Back to Main Page
What, Where & Why
Everyone Keeps Asking...
"Why Panama?"
During the gloomiest months of every winter Michael & I fantasize and read about warm tropical getaways. After looking at lots of fun spots (Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Greece), Michael happened upon an article about 
retiring in Panama. Well, retirement is a ways off, but we were intrigued, did lots of research and both agreed it would be a great place to explore. Michael isn't able to get away from work right now (he gets to try to keep all my plants alive for 3 weeks!) so I invited my Dad along on an adventurous trip.
Panama is a fairly mountainous little country. It stretches lengthwise east-west, meaning the Caribbean Sea lies to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. It has diverse areas from the cloud forests and coffee plantations of Chiriqui to the white sand islands of the Kuna Indians. There are more species of birds and plants in Panama than in all of North America. I can't wait to see all the exotic tropical plants that grow in abundance! There are two seasons: the rainy season and the dry (not quite so rainy) season, and luckily there are no hurricanes here. For the most part, Americans seem to be tolerated well, and there are communities where expatriate gringos from all around the world have settled down into the quiet lifestyle of Panama.
We will fly into Panama City and stay for a few days to do some sightseeing and shopping. We're traveling light with only a carryon each, so we'll have to stock up on some essentials once we get there. There are also open-air markets where you can find local items like the colorful molas hand-stiched by the Kuna women or woven baskets by the Embera Indians.
The original Panama City was founded in 1519 but most of it burned down when it was attacked by the pirate Henry Morgan in 1671. Casco Viejo is part of the next incarnation - an old town that lies within the new Panama City. The towers on one of the old cathedrals are decorated with pearls from the Perlas Islands of Panama.
Of course, we will visit the Panama Canal and the Miraflores Locks while we are here. We'll be staying in Cerro Ancon, which is outside of downtown on a forested hillside, complete with deer, monkeys and sloths. Cerro Ancon used to be the U.S. military area when the United States controlled the Canal Zone; today Ancon Hill is a nature preserve.
There isn't a lot of English spoken in Panama City so it should be interesting since my Spanish is limited. Our bed and breakfast hosts should be very helpful, though, as they also run tourist services.
From Panama City we'll take a small plane to David in the Chiriqui Provence. David is the second largest city in Panama. We'll pick up our rental car and make our way up into the mountains to Boquete, the land of rainbows and flowers, where we'll stay for about four days. This will be our first opportunity to start slowing down and relaxing...
Boquete is on the slopes of a dormant volcano in a lush tropical valley. On a clear day you can see both the Atlantic and Pacific 
Oceans from the summit of Vulcan Baru. We'll be staying at a coffee estate for several days and will get to tour the plantation and taste REALLY fresh coffee. If we get up early enough to hike the Quetzal Trail we might even be lucky enough to see a Quetzal bird.
Then we leave Boquete and make our way back to David and up the other side of the volcano to Cerro Punta. Here we will work on the "relaxing thing" a little bit more. I'll be going plant and flower hunting - Finca Dracula is a famous orchid farm housing over 1200 species of orchids. I think Dad will probably leave me to these excursions and keep his hammock warm instead. We'll even take a bus over the border into Costa Rica and visit a little town called San Vito. It was settled by Italian homesteaders and is supposed to have great Italian food. A few days later we'll have a guide drive us down the mountain to the Caribbean side of Panama. After a week up here in the cloud forest we'll be ready to head to the islands and really chill out...
We'll catch a water taxi over to Bocas Town on the main island of Colon (Bocas can refer either to the town or to the group of islands). The residents of Bocas are mostly indigenous folks, Jamaicans and a good sprinkling of transplanted gringos. There are several islands that we'll be visiting: Colon, Carenero, Bastimentos, Solarte & Cristobal. The little airport and most of the stores, restaurants and services are on the main island of Colon. The only way to get around is by cayuco (carved wooden boats) or water taxi. Since there's lots of late night partying in Bocas Town, we'll be staying across the water on Carenero Island at a little hotel built over the sea.
The itinerary is pretty blank for our 10 days in Bocas. The whole idea is to be stress-free and able to do whatever we want to whenever we want to. We'll start out with a boat tour around all the islands to acquaint ourselves with the layout. Then some snorkeling, lots of seafood dinners and naps in the hammock. If we're lucky we might spot sea turtles, red dart frogs and monkeys. We'll stop for lunch at Crawl Cay - a restaurant built on stilts over the water.
Our last several days will be spent at a private villa on Cristobal Island. We'll have the house to ourselves, complete with a private dock and coral reef for snorkeling. Now that's the right way to end a vacation!
Copyright ©2006 Jennifer Androes