For us Panama was the planned “end” of Central America and for once we had a few fixed dates on our agenda. First the visit of Berna’s sister Beyza and second the shipping of Rouletout to Colombia with all its administrative hurdles. But first we had to get there.
On our last night at the beach in Costa Rica we experienced a big storm and when we tried to leave for the border a huge fallen tree was blocking our way out. As we were expecting Beyza in a couple of days, Berna directly became a bit nervous, talking about the chain saw we should have and imagining all sorts of scenarios. Searching for a way out Ulf found a small trail going through a farm and as we couldn’t find anyone to ask decided to give it a try. Unfortunately it took just a few hundred meters and we were stuck in the mud, really badly. After a short while we learned that the farmer would be back soon and so it was. In typical Costa Rica fashion we had to agree on an overly expensive fee for the help but we really had no choice and went with it - Costa Rica bade farewell as it welcomed us.
Entering Panama was a breeze despite the fact that it was Sunday and that it has a bad reputation regarding paperwork for the dogs. With all the delays we accumulated in the morning and the rather bad weather conditions - many areas of the region were badly flooded - we decided to stop next to the border river for the night and were redirected by friendly local police to a slightly different spot as - according to them - bad things happen at night on (and along) this river.
Our plan was to welcome Beyza on Bocas del Toro - a well known archipelago on the Caribbean coast. After final preparations like filling gas and water we made our way to Almirante, the harbour town where the ferry leaves. Harbour town is maybe not the right word, it is more Chiquita town. Almirante is a small town dominated by white banana containers with the famous blue logo. Actually there is not much that is not painted in blue and yellow and the biggest part of the harbour is actually controlled by Chiquita that sends bananas from here to the US and Europe using its own (blue) ships, a pretty impressive operation.
The ferry to Bocas del Toro leaves in the early morning but the queue of trucks supplying the islands was already impressive. After friendly explanations by other truck drivers we understood, we have to queue all night and hope to make it on the ferry in the morning and after a short and noisy night we were allowed to board and were rewarded with scenic ride to the islands.
Bocas del Toro was also hit badly by the heavy rains but as we arrived the sun came out and made the search for a place to stay and wait for Beyza a pleasant trip through town and along the beaches. At Playa Bluff - a really wild beach - we found a place under the trees and decided to stay. During the next days we explored the island, took long hikes, played in the waves and prepared the house for Beyza’s arrival. One morning, the tiny plane from Panama City landed on the island and a smiling Beyza stepped off, ready to start her Panama experience.
We hiked the endless beaches with golden sand, enjoyed the waves and went on a boat trip to visit the small islands and local communities that live there and snorkel through the beautiful coral riffs (we almost lost our group as we lost track of time). Luckily it was an overcast day but Beyza still got really badly sun burned. For days she was wondering how that could happen without sun while peeling off her skin.
Before heading back to the mainland we decided to visit Starfish Bay. It is a pretty hyped place for local standards so we went early with our motorbike to the other side of the island and hiked to the famous beach that is visited by dozens of small boats during the day. What an experience, scores of huge starfish are “laying around” in the crystal clear and shallow water providing excellent photo opportunities which were extensively used by the two sisters…
Soon it was time to leave the tropical islands and after having satisfied Beyza’s souvenir shopping requests (yes, they sell Panama license plates) we hopped on the ferry back to the mainland - full of nice memories and Beyza also covered by mosquito bites, seems that Turkish blood is popular around here.
By now our guest got used to her small “room”, a bench and a cabinet where she sat, slept and ate. But more exciting was what happened outside. We crossed over the mountains to the Pacific side, saw sloths and howler monkeys and Beyza discovered the numerous different types of mangos - we were in full mango season and in Panama they come in all shapes, colours snd sizes. We crossed the coffee plantations of Boquete, climbed amazing volcanic rock, soaked in hot springs and headed to the coast for a boat tour around the many islands of Boca Chica where we saw huge turtles.
We followed along the coast east, stopped at deserted beaches and slowly reached the busier regions of Panama. Beyza being a captain we stopped at one of the famous marinas full of super luxury yachts and then stopped at Punta Chame - a famous kite spot but as we were off season there was no wind.
Our guest’s time with us was slowly coming to an end and so we had to make sure to visit one of Panama’s main attractions, the canal. We stopped at Gamboa directly next to the canal and then continued to the Atlantic side were we stayed at the former US-military base of Fort Sherman that used to protect this side of the canal. A pretty run down area with mostly abandoned buildings being regained by nature, quite impressive. The visit to the new locks of Agua Clara is a must and we watched for hours as huge ships lowered down from lake Gamboa to the Atlantic Ocean. Some of them pay more than a million USD for a passage while the cheapest passage ever was a single swimmer who crossed the canal for about one dollar - quite a feat considering the huge crocodile we saw floating in the canal.
Our last stop was Panama City where we stayed not far from the canal and a reasonably quiet spot for being that close to the historic center. Panama City is quite surprising, modern sky scrapers, a pretty historic center and ran down neighbourhoods all next to each other. Add to that the proximity of the canal and huge national parks with wild jungles and all sorts of animals and you can experience all of that within a day. Especially the proximity of clean and modern parts of town and outright ghettos always amazed us. One of the consequences is that in some parts of town the roads lack duckt covers (supposedly they are being stolen). One day a taxi in front of us suddenly stooped and the driver and passengers got out of the car and started lifting the car out of the sewer manhole it fell into.
All these contrasts make Panama City really a pleasant city to visit. We toured the very interesting Canal Museum, stocked Beyza up on souvenirs and started the administrative work for the shipment of Rouletout to Colombia. An extraordinary lunch at a Peruvian restaurant with Pisco Sours brought Beyza’s visit to an end and when we brought her to the airport it was pouring heavily.
For us it meant finishing our preparations to change continent. Dog paperwork, flight tickets, shipping, customs paperwork, short, loads of administrative work that had to get done. In between we went climbing at a spot further west and enjoyed the hottest days at Laguna San Carlos were we stayed to chill down and hike. As we had heard from other travellers the shipping process was quite messy. Since Covid the shipping industry hadn’t recovered from various disruptions and the reliability was below zero, delays, changes, higher prices all resulted in an extended stay in Panama. We still had hope that our new electrical equipment might arrive in time from Germany (it was also delayed by months) but in the end we left Panama without it. After several weeks it was finally time to leave Roueltout in Colon (on the Atlantic side) and catch a plane for the short flight to Cartagena. A new continent was waiting for us. Goodbye Central America, we have seen big differences in culture, landscape and people’s lives, often within just a few kilometres and enjoyed all of it. Travel still surprises us.
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