Panama
Panama is an amazing country with so much to offer. Beautiful scenery, people, and wildlife. Our first stop was in Panama City. We stopped by La Nave for a quick bite and a few drinks after we were settled in at our hotel at the Hilton in downtown. If you have time, check out the “W” which is a luxury hotel with a roof top bar. There is also a rooftop pool, as well. The views of downtown Panama were amazing.
The next morning we stopped by a local Unido coffee shop to get our hands on some of the world famous Geisha coffee. It is also known to be the world’s most expensive brew. After elevating our caffeine levels, we hailed a cab and headed towards Panama Viejo, also known as “Old Panama”, was the capital of Panama, but was destroyed in 1671 by pirates and privateers. Henry Morgan, the now famous icon of the popular rum, was the leader of the raid. After exploring Panama Viejo for a few hours, we caught a taxi to “Old Town Panama”. *Side Note: When you try to catch a taxi, make sure you ask how much for the ride before you get in. Depending on how many people there are riding, it should only be $5-$10 to go across the city. Some will charge you 3 or 4 times the amount it should be. It happened to us, we were charged $20USD one way, and on the way back another taxi charged us $4-$5USD.
Next, we explored Old Town Panama with its old architecture and history. There is plenty to see in the historic Old Town Panama with plenty of shops, restaurants, and Victors Panama Hats.
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Boquete is a small town in the western part of Panama, surrounded by forests, coffee plantations, and Baru Volcano National Park. Don’t miss your opportunity to stay in a “Hobbit” home at Bambuda Castle. You can also stay in one of the towers of the castle. We stayed one night in each. Lost Falls is a nice hike which you come across three separate waterfalls. It is only a few miles and will take you about an hour or so around trip to hike. If you take a taxi to the falls, be prepared to walk for a while when you’ve completed the hike. Unless you arrange for a predetermined pickup time, you will have to walk back towards town until you come across another taxi driving by or flag down someone nice enough to give you a ride back into town. We did the latter.
Bocas del Toro is a small little town on an island off the coast in the Caribbean. You will need to fly directly into the island or take a small boat ride (about 15-20 minutes) from the coast. There are a few hotels to choose from on the island. We did not stay the night in Bocas as we were meeting our pick up there to continue on to La Loma. Bocas del Toro has many small eateries and restaurants to sit back and relax and have a drink or two if you are just passing through like we did. Bocas Brewery is an up and coming place to have a drink as well and hang out with locals.
After another 20-25 minute boat ride, we arrived at La Loma Chocolate Farm. This place is amazing! It is self sufficient and they prepare all the meals from items harvested on the property. The lodging is phenomenal with open air structures and fresh, farm to table meals. We were even lucky enough to experience a light jungle rain move through at night. Make sure you get a tour of the farm, you may even see a sloth.
Urraca Private Island
Urraca is the place for you if you want to get away from everything and be surrounded by water…and monkeys. It is actually built on top of a mangrove patch. We were actually lucky enough to have the whole island to ourselves for the two nights that we stayed there. It is about a 35-40 minute boat right back to Bocas del Toro, which has an airport to fly back to Panama City, Panama. Francine, the owner, lives on the island and is very friendly. Anything you need, she will take care if it for you, with respect to being on a small mangrove in the middle of the Caribbean. On our last day there, we took a canoe ride to a local native Indian family’s home, and they showed us how they prepare local dishes, including coconut bread.
Last Night, back in Panama City
Upon landing back in Panama City, we took a detour to stop by the Panama Canal. Unfortunately, we were unable to get to the overlook as it was closed. For our last dinner, we stopped at El Trapiche for some traditional Panamanian food. It was amazing.
If you get a chance to visit Panama, stay for as long as you can. Plan on being busy the whole time, unless you’re on Urraca, because Panama has so much to offer. I can’t say enough about it.
