26 days
From Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica – we took a shuttle across the Panamanian border to our first stop: Bocas.
Bocas del Toro
parrrrtayyy.
Eat:
- Maracuya
- El Limbo on the Sea – connected to Indi Lounge. Both so cute.
- wrappy hour at Bocas Blended (the blue bus)
- Paimar
- giant, colorful boat docked in the marina of the Red Frog Resort – fun happy hour and music. Beautiful surroundings.
- Taco Surf – owner is from San Diego, CA. Gave our taste buds a flashback of home.
- Bocas Bambu
- Leaf Eaters – really good vegetarian cuisine
- Raw Fusion – happy hour
- Om Cafe – white lotus sangria & Indian food
- Chitre – cheap, local food
Stay: Heike Hostel. Free pancakes every morning 🙂
Love:
- Coming from Costa Rica – which every backpacker realizes is way over their budget – Panama was a financial relief. They use the U.S. dollar and the cost of everything was a little cheaper than Costa.
- So many good places to eat here!
- Fun, live music
- Awesome people! Met some of our favorite backpacking buddies here
- Visit Starfish Beach
- Visit Red Frog Beach
- Booze, Books and Beyond – SO much fun! During the day: old school Nintendo, ping pong, gelato and pastries (upstairs), $1 beers and books of course. At night: live music, dancing and giant Jenga.
- Selina’s (bar)
- La Iguana (bar)
- Aqua Lounge – bar over the water with a trampoline that you can launch off into the water and big swings that you can jump off of into the water. Day rage or night time rage – makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a frat party
Lost & Found
This hostel is out in the middle of nowhere in the Panamanian mountains. Our first night there we watched a beautiful pink and orange sunset followed by pitch black skies with flashes of lightening. The treasure hunt was one of the prettiest trails I’ve ever done. This place is surrounded by lush forest, deep river beds and wide, towering trees. Dinner is cooked daily and can be purchased for a small price. The hostel also has produce, food, snacks and drinks you can purchase if you’d like to prepare something yourself.
Boquete
Eat:
- Sugar and Spice – really good bakery and restaurant for breakfast and lunch
- Mike’s Global Grill – Mike is from Chicago, they usually have American games playing on their TVs and this is where all the ex-pats hang out
- Baru (live music on some nights)
- Big Daddy’s – great seafood
Stay:
- Mamallema (lots of fellow backpackers to meet)
- Pension Marilos (a quiet, hostel offering private rooms and bathrooms for a good price)
Love:
- Boquete Brewery
- Donde Fish (fun bar!)
- Cascada Escondida (The Waterfall Trail) – Quetzals live here as well as the oldest tree in Panama
- Geloteria la Gher – good gelato spot!
Panama City
From Boquete we took a 6 hour overnight bus ride to Panama City, then a brief taxi to Casco Viejo.
Eat:
- Super Gourmet – good sandwiches and salads
- Tantalu – cool rooftop
Stay: Luna’s Castle
Love:
- Rod Carew stadium (former Panamanian baseball player on the Angels). We went to this stadium during a playoff game – we just loved how much the Panamanians love beisbol! The winning team had a marching band playing the whole game and had a raging performance after the sweep.
- Hard Rock Hotel
San Blas
From Panama City we rode the Panama Canal Railway towards Portobelo – an, old rundown pirates cove where Christopher Columbus once hung out. And from Portobello, we embarked on the Mintaka sail boat for a 5 day sailing trip through the Caribbean where Captain Jack and Captain Morgan used to charter their stolen treasures.
The San Blas islands consists of 350 little islands spread along the Panamanian Caribbean. The Kuna people still inhabit these islands and live very simple lives. They make traditional molas out there and came to our boat to sell them.
While snorkeling I saw tons of marine life: big puffer fish, giant crabs, schools of blue tangs, rainbow fish and lots of other big fish with beautiful colors.
A couple of Kuna villagers came up to our boat with fresh caught lobster that our captains bought, cooked and served to us for lunch. I’ve never had lobster that fresh before.
This sailing trip was the highlight of our 4.5 months traveling yet it was also the most expensive portion of the trip. The moon was so bright on our third night out at sea, we had to go skinny dipping in it. One of the nights it started to sprinkle and lightening snapped so close to us we heard the crack right above our bed.
If you are considering the 5 day sail between Panama and Colombia, I would highly recommend Mintaka. It’s owned and operated by a German couple who are very reliable, responsible and experienced. Also, the wife used to be a professional chef and whips up amazing meals 3x a day!
eat stay love 