Panamania

Being so close to the border we decided to dip into Panama and visit the small islands in the Caribbean, Bocas del Toro. The route to Bocas was by boat through a network of narrow canals surrounded by lush, bird-filled greenery. We arrived the night before New Years and Bocas was rockin'! We ran into friends we had met along the way in various countries left, right and center. Bocas was the place to be and we knew everyone. We brougth in the New Year celebrating in the Parque Central with our friends while the locals lit an endless supply on deafning firecrackers. Then with our international crew we snuck in by boat to the hot bar in town, Wreck´s Deck. The bar´s patio was in a circle around a small shipwreck in the sea, lit up like an aquarium to wathch as colourful fish swam through. As the night progressed and drinks were had, partiers were both willingly and not one by one joining the fish. A few days of recovery later we headed off to Panama City in a car full of Americans.

As we crossed the bridge over the Panama Canal we came across a city like no other we´d seen in Central America, with a skyline of modern skyscrapers surrounded by water and palm trees. Panama City seemed cool, but our eagerness to start the next phase of our trip, not to mention that we just hadn´t had enough beach time, sent us on the first flight out to the Caribbean coast of Colombia and the beginning of our South American adventure!
Stay tuned...