Only a month after my wonderful and exciting Fiji trip to the South Pacific, I had arranged an adventure trip to Panama the last 10 days of Feb. I tried patterning it to be similar to my great, somewhat longer trip to Costa Rica a couple years ago. I found Explora Panama and Luis Calvo to help me set the trip up and then accompany me and my travel friend, Sergey, whom I lst met traveling 4 years ago in South America. We flew to Panama City on Feb 20 and met that lst night in the Riande Airport Hotel because of my late arrival. The first morning, after a leisurely breakfast, Luis picked us up and gave us a nice full tour of the greater Panama City area, downtown and then across the big bridge over the Panama Canal. The city is huge, with construction everywhere and countless attractive high rise buildings as far as the eye could see.
We then headed west towards Costa Rica, with 2 stops along the Pacific and lunch overlooking the ocean at the second stop. Then it was further west and then inland into the mountains. We stopped at San Francisco to view the town and a beautiful very old church. We then walked down to the river to see the locals swimming and picnicking. Then back into the car and on up to the little village of Santa Fe, near the continental divide, where we stayed at the little,. old Santa Fe Hotel.
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| Sergey and Luis leading the way out onto our lst Pacific beach at low tide |
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| Enjoying a Balboa beer and lst lunch on the beach |
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| The beach further west after lunch with 1st signs of development |
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| The historic church in village of San Francisco |
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| Ornate, carved wooden interior of historic church |
The first morning we then drove in a 4 wheel drive truck far up into the mountains on a near vertical road. Finally, when the truck could go no further, we then hiked back into the farm a native family had lived on for over a century. They grew everything they ate, and were basically isolated and yet self sufficient. We explored their farm and then hiked up the stream valley to waterfalls and a big pool to swim in and then sun. After coming back down, the family fixed us a lunch featuring vegetables and chicken, all fixed over a fire. Then it was the long hike and ride back out.
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| Main swimming pool above indigenous farm high in the mountains |
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| We are about to have lunch courtesy of the indigenous family, our hosts on our mountain farm visit |
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| The river far down a steep canyon that we hiked our 2nd morning in Santa Fe. |
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| Another of the many water falls in the stream canyon/ Santa Fe National Park hike |
That afternoon, we then headed up towards a high peak above Santa Fe, to hike to the summit and a view of the green Caribbean side and the sharply contrasting brown, dry Pacific side. The weather was extremely windy and the views were not very great. Then after dinner in the hotel, we took an amazing night hike with a local expert into the jungle and wet cloud forest. We saw many "critters" thanks to our guide, the high lights being a red eyed tree frog and some small vine snakes. Just after returning to the car, we spotted a big Fer de Lance, very poisonous snake in the path. That was scary seeing it when we had just been in the jungle earlier.
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| a prized "red eyed" tree frog we visited from a bog on our jungle nite hike |
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| A large, dangerous Fer de Lance very poisonous snake in the night hike trail |
The following day, we drove back down the mountains and then out to the Pacific coast at Santa Catalina. There we stayed in the little Santa Catalina Hotel. The following day, I got to spend a day scuba diving out in the beautiful Coiba National Marine Reserve. During the 2 tank dive, I got to see small sharks, moray eels, many fish, and then when surfacing during my rest stop, had the thrill of a lifetime when a big whale shark slowly cruised up to about a yard behind my dive instructor and majestically slid just under my swim fins and off into the distance. It was breathtaking to see that huge creature up that close and an unforgettable experience.
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| Our group of divers and snorkel people leaving Santa Catalina for Coiba National Marine Sanctuary |
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| The thrill of a live time, scuba diving right along side a giant whale shark |
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| Just one of the countless colorful reef fish in shallow water |
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| The park headquarters greeting sign for Coiba National Marine Park |
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| The park headquarters on the main island |
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| The beautiful big "south Pacific" like beach by the Coiba Park headquarters |
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| A particularly large, colorful shell on the park beach |
We then drove on west and again out to the Pacific coast at Las Lajas, where we stayed at the Las Lajas Beach resort and Hotel right on the ocean. That beach is astonishing. It is the biggest, cleanest and most deserted that I have ever seen. We walked it for miles, mostly alone, and went swimming in the very warm upper 80's temperature waters. The beach was 200 to 300 yards wide in most areas, with the shore line totally untouched for miles. I wonder how long that will last??
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| Me in awe, surveying the immense, deserted and super clean spectacular beach |
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| The beach was stunning and we walked it for over an hour to the west without seeing another person |
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| One sunset view from the Las Lajas Resort and Beach Hotel where we stayed the night |
The next day, we then drove west again and then up into the mountains to Bouquet on the shoulders about 3500 ft elevation on the over 10,000 ft Volcan Baru. The town is delightful and becoming a tourist destination, as well as a retirement magnet for Americans and Canadians. We stayed at a lovely little hotel just a couple blocks off the main street. We got to tour the very old Ruiz family premium coffee plantation and processing plant with a guide named Carlos. Panama's premium coffee is all grown in an arc around the volcano at about this elevation. I learned more about coffee than I thought possible. The next day, we had an all day river rafting trip to a river that comes down from the mountains right on the Costa Rica border. It was dry season, so the rapids were only 2's and a few 3's and the construction of two hydro dams will soon eliminate the river rafting. It was really scenic drifting down thru the dense mountain jungle on both sides of the river. We went under the Pan American highway and finally left the river not too far from the Pacific and right on the Costa Rica border.
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| The lovely grounds of our little Bouquet hotel |
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| River running right thru Boquete |
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| immense Hibiscus on hotel grounds |
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| one of the harvested coffee trees |
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| Our guide, Carlos, standing by drying coffee beans |
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| showing the two coffee beans from a ripe coffee pod |
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| Showing the drying , washed coffee beans |
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| The 3 premium coffees we taste tested |
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| The drying beans at the 2nd coffee plantation we visited after our cloud forest / bird watch morning |
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| a cloudless view back at the over 10,000 foot Volcan Baru above Bouquet on the way to river raft |
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| The jungle scene above our rafting guide in his kayak |
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| starting down the lst big rapids in our raft |
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| Our 1st rapids |
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| going sideways and me in rear getting wet |
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| A wet, wild ride |
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| This one was fast and steep |
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| retrieving a man overboard after a big rapids |
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Lunch break about 2/3rds of the way down the river
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| A fast, wet ride down the rapids with me in rear in white |
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| Crashing into a standing wave |
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| The last rapid before we pull out |
Our last morning was a 6 am pickup, by Jason, a local bird guide and hiking expert, who took us to two stops to see many amazing and colorful birds. Our main stop was a 2 hour hike up into the cloud forest dense jungle on the shoulder of the big volcano. We were wildly lucky and got to see not one, but 3 of the spectacular, brightly colored Quetzals. Many come and do not even see one. Then it was down to a 2nd coffee plantation for a coffee stop and to see all the hummingbirds that love the flowers and grounds there. That afternoon , we drove down to David and our 30 minute flight back to Panama City for our last night in Panama.
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| The soaring jungle scene up the steep cloud forest faces on Volcan Baru |
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| hiking in the dense cloud forest high on Volcan Baru looking for a prized, colorful quetzal |
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| Success and sighting 3 of the incredible, colorful quetzals, including this mature male |
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| peering thru the spotting scope at our last mature quetzal in a tree right above us. |
That last evening was wonderful, with staying right in the center of the "old City" on the ocean. We walked the seaside walk and took many photos of the wonderful lights and skyline of downtown Panama City. We got to see and photograph many of the historic buildings in the old city, finally eating outdoors in the Simon Bolivar Plaza at the base of his statue. The next morning it was a 6 am pickup to the airport and the day long trip back to Anchorage. It was wonderful to get to experience the people, culture and scenic country in Panama and I hope to return.
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| The beautiful face of the cathedral at night in the Old City |
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| A view of the main cathedral from the plaza it faces in the Old City |
