El Porvenir, Panama
Monday, June 2, 2008
So the time has come for a reflection on the last Central American country on my trip , Panama , and indeed itīs a good point for some overall thoughts on my trip so far as I leave one region for another. When I was planning the route I figured I would whizz through Panama pretty quickly - a couple of days in the highlands , a couple in Panama City , see the Panama Canal and that would be that ... almost an after-thought to the rest of Central America on route to South America. In fact I have ended up staying in Panama for 18 days , which is on a par with Costa Rica and actually longer than Nicaragua & Honduras. OK so this was partly due to my decision to sail to Colombia via the San Blas islands rather than fly , with the associated days waiting for a sailboat , but also I have been very happy to stay so long because itīs been surprisingly great. Iīve enjoyed the watery delights & the mad party nights out of Bocas Del Toro , the tranquil calm , scenery & the wet muddy trekking around Boquete , the contrasts of Panama City (if not the sticky heat) , the amazing feat of engineering that is the Panama Canal and finally the unexpected bonus of the Caribbean coast , culminating in the truly idyllic setting of the San Blas islands. Panama is quite a travel surprise , probably not top of too many peopleīs itinerary unless theyīre travelling from Central to South America or vice versa , but I would say itīs a worthy destination in itīs own right. I canīt believe it that the Mexico/Central America part of my journey is actually now over - five months , six countries and thousands of miles have all passed by so quickly itīs frightening. Iīve trekked & hiked , seen the sights , wandered countless colonial cities & bustling capitals , crossed borders , ridden a horse , been to Spanish School , rafted down a whitewater river , paddled a canoe in pelting rain , climbed several volcanoes including the highest peak in Central America , seen red streams of lava up close & from afar , whizzed across the cloud forest on a zipwire , taken a Mexican cooking class , met a Mayan saint , enjoyed mountain biking on a volcanic island and in the North Mexico countryside , seen countless examples of exotic creatures , sailed , snorkelled , come face to face with a real shark , swam at sunrise in Lake Nicaragua , ridden the totally spectacular Copper Canyon railway , lazed on beaches , watched Mexican premier football, climbed down a silver mine , rode up to the heights in a funicular and a cable car , visited zoos/sanctuaries/parks , enjoyed lakes/rivers/oceans , taken photos in the very room where Trotsky got the ice axe , climbed the worldīs 3rd largest pyramid , hand-rolled a cigar , been fascinated by indigenous villages, people & markets , relaxed in hot springs , showered under cold waterfalls , enjoyed a lot of really great food and had one too many of probably a dozen different local beers ... and finally of course it goes without saying Iīve greatly enjoyed meeting so many new friends & like-minded travellers from all across the world who have all helped to make this trip the absolutely fantastic experience it has been ....and to top it all , Iīm not even half-way through my trip - bring on South America !
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