luggage. Some of the roads were unpaved, and we were definitely not in the "first world" any more. The water taxi was $5 each for a 20 or so minute ride over to the island where the resort was.

Once we got there, no one was at the dock. However, one of the owners of the resort was picking up some family (the seats in front of us on the flight, and the row next to us, too), and made sure we were picked up.

We were staying at Red Frog Beach villas. We rented a golf cart, and are glad we did. While the villas are near the beach, it is about a 1/2 mile trek along a dirt road to get there. It was very bumpy in the cart! The set up - for us- was interesting. The villa had 4 (or 5) bed rooms, each of which was rented out to someone different, a large living room, great kitchen, and a plunge pool. All three of the upstairs bed rooms were "en suite" and had balconies -- ours had two. The resort consists of many villas, all separate homes, essentially. There was no real common dining. We cooked once at home (after getting more groceries), but otherwise ate at the beach or at the restaurant by the hostel.

The beach was great, I already posted one photo for my Facebook friends. It had surf which reminded me of Surfside on Nantucket or at the southern Rhode Island shore. The only difference was that the water temp was about 80 degrees. Even without a lot of time in the sun, at 9 degrees above the equator, it did not take much for us to show the results.

We had a great, quiet several days.

As I think about this, I think that I will save the adventure of leaving for the next post, followed by our stay in David and Boquete for a third post, and the trip home for the final installment.

Are you ready for some

more Panama??

We are escaping the madness which is New Orleans at Mardi Gras, and going somewhere warm. (Yes, I know, my northern friends think that NOLA is warm, but at least a half dozen times this winter we have run the A/C and the heat on the same day.) Get ready for some pictures, and maybe a narrative. We are exploring more this time, so stay tuned for an ex post facto report (unless I get really ambitious).