Panama Travel Blogs on RealTravel

Panama Canal journal: San Blas Archipelago and Panama Canal

2007-12-23T17:39:13Z

"...the crafts which they sell to the tourists that stop here on their way to the Panama Canal"

a entry by babeck from a trip to Panama Canal, Panama.

MONDAY - Jan 7 - San Blas Archipelago, Panama

We anchored off Kuna Island around 11 am and caught a tender to one of the 365 islands of this archipelago just off the Panama coast ( only about 50 are inhabited). I learned that the Kuna people prize their autonomy which was won with the help of the U.S. in 1952. The island where we stopped is very flat and is covered with grass covered living quarters. Though the island is very tiny, there are 2000 people living here according to one inhabitant. It appears that these people’s livelihood comes from their crafts which they sell to the ...

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Panama City journal: Folklorico music and dancing and okay food, too!

2007-09-23T00:32:55Z

a review of Restaurante Tinajas, a place to eat in Panama City, Panama.

Come for the 9:00 show 4 nights a week. Panamanian music and dancing for at least one hour is $5 person/cover in addition to your bill. It really is spectacular. Food is pretty good - try the orange chicken.

Telephone: 269-3840 or 263-7890 need reservations!

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Panama journal: Mexico to Panama 6 mounth trip

2007-08-14T19:25:09Z

a review of Island hopping, a thing to do in Panama.

Mexico down to Guatemala to Honduras then Nicaragua to El Salvador Costa Rica then last to Panama What a lovely Place well Cross the Border to place called David lovely little town here then we went to place called Boquete were we climbed a mountain called Mount Bura lovely took 2 days to get to the Summit then from there we went to a place called Bocas Del Toro were we went Island hopping SORRY about not having any pics they sort have got lost but are in my mums house somewhere lol I WILL find them all anyway after there we went staght back up to Mexico were we went to a place called ...

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Bocas del Toro journal: Finally, the Real Caribbean

2007-05-20T18:03:02Z

a entry by Ciccia* from a trip to Bocas del Toro, Panama.

I think I have found my potential honey moon destination when I eventually marry my imaginary boyfriend,Pablo, a millionaire by virtue of his international fame as a top model. Isla Bastimento in the group of islands known as Boca Del Toro, is everything that you would imagine the Caribbean to be: chilled out, picture post card beaches, friendly Patois speaking locals and all the rum you can drink. It is a romantic and dreamy place that entwines Jamaican and Latin culture in a melting pot of tranquility. In short, I loved it.

Isla Bastimento is the least touristy of the islands. Avoid ...

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Panama Canal journal: A trip thru the Canal. zzzzzzzzzz

2007-05-26T20:16:42Z

"With excellent people watching like this, who even needs to see the canal??"

a entry by The Hallgrens from a trip to Panama Canal, Panama.

"Well, this concludes our tour of the Panama Canal. I hope you will cherish these memories and this day for years to come", said our tour guide. Brian and I looked at each other, our eyes met, and we proceeded to crack up laughing. Cherish isn´t quite the word I would use. Let me start from the beginning.....

Upon arrival in Panama City, the first thing we did (second, actually, after we did a huge load of stinky laundry) was book a half day boat cruise thru the Panama Canal. It was our sole reason for stopping in Panama City. Cruises are only done on Saturdays, so we scheduled ...

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Bocas del Toro journal: A step up...

2007-05-17T00:23:27Z

a entry by Marc s Watson Year from a trip to Bocas del Toro, Panama.

Pictures from Costa Rica and Panama:

http://community.webshots .com/user/marcswatson5

Have you ever missed things like absorbent napkins? How about beds without bedbugs? Crackhead-free streets? Pavement? Any of the above?

If so, then you've probably been living in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica for awhile. The camaraderie among the "local gringos" in Puerto Viejo is commendable, and being privy to their barbecues, parties, inside jokes, and razzing was something that I surely enjoyed for awhile, but the quality of life, even among the Westerners, is pretty poor over there.

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Bocas del Toro journal: Jamaica man....

2007-05-14T01:23:00Z

a entry by Just popped out4milk from a trip to Bocas del Toro, Panama.

Got to the much anticipated Bocas del Torro at god knows what time, much like my Puyo arrival, yet no rain and some chit chat. Made our way on the 6am boat across to these talked about islands, to find a chilled Caribbean islands boasting tropical reefs and water bourne bars.

Checked into a hostel and seemed to be the only ones there which had benefits and disadvantages main benefit being the most popular hostel got raided by armed police in plain clothes and ski masks with no reasoning, they were then detained for 5 hrs without reason or apology...We just watched from the street as the ...

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Bocas del Toro journal: an experience worth that is worth the price

2007-03-10T19:25:58Z

a review of Punta Caracoal Acqua-Lodge, a place to stay in Bocas del Toro, Panama.

my mom and i always wanted to stay in a bungalow over crystal clear blue water and when we were in bocas and i heard about the place i convienced her. we were lucky they had 1 bungalow open and for one night (for a price of $350 a night we deceided 1 night would be fine). we made use of those 2 days though. eating then jumping in the water, jumping in the water and drinking the complementary cocktail they give you when you arrive. off season was a good deal too b/c we got the master suite (biggest room there by a lot) for only $350. private porch, you can get a free row boat, snorkle ...

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Boquete journal: Rainbow Valley

2007-02-14T05:06:24Z

"It's not rain!! It's MIST!!"

a entry by Matt and Kate Coats from a trip to Boquete, Chiriqui.

We boarded the bus to David, not fantastically well prepared. We knew we had to get two buses to reach where we were heading, we hadn’t managed breakfast and had no snacks. Clambering over the other passengers, trying to make it to a seat near a window, I muttered to Matt asking how long the journey was, he shrugged and told me 45 minutes. Not too bad. I could last that. Four hours of blaring Panamanian techno-hiphop-pop -whateveritis music later, I was ready to vomit. The buses in Panama are quite simply sardine tins, driving too fast around terrifying roads on not good enough wheels. People, ...

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Panama City journal: Panama City

2007-02-13T20:37:05Z

"swashbuckling pirates!"

a entry by Matt and Kate Coats from a trip to Panama City, Panama.

Panama City is chaotic. At least, it’s as chaotic and dirt ridden as every other major city that I have been to yet. Casco Viejo was an interesting neighborhood, even if you did have to cross fingers in fear of being robbed between the streets. Many of the derelict buildings I found enchanting. Memories of past riches, fears of pirate plundering and political downfalls flaked from the walls along with the brickwork. To me, any place that rebuilt itself after being entirely destroyed by swashbuckling pirates, rates pretty highly in my book of awesome.

Matt got to play with a baby monkey ...

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Bocas del Toro journal: Pana-Mania!

2006-08-11T06:32:34Z

a entry by travelgirl-kk from a trip to Bocas del Toro, Panama.

Alright - so we headed to Bocas Del Toro to celebrate my 37th birthday in style! How the hell did I get so old?

Here's a quick summary of trip so far....

Day 1 - leave Miami and arrive in Bocas at 4:00pm. Schlep large, heavy backpack all over town looking for suitable accommodations. Sweat profusely. Find highly questionable and relatively UN-suitable accommodations but take it anyway as we are sweaty, exhausted and I feel the beginnings of what I not-so-fondly refer to as "FatGirl Chafe" coming on... Day 2: Wake up, complain loudly about crappy bed and heat. Pack and get the hell ...

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Panama City journal: Panamonian...

2006-07-14T23:23:50Z

"Arrived at 7pm, stood in the longest Immigration queue known to man, and finally walked out into the stifling heat."

a entry by Ally Cat from a trip to Panama City, Panama.

am finally in Panama in my brand (not so) new hostel. Its ok..nothing special, but for $7.50night who cares! Again the ride for the airport and back will cost me more than all three nights accommodation in Panama ($30 taxi here and back). It is so damn hot here. Arrived at 7pm, stood in the longest Immigration queue known to man, and finally walked out into the stifling heat.

Tomorrow I am going to take a ferry to a small island just off the coast of Panama city. Here I hope to get in a bit of Snorkeling, and the Hostel man has told me that for $5 I can go in to the big Ritzy hotel there ...

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Bastimentos journal: Big beach little red frog

2006-06-18T20:29:16Z

"so called "borders""

a entry by The Suberris from a trip to Bastimentos, Bocas del Toro.

After chilling with the turtles, we headed out to Bastimentos, an Island known for its excellent beaches. The hotel was quite a change from Olas - no TV, and a shared cold shower... but beautiful views, and plenty of beaches to explore. The first day our new friends led us to the beach - an interesting 30 minure muddy, slippery hike that ended with a pristine beach of warm clear water. We made some dinner with our buddies, learned a new game of cards, and did chilling as we know best. The next day we continued our hike to an even farther beach "red frog beach" - which is famous for the little ...

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Bocas del Toro journal: Amazing location, so-so weather

2006-05-29T23:42:28Z

"Is that a turtle or a T-Rex?"

a entry by The Suberris from a trip to Bocas del Toro, Panama.

So this was one of our favorite spots during our whole trip.Bocas del Toro is on the Carribean side of Panama and is made up of an infinite amount of islands, according to Sarit's count. We checked into Hotel Olas which was AMAZING! It was a little over what we were expecting to pay, the rooms were totally clean, with AC, TV, and an amazing breakfast that is included in the cost. The TV was cool since we hadn't seen TV in a while and the weather was only so-so, but we did go from going to bed at 8PM, to going to bed at like 3 AM, mostly because of it.

From Bocas, you have options to ...

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Boquete journal: Mountains and Video Games

2006-05-29T23:38:42Z

"Killer mountains and beautiful dogs..or is it the other way around?"

a entry by The Suberris from a trip to Boquete, Chiriqui.

So we arrived in Boquette after a couple buses, or more accurately a mini-van with a capacity for 10 people that had about 50 and a big yellow pimped-out school bus.

Boquete is a very small and nice town in the mountains, so the weather was cool breezy and fresh. We were at somewhat of a loss with no Lonely Planet since we only brought the Costa Rica one (though we spent the first two weeks saying how much it sucked...serves us right) but we found a nice lodge with not-so nice hosts. The one time we heard a warm "Hola" from them as we walked into the door, it turned out to be their ...

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Panama City journal: Die Altstadt

2006-05-17T16:13:41Z

a entry by Johanna & Martin from a trip to Panama City, Panama.

12.05.2006

Autor Johanna

An dem Samstag haben wir uns die Altstadt von Panama vorgenommen. Das Problem an der Altstadt ist, dass sie zwar wunderschoene alte Haeuser hat aber erstens ist sie umgeben von Ghetto, sodass man nur mit dem Taxi hinkommt und zweitens sind diese wunderbaren alten Haeusern nicht gepflegt worden und es sind nur noch einige uebrig, der Rest ist Ruinen und Haeuserversaden. Die Regierung versucht nun schon die Altstadt zu renovieren, dazu muss sie aber alteingesessene aus ihren Haeusern vertreiben. Ausser der Kathedrale und ein paar Museen ist die Altstadt ...

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Panama City journal: Endlich angekommen

2006-05-17T15:41:24Z

a entry by Johanna & Martin from a trip to Panama City, Panama.

11.05.2006

Autor Johanna

Nachdem unser Flug gestern noch gestrichen wurde, wir in ein anderes Flugzeug verfrachtet worden sind und wir fast den Flug verpasst haben, sind wir aber doch heil 2 Std spaeter in Panama angekommen. Gestern konnten wir noch nicht viel vom Land sagen, da es schon dunkel war aber die feuchte Hitze ist wirklich allgegenwaertig. Wir haben uns auf jeden Fall wahnsinnig gefreut Petra wiederzusehen und unsere Waesche und uns selber in die Reinigung zu geben. Auch ein richtiges Bett war mal wieder dringend noetig.

Vorab gleich mal ein paar Infos zu Panama

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Panama City journal: Zoo

2006-05-17T16:28:39Z

a entry by Johanna & Martin from a trip to Panama City, Panama.

13.05.2006

Autor Johanna

Am Sonntag haben wir zusammen mit Petra und Andres einen Ausflug in den einheimischen Zoo gemacht. Ich war zwar ein bisschen enttaeuscht, weil ich gedacht haette, dass mehr Tiere zum streicheln da waeren aber der Trost ist, dass die Kaefige so gebaut waren, dass man alle Tiere durchs Gitter anfassen konnte. Ich hab das natuerlich auch gemacht aber nur mit einem Stock oder Blatt, sonst haette mir ein glaub ich tollwuetiger Mader den Finger abgebissen. Man konnte sogar ganz nah an die Pumas ran aber sowas haben wir uns nicht getraut. In einem Kaefig hab ich ...

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Panama City journal: City break - the best city I have visited on this trip

2005-12-24T01:56:40Z

"“Very surprised”"

a entry by Lost Tribe from a trip to Panama City, Panama.

Panama is an amazing city - very modern, clean and vibrant. It was a good change from all the other cities I have been in. It was also strange being in a hostel which is on the 8th floor of a high rise building in the centre of town. I flew here from Bocas.

The reason I stayed in the city for longer than expected was that I wanted to travel to Colombia by boat. However, due to the holiday season and the pacific winds making the seas very rough, most of the boats had been anchored until mid-January at least. I checked and called every possible option in the city and, over the ...

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Farallon journal: Fun in the Sun

2006-04-18T02:36:36Z

a review of Farallon Beach, a thing to do in Farallon, Cocle.

We had a wonderful time on the beach. There is a bit of an undertow so you have to be careful when swimming in the ocean but it was excellent nevertheless. If you like swimming in waves then you will really like swimming in the ocean. Also there are lots of interesting shells that can be gathered from the sand and you could spend tons of time searching for them. The pools at the Decameron were also excellent and there were plenty of them to choose from. We liked one of the main pools because of the chaise loungers that were inside the pool itself.

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Farallon journal: City and the Sea in Panama City

2006-04-18T02:25:52Z

a review of Shopping and Panama City, a thing to do in Farallon, Cocle.

Seeing the city and the Duty free area was interesting. There is so much class difference within Panama and it was nice to see the nicer areas where there is a huge shopping mall, and then the inner city areas where you can see that people live with little money. The Duty free area was also interesting to see because of the beautiful view it had as well as the expensive boats that could be seen docked there or simply passing by. Seeing the city was also very interesting to see and well worth the money paid for the trip. Included in this trip was a snack and the trip to the Panama canal

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Farallon journal: A thrill

2006-04-18T02:18:35Z

a review of Canopy zip line, a thing to do in Farallon, Cocle.

The zip line across a canopy in Farallon was amazing. It was a small busload of people maybe twenty or so of us went. The trip included visiting a little market where souveniers could be found for very little money. The actual zip line was a thrill, there were three lines down which we were taken, and the view is very nice seeing all the plants and animals and was definitely worth the trip. We even got certificates from the instructors for accomplishing the descent down the lines. There is a little physical activity necessary as we hiked up the mountain in order to get to the top line and ...

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Farallon journal: Great historic cultural site

2006-04-18T02:08:38Z

a review of Panama City Canal, a thing to do in Farallon, Cocle.

The Panama Canal was a fun site to see. We visited the Miraflores locks and went through a museum of the canal where they explain how the canal was made and how it has evolved over the years. Historically it is interesting to see how the canal has been important to world politics, especially during the World Wars when it was closed in order to protect from access by the enemies. Once you understood how the locks worked it was fascinating to see how much work went into creating the canal as well as how times have changed in the last one hundred years. There is no guide for the locks which ...

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Farallon journal: A great variety of food

2006-04-18T01:54:15Z

a review of A La Carte Restaurants, a place to eat in Farallon, Cocle.

The food at the A la Carte restaurants was awesome. There were five restaurants, a Japanese place, mexican, Italian, Thai and Steak. We tried all but the Japanese place and every one of them was really good. We especially enjoyed the Thai and Steak restaurants. The Thai food was really good and each dish was excellent. The Steak restuarant will allow you to walk up to a freezer where you can choose which kind of meat you would like to eat and then your meal is prepared with that meat. It is a very interesting experience and we really enjoyed every a la carte dinner we had.

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Farallon journal: Great Staff, clean establishment, Great Food

2006-04-18T00:51:29Z

a review of Royal Decameron Beach Resort & Casino, a place to stay in Farallon, Cocle.

The Hotel Decameron was newly opened in 2002 and therefore was a relatively new hotel when we visited in September of 2004. The rooms were large and very nicely arranged. There was a tv and a small table for two in each room. There was no tub, only a shower that ran cold water until we complained and then everything was great. The staff was very friendly and would leave the room very clean and tidy everyday.

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