Yesterday is officially our 5 month anniversary, y’all. Since this special day also falls on our Tuesday deadline, H and I decided that we would do two posts to celebrate. We sit in a fantastic little bagel cafe in Panama City, both slaving away on the posts and not talking to one another; classy, right.
First off, I may have been conveying the fact that I was not a fan of Panama a little too strongly over the last two months. (To be completely honest, I didn’t like Panama, and it was an effort not to just come right out and say it.) So this past week Panama went ahead and pulled out all the stops and impressed the socks right off my feet (a HUGE plus since they smell like death after our time in Boquete!). I REALLY like Panama, I may even be falling a little in love with it here… I don’t want to scare Panama off with too much talk of love and commitment, but there’s definitely something brewing out here… Let me tell you how it all happened:
So, you have hopefully already clicked over to H’s discussion of the beginning of our week in Boquete by now. If not, please do because it turns out Panama is adorable and precious and a hiker’s dream in some places…
Good. I do not need to mention that Boquete was charming and flirting with us, but I will. Panama had apparently been playing coy with us before now? We still decided to move along, however. After a ridiculously long (11 hours) day spent transferring from bus to bus to arrive at Santa Catalina, we were dropped about a block from the beach right before sunset. Now Panama was putting the moves on… I mean, really?!? A welcome sunset?
Our plan had been to camp at the beach, but we were greeted by a grip of locals who informed us that high tide actually washes out above the pavement, not good if your tent can’t float above water (and ours is definitely not one of that variety; do those exist?). So instead we marched across the beach, climbed a bit of a hill, and went to inquire about camping at some hostels (all while carrying our crazy heavy rucksacks after having climbed Baru not long before…). I was tired and (probably more than) a little sassy by the time we randomly ran into a friend we had met back in Mal Pais/Santa Teresa in Costa Rica.
That’s right, we found someone three months later in a completely different country who just happened to be helping out a friend by showing her hostel, the Blue Zone, when we stroll up asking about camping. Obviously we had to stay, right? Plus the electricity was out all over town, so we wouldn’t have made it much farther without digging for flashlights. So, to recap: beautiful arrival sunset, secluded spot, random finding of an old friend, and everything lit by candle…
We saunter down the road a bit and happen upon a pizza joint with a wood-fired oven and candles everywhere, and it just so happens to be Jammin, claimed to be the best pizza in Panama. The pizza is decent there, but the real show stopper is the Bruschetta. Literally, we had to eat two orders and go back on a separate day to order more… Also we were entertained by a little professional surfer who may or may have not stolen a little bit of H’s heart.
Of course the waves were sampled; H tried two different breaks (Playa Estero and Santa Catalina) and preferred the local grommet break best. It was amazing to watch those little guys, probably ranging in age from 5 to 12, working those waves as if they were full grown professionals! we decided to also go check out the wave at the Point at sunset, and since there was a swell they were enormous! Apparently on a clear day the waves curl so nicely at the Point you can see directly down to the rocks that push the wave into form as you ride it… Definitely a heart racing moment!
As our time was winding down in Santa Catalina, we considered joining the friend from Mal Pais in his awesome camp spot inside a half-built house (it’s funny how simple we have gotten these days with what we need to be happy in our home: roof, water access, place to cook), but we have a boat to catch at some point. On our last day we met up with a friend from the L+F, chatted with another traveler (who may be my first real crush in years…), went to a bakery (twice) and ate fresh-from-the-oven cookies, tried to catch a bus but the driver had decided not to drive the entire route that day, got caught in a tropical rainstorm, watched our drivers change the tire from the safety of the bus we did catch, and had an entire group of locals chatting with us in Sona for four hours (we now think Sona has the best people in all of Panama, possibly Central America, maybe even in the world).
Panama has definitely taken our relationship to the next level. I’m holding hands for sure now, and if Panama keeps playing the cards right, there may be some necking at the beach later!
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Rule #2: Don't Die. 