Why Panama?
In the last two years of the pandemic, I’ve seen many friends and acquaintances take a huge leap of faith and use this time to leave the country and fulfill their dreams of exploring a new life. One uprooted their whole life to the UK indefinitely, one is teaching English in South Korea, another in New Zealand with an extended work holiday, another travelling around the world with remote jobs, and on and on. Stories of courage, wonder, and global voyages. On my birthday this year (November 25th), a week after my breakup, I thought, “Why am I stuck here?” And then it hit me.. “I can go too! What’s stopping me?” I know the winter holidays were the most expensive time for flights, but if I were ever able to get two weeks off in a row it would be then, I reasoned with myself. And so onto skyscanner.com I go. Looking through the list of lowest cost round flights out of Montreal, while carefully considering countries with low Covid cases only.. Bingo. Panama.
How was it?
Beautiful, breathtaking, and some mildly rough treks. This was my first time in Latin America. Upon arrival, I was detained at immigration for over an hour with a language barrier. I rode on an inter-regional bus by hailing down a large white van/minibus in the middle of Hornito mountains, squeezed into the packed bus and sat on a bin in the middle of the floor. My arms were out on each side holding tight onto the seats next to me as the bus swerves along the hills, propped up only by the knee of the man beside me (the man who is the passenger and fare collector). Almost lost (forgot) my luggage on the bus after a 7 hour journey on my first overnight bus. Hiked 20 minutes up with a rolling luggage and backpack just to get to one of the hostels. I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. I got to learn Spanish, speak and interact with locals, explored so much, learned and lived a new way of life – “pura vida.” For the trip, I wanted to get outside of my comfort zone, and ground myself again through reflection. The pandemic years were hard to grasp mentally. I needed to get back to the basics of what was important to me, to start crafting together what I wanted from this life again. I spent so many early 6am mornings catching the sunrise, and watched the sun go down at dawn. I allowed myself the time to do nothing, think of nothing, and simply connect and be present in my surroundings. Panama was perfect. I saw the clearest blue waters – translucent, contrasted with the soft pearly sand in one of the many preserved islands of the Gunas. I celebrated NYE and woke up in 2022 1500m high in the jungles, across from Baru Volcan. I met the most lovely people along the way. Simply put, I loved it.
Building an itinerary for Panama to see everything in two weeks:
My trip planning always begins with booking flights, then endless researching on the web for “must visit” locations. I’m always looking for the best of the best. I was determined to be at the Lost and Found hostel for New Year, and planned my trip around it. Apart from that, I gave myself permission to have a more “flexible” trip. If something felt too strenuous, or if I wanted to relax, that was okay. And you know what? That’s the beauty of solo-travel, I get to plan my schedule however I want. Continue below for my two week itinerary. Read the paragraphs for trip details/tips/stories or just enjoy the the headlined itinerary items and matching photos.
Day 1-2: Panama City and Casco Viejo
FLIGHTS: United Airlines – $1400CAD round trip from Montreal to Panama City with 1 connection flight in USA. (Extended my return home for 2 days, upgraded to business class for free and received $150 travel credit back. How do I always finesse like this?
TRANSPORTATION TO HOSTEL: Uber was on surge and I was tired from the detainment at the airport, so I asked around for “taxi” and took the first one I was led – USD $30.
ACCOMODATIONS: I stayed at El Machicho Hostel for it’s 8.7 Hostelworld rating – USD $20/night. Great staff. Different hostel vibes though than the usual I was familiar with past travels (mostly Europe/Asia). It’s okay, just need to adapt.
GETTING AROUND PANAMA CITY: Uber was incredibly cheap… ie. $3 from Panama City to Casco Viejo (5.5KM). Score!
SIGHTSEEING/THINGS TO DO: See above photos
NIGHTLIFE: No group activities or hostel-led outings, but I was recommend to head to Casco Viejo (old town). Off I went on my own. Ended up spending my first night walking around town with someone I had met on the streets, bar-hopping until late. Something I noticed was the emptiness of what was supposedly the “party/tourist” area. The buildings were beautiful, but many also abandoned and empty. People seemed to be concentrated mostly in a few bars/clubs designed to be “tourist traps”, which didn’t feel very authentic. Speaking with one of the bartenders later on in my trip, I learned that Panama has been quieter than usual since the pandemic. I did enjoy the subtle differences in nightlife culture (vs. Western large cities), it was less “flashy.”
Day 3: Guna Yala (San Blas Islands)
Heaven on earth. Guna Yala, home to the indigenous Gunas population. Over 300 mini islands, previously known as “San Blas Islands.” Pearly white sand, clear blue waters. Electricity available only on certain hours, no phone service/wifi – a complete disconnect. I did a day tour, but I wish I stayed longer. Most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen. I would highly recommend staying at least one night. If anyone’s interested in our organizer, I have his private Whatsapp number – just send me a message.
COST: I chose the day tour (USD $95 incl. transportation), but one night was only (+USD $20)
If you want to learn more about my Day Tour to San Blas in detail, feel free to send me a message!
Day 4 – Boquete (& inter-regional transportation in Panama)
GETTING TO BOQUETE: 6hr overnight bus (~ USD $20) from Panama City to David + 1hr bus (~ USD 1.75) from David to Boquete. This was right after my day tour at Guna Yala – yes this felt rushed. Yes, I’m a little nuts.
I was taken aback to learn that Panama does not sell inter-region bus tickets ahead of time, nor even have set schedules. You have to buy them at the Albrook bus terminal the day of, and schedules depend on the amount of people looking to travel that route that day. Sometimes tickets sell out, so it’s recommended to go early in the day to purchase. Once I got to the large terminal by Uber, directions were NOT clear. (I also had someone else from the hostel buy the ticket for me while I was away in Guna Yala). The station was quiet, dark 10:30PM- I had no idea where to go. I kept walking around and asked multiple people in my best Spanish “Donde esta (el) autobus?” and pointed to my ticket/receipt. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, I eventually found my bus. I would recommend going early, and with multiple layers – locals even had blankets for the cold AC! We arrived early to the David bus terminal (picture on the right).
It’s also a stark reminder of the privileges we take for granted, because we’ve weaved them into our idea of every day normality. However, this “norm” is the the same across the world, and differs vastly. I remember moving to Montreal from Toronto, and being frustrated that real-time bus information was not accessible in Montreal yet. And here we are, in another part of the world without even the availability of any digital bus schedules (not online nor at the station).
At the David bus terminal, we walked around until we found a bus waiting area marked “Boquete.” “We” as me and a new local I had befriended on the bus also heading their way to Boquete. By the the time we got off, we were exhausted and hungry for breakfast. After walking around for a few minutes, I suddenly felt strangely light and confused. I then realized I FORGOT MY LUGGAGE on the bus! Not fully awake yet, I forced a scream to escape my throat to alert my new buddy. We ran back to where the bus dropped us off, and he asked in Spanish where the bus went to the locals sitting by. Apparently to leave Boquete, the bus must do a loop around at the end of the road. We started running and miraculously, we caught the bus as it was just about to leave. Wow, that was lucky. Lucky to have made a friend on the bus, lucky he spoke Spanish, lucky we decided to get breakfast together, lucky on timing. World was good, world was kind.
ACCOMODATIONS: Then we made our way to Bambuda CASTLE by taxi.. perfectly in sync with sunrise. 10/10 incredible hostel.
SIGHTSEEING/THINGS TO DO: The Lost Waterfalls, relaxing in the castle, heading into Boquete town. One item that was on my bucket list was to climb (or take a 4×4 jeep) up Volcan Baru, but I didn’t plan it well into my schedule and didn’t want to squeeze a 12HR hike that could exhaust me. Oh well – the beauty of solo-travel is that schedules can always be adapted to my needs, and my needs only. Thank you, next!
Day 5-7: Lost and Found Hostel
I planned my trip around spending NYE & NY at Lost and Found Hostel – the hostel that you must hike 20mins in the jungles to get to. It’s located in the middle of Valle Hornito in the Chiriqui province, in between vast undeveloped hills and mountains, where the nearest town was a 25 minutes drive away. Extremely secluded, surrounded by breathtaking landscapes. It felt like a haven. I was home and exactly where I needed to be. Everyone who came to the hostel for New Years chose specifically that hostel because they didn’t want to be anywhere else. And with that in itself, we were already binded, along with similar mindsets and intentions that brought us together. It was special. I remember several of us up one early morning, chatting on the main patio space, eating our simple breakfast foods, and.. journaling together. I thought that was one of the most sweetest pure moments in my travel book. I miss you and hope you’re all doing well.
Day 9-13: Bocas Del Tores Province
The home of 9 main islands, a surfer’s oasis, beautiful beaches, and you might find yourself surprised with some interesting wildlife during a regular walk – sloths, monkeys, red frogs, crocodiles.. etc.
ISLANDS (ISLA) & ACCOMODATIONS:
1. Isla Solarte – Bambuda Lodge: Extremely secluded, quiet, peaceful.
Cost: USD $100/night (private room) x1 night.
2. Isla Bastimentos – Palmar Beach Lodge: Beautiful oceanfront. Red frog beach was serene and my favourite out of all the beaches I explored in this province. There weren’t many people, so at times it felt like you had the ocean all for yourself.
Cost: USD $35/night x2 night
3. Isla Bocas (main island) – Selina
Party town. Great food options. (But for a party town I still felt it rather a bit quiet. The biggest party being at the Selina outdoor patio/”club” which was going until around 2AM. Due to rising Covid cases, bar owners were told to start closing earlier again)
Cost: USD $85/night x2 nights (private room)
What did I do here? Nothing. Just some island-hopping and checking out different hostels. (I love going from one hostel to another so I can experience different parts of a region quickly in a short trip. I am constantly stimulated by new environments. My physical body not so much of a fan for being always on the move.) Apart from that, nothing. I dumped everything unnecessary from my brain, and relaxed with most of my time on the beaches, by the ocean. I felt the weight that I had carried in my body from the extended long lockdowns and cold, dark days drift away. I had so much on my to-do list – surf lessons, snorkeling, the Starfish beach, Sloth island.. and the excursions/tours were all so affordable (~$40 for a full day trip)! But I felt that my body wanted to rest. I didn’t want to do any further planning. So I rested. I had great conversations with new friends and familiar faces from those who I crossed paths with for a second or even fourth time in Panama. Enjoyed delicious foods. I wanted to take it all in, the simplistic beauty of the small things: Coffee in the morning, The Ocean, Fresh Fruit, Smiles, Touch, Nature, Connection. Thank you.
One line I loved from one of the conversations shared. Nick: “Americans have watches. We [Latin Americans] have time.”
A group of us whom had just met a mere hour ago also decided over dinner we will meet again in Italy as our friend promised to take us sailing when he buys a boat (Alvise, we’re holding you accountable). Another passerby and empty promise, or will we actually do it? TBC..
GETTING TO BOCAS DEL TORES: This was one of the rough parts of my trek. From Lost and Found, I waited for 15 minutes on the mountain road, and hailed down the white minibus going towards Changuinola. This happened (from my intro). For the second half of the ride, I finally got a regular seat on the bus but had a woman’s butt on my face the whole time as it was packed and she was standing up and protecting her child in front of here. Can’t even complain – small problems. I got dropped off at some sort of waiting area station in what I assumed (and assumed correctly) to be in Almirante 3.5 hours later. Then, I took a $1 taxi to the water taxi station. From there, I took a $6 water taxi to Bocas Town (main island). I made it!
Day 14: Panama City
Alas, even the most fun adventures must come to an end. The airplane from Bocas to Panama City was swift and easy. Arriving back in Panama, I chose to stay this time at Selina, Casco Viejo (USD $22). One of the most beautiful rooftops in the city, I knew I had to end my trip here. On my last day, I said goodbye to my friend Andreas whom I had run into at 4 different hostels. It was bittersweet, but we both agreed two weeks was a good length of time to explore Panama. After our goodbyes, I had hellos with again new friends from the hostel. These four wonderful humans would then be the last people I celebrate our time with in Panama. To a great end.
As one adventure finishes, I look forward to when the next one starts.
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