Panama
Greetings,
Panama, what a great time I had there. On the horrific bus ride down there I met some great guys from Sweden: their names are Olle, Johan, and Patrik.
We got into the city’s bus station around 4 pm and grabbed a taxi. The taxi driver’s name was Antonio, which we would get to see a lot more of him in the times to come. He recommended us to stay at Hotel Latino, which ended up being a great place. For private rooms; with bath, free Internet, pool, and air conditioning was only $17 a night for two people. Great we were set!
We needed a break from the whole travelling bit, so we spent the following few days taking it easy. We went out to eat, saw movies, shopped (hey I needed more clothes, right?) and went to a few of the local night spots. The first one was called “Next” and we had a great time. There was a live band and a private section that we lied to get into.
The following few days were spent touring the city. Antonio and his friend took us on a driving tour of the city. We went to the Locks, the Old and New parts of town. We had a good laugh because their version of tourism was a bit different than what we thought it should be. Like the time they drove to a deserted road so that would could look at shipping crates on the ground.
The Swedes had some friends coming in and I was waiting for my new friend Ryan to come in. When they did, they left for the islands and Ryan and I stayed in the city for a few more days. We wanted to leave right away for the San Blas Islands, but there was no available spots on the plane.
We killed the time by going to see the Bahi and Hindu Temples, which were very cool. Also we explored Panama Antigua a bit more. And the trip wouldn’t be complete without going to “The Garage.” Oh good times!
Finally, we were off for the San Blas Islands. The San Blas Islands are off of Panama’s coast in the Caribbean. There are over 365 islands and most of them are private or deserted. We stayed a Robinson’s Island. Truly amazing. For $17 a day, you got three meals a day and a grass hut to sleep in.
When Ryan and I first got to the island, there was only us and four other students from Yale (on spring break) on the island. Besides Ernesto the chef and island keeper. After the second day Ryan and I had the island to ourselves. Our days were filled with sun, relaxation and fun. I still can’t believe how incredible it was. I even ate a coconut right after it fell from the tree.
We laid out in the sun, went snorkelling, visited the other islands that hosted the Koona Tribe, played cards, read and just relaxed. There was no running water, electricity, or lights on the island. It was like camping in the Caribbean and so far away from everything. I will never forgot what an amazing feeling it was to have an entire island to yourself. It was so nice to relax, reflect and just be with no worries. This truly one of the highlights of my trip.
We had to leave after four days, getting up (or I should say not getting up) at 5:00 am. We over slept because the night before we had cockroaches crawling in our hair and crabs making clicking noises. Besides, sleeping in a hammock is pretty uncomfortable, so by the time we had to get up we overslept. Luckily, Ernesto woke us up.
It was really scary riding in a canoe-like boat in the pitch blackness, but we made it to the other “bigger” island that had the airport on it. We flew back to the Panama City, where we had a short layover before flying out to Bocas Del Toro another set of islands off of Panama’s coast in the Caribbean, only more north closer to Costa Rica.
On our first night we stayed on a little island off of Bocas del Toro because we didn’t want to stay in a real “touristy” place. The island, beach and hotels weren’t that nice so after the first night we headed back to the main island. We checked ourselves into Hotel Angela’s. It was a bit expensive, but we wanted to relax. This was before I realized how much money I had spent. Yikes, that was a depressing day.
Ryan and I went out to eat, went scuba diving, played games like “Who would you rather,” and hung out with the locals. The diving conditions weren’t that good and our dive guide was like 16 years old so we didn’t feel to comfortable. Probably one of the most fun things that we did was read the really cheesy books they had at the hotel.
One that will always be in our memories was called, “Why have the birds stopped singing.” A turbulent tale of a young girl named Paula that struggles with epilepsy while having a past life occurrence while her school trip to the Washington’s Coast takes a turn for the worst (dot, dot, dot)…
We left there in the rain and a taxi ride from hell. Stressed out that we were going to miss our bus, we made it all the way to San Jose, CR okay. I was flying out of San Jose to Guatemala City and Ryan was meeting his sister there. Ryan had a good time in San Jose and were sad when it was time to say good-bye. We had a great time and I am glad we became friends.
Panama, what a great time I had there. On the horrific bus ride down there I met some great guys from Sweden: their names are Olle, Johan, and Patrik.
We got into the city’s bus station around 4 pm and grabbed a taxi. The taxi driver’s name was Antonio, which we would get to see a lot more of him in the times to come. He recommended us to stay at Hotel Latino, which ended up being a great place. For private rooms; with bath, free Internet, pool, and air conditioning was only $17 a night for two people. Great we were set!
We needed a break from the whole travelling bit, so we spent the following few days taking it easy. We went out to eat, saw movies, shopped (hey I needed more clothes, right?) and went to a few of the local night spots. The first one was called “Next” and we had a great time. There was a live band and a private section that we lied to get into.
The following few days were spent touring the city. Antonio and his friend took us on a driving tour of the city. We went to the Locks, the Old and New parts of town. We had a good laugh because their version of tourism was a bit different than what we thought it should be. Like the time they drove to a deserted road so that would could look at shipping crates on the ground.
The Swedes had some friends coming in and I was waiting for my new friend Ryan to come in. When they did, they left for the islands and Ryan and I stayed in the city for a few more days. We wanted to leave right away for the San Blas Islands, but there was no available spots on the plane.
We killed the time by going to see the Bahi and Hindu Temples, which were very cool. Also we explored Panama Antigua a bit more. And the trip wouldn’t be complete without going to “The Garage.” Oh good times!
Finally, we were off for the San Blas Islands. The San Blas Islands are off of Panama’s coast in the Caribbean. There are over 365 islands and most of them are private or deserted. We stayed a Robinson’s Island. Truly amazing. For $17 a day, you got three meals a day and a grass hut to sleep in.
When Ryan and I first got to the island, there was only us and four other students from Yale (on spring break) on the island. Besides Ernesto the chef and island keeper. After the second day Ryan and I had the island to ourselves. Our days were filled with sun, relaxation and fun. I still can’t believe how incredible it was. I even ate a coconut right after it fell from the tree.
We laid out in the sun, went snorkelling, visited the other islands that hosted the Koona Tribe, played cards, read and just relaxed. There was no running water, electricity, or lights on the island. It was like camping in the Caribbean and so far away from everything. I will never forgot what an amazing feeling it was to have an entire island to yourself. It was so nice to relax, reflect and just be with no worries. This truly one of the highlights of my trip.
We had to leave after four days, getting up (or I should say not getting up) at 5:00 am. We over slept because the night before we had cockroaches crawling in our hair and crabs making clicking noises. Besides, sleeping in a hammock is pretty uncomfortable, so by the time we had to get up we overslept. Luckily, Ernesto woke us up.
It was really scary riding in a canoe-like boat in the pitch blackness, but we made it to the other “bigger” island that had the airport on it. We flew back to the Panama City, where we had a short layover before flying out to Bocas Del Toro another set of islands off of Panama’s coast in the Caribbean, only more north closer to Costa Rica.
On our first night we stayed on a little island off of Bocas del Toro because we didn’t want to stay in a real “touristy” place. The island, beach and hotels weren’t that nice so after the first night we headed back to the main island. We checked ourselves into Hotel Angela’s. It was a bit expensive, but we wanted to relax. This was before I realized how much money I had spent. Yikes, that was a depressing day.
Ryan and I went out to eat, went scuba diving, played games like “Who would you rather,” and hung out with the locals. The diving conditions weren’t that good and our dive guide was like 16 years old so we didn’t feel to comfortable. Probably one of the most fun things that we did was read the really cheesy books they had at the hotel.
One that will always be in our memories was called, “Why have the birds stopped singing.” A turbulent tale of a young girl named Paula that struggles with epilepsy while having a past life occurrence while her school trip to the Washington’s Coast takes a turn for the worst (dot, dot, dot)…
We left there in the rain and a taxi ride from hell. Stressed out that we were going to miss our bus, we made it all the way to San Jose, CR okay. I was flying out of San Jose to Guatemala City and Ryan was meeting his sister there. Ryan had a good time in San Jose and were sad when it was time to say good-bye. We had a great time and I am glad we became friends.
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