Panama

After two long years where my only travel was domestic, mostly through work, I made my first trip out of the US a few months ago when I spent 5 days in Panama. It was great to be able to dust off my passport and travel again.

I traveled to Panama with Neilesh, my old faithful travel companion. He and I hadn’t travelled together since Morocco – which was 4 years ago – so it was good to venture out again. I spent a few days in Bocas del Toro by myself before joining Neilesh in Panama City. Bocas Del Toro is set of islands on the border of Panama and Costa Rica. It’s paradise – just like the name of the scuba diving shop, La Buga. While in Bocas, I surfed a little on a remote beach, did 2 scuba dives, and generally walked around the town. Despite not having scuba dove in several years, I was able to remember the basics pretty easily. Plus, the dive masters are still impressed when they see my Rescue Diver card. I also visited Aqua Lounge which is a bumping nightclub with places to jump in the water in swim. 

Panama City was a next on the itinerary. It’s nice but expensive (and they accept the dollar). My last visit to Central America was 11 years ago when I went to Costa Rica. Compared to that trip, a lot of development seems to have taken place.  We mostly hung out in the casino except for some brief sightseeing in the capital, which included the Panama Canal. Fortunately, we arrived at a time when we could see two ships passing through. 

Panama was a good, quick, fun trip after 2 years of staying stateside. I’ve now been to two countries in Central America – time to turn my focus beyond Latin America for my next trip. Is Europe calling?