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Panama
Dates Traveled: May 2000
Boquete
From Golfito it was a 2 hour bus ride to the Panamanian border, a 1 hour shuttle bus ride to David, and a 1 hour bus ride to the mountain village of Boquete. Very quaint setting, as it reminded me of a small Swiss village, complete with small, cloudy river, and lots of colorful flowers. Enjoyed my few days in the region, and did a lot of hiking in the cool mountain air. Evidently the coffee plantations in the area are profitable, as I saw several nice cars, trucks, and SUV’s.
Bocas del Toro
From Boquete I took the 1 hour bus back to David, and then caught a shuttle for the 3 1/2 hour ride north to Almirante. The drive was quite spectacular, again reminding me of Switzerland. I promptly caught a water taxi out to the island of Bocas del Toro, which only took about 45 minutes. Rather than stay in the main town, also known as Bocas del Toro, I decided to stay on the opposite, more isolated side of the island, so simply hitched a ride in the back of someone’s truck. The place where I stayed, Bocas del Drago, consisted of only a few buildings, one restaurant/bar, and one place to stay….very peaceful. For the 3 nights I stayed on the island I essentially had the place to myself, and enjoyed the water, beach, fresh fish dinners (complete with head/eyes), and hammocks.
Panama City
After reversing the water taxi/shuttle trip to David, I hopped on the bus for the 6 hour ride to Panama City. The hotel where I stayed, the Hotel Central, was a grand hotel during the late 1800’s/early 1900’s, when many of the key figures in the canal’s history stayed there. However, a quick check of the calendar showed it to be 2000, and the hotel considerably less grand….pretty run-down, and in what I was told was a dangerous part of town - San Felipe, or Casco Viejo. Found this strange, since the presidential palace was only a few blocks from my hotel, but people warned me against walking around at night, and to not take minor roads even during the day. Many of the buildings had a French feel to them, with the wrought iron balconies - similar to the French Quarter in New Orleans, but most were well past their prime. My room immediately invoked visions of a room I’d seen in Cambodia, and it was not a pleasant comparison. For those that haven’t been, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, there is a museum called S-21. It was a former school, and subsequent prison and area of torture/killings during the Pol Pot regime. There were a few rooms which consisted of a checkered-tile floor, and a bed in the center of the room, sans mattress (simply the springs), with hand/leg restraints, and no other furnishings. A picture on the wall illustrated the fate of an unfortunate inmate, as he/she had been bludgeoned to death on that bed, typically with a shovel, as they didn’t want to waste bullets. In comparison, my room in Panama City consisted of a room with 12′ ceilings, and also had a small bed situated in the middle of the room - nothing else. It was a little eerie at first.
From the dilapidated section of town where I was staying it was possible to look across the bay to the skyscrapers of the more affluent part of the city. Did a lot of walking around town, seeing various buildings and old ruins. City does seem like a crossroads for Central and South America. One day I ventured into the anthropological museum, where I paid my $2 entrance fee. I was told there were over 80,000 pieces in the museum, but I was only allowed to see 12 - the rest of the museum was under renovation. Had to laugh at that one.
Naturally, I headed out to the canal one day, visiting Miraflores locks. It was interesting, and I was able to see two huge car-carriers - capable of carrying close to 6000 vehicles each, negotiating the locks, along with some smaller vessels and a few sailboats. Was informed that the car-carriers paid approximately $120,000 to use the canal that day. Canal really is an engineering marvel.
My plans of visiting another mountain village for their Sunday market were nixed when I discovered that everything was going to be shut down on that particular day in order to take a census. They were extremely thorough…I, Brett Voegele, a 34 year old American, was duly noted as a Panamanian tourist on the 14th of May, 2000 - I have the card to prove it.
While in Panama City I stumbled across a money-saving scheme, which I’ll now share. As noted, the area where I stayed wasn’t very safe. One day I set off walking towards a long causeway, just for a different view and to get some exercise. While wandering down a backstreet I noticed a car pull alongside and slow - turned out to be a police car. I was summoned over and asked where I was headed. I was then informed in no uncertain terms that what I was attempting was stupid - that I’d get jumped and have my backpack and money stolen. When I essentially ignored the advice and informed them I’d been walking all over the city by myself for the past 4 days, they told me to hop in back and that they’d drop me in a safer neighborhood……voila, free transportation!
Summary of Central America
My time spent traveling through Central America was very enlightening. I had misconceptions about the region before the trip, and really didn’t intend on spending as many months covering the territory as I did. However, I guess that’s why one travels - to understand the true character of a place. Definitely enjoyed my time in Central America, but I was also starting to feel as if all the countries were essentially the same. I needed something different for my final month before heading home, and Cuba seemed like a perfect opportunity.
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