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We decided to take advantage of the recent need to do a visa run and visit Central America, a part of the world that had always caught our attention but we hadn’t yet made it to. Within Central America, we were drawn to Panama as we had heard great reviews and wanted to scope it out as a potential place to live in the future. After arriving in Panama City, we went straight to the domestic airport to catch a flight to Bocas del Toro, a popular backpacker destination. We managed to stay away from the crowds, however, by spending our time at the beautiful and eco-friendly Al Natural resort, where we loved the family style meals and time we spent relaxing.
On returning to Panama City after a few days, we took in one of its main tourist attractions, the Panama Canal, and found it fascinating to watch the ships maneuver the locks, learned about the recent expansion that allowed for the passage of even larger freighters, and walked along the city’s boardwalks and causeways.
On this episode, we talk about our trip to Panama, including some of the reasons we decided to go, how we got to Bocas del Toro and our experience on Isla Bastimentos. Even after we took in the Panama Canal once we got back to the city, we know there’s plenty more in Panama to explore, and think that we would definitely be able to live here for a while in the future!
Enjoy!
What we talk about in this episode:
- Some of the reasons why we decided to go to Panama, including fulfilling a longstanding plan we had to travel to Central America, needing to do a Mexican visa run, and being curious about it as a potential place to live in the future
- Our decision to go straight to the Bocas Del Toro and explore Panama City later on during our trip
- Our experience with immigration and transferring to the domestic airport which was in a very different neighbourhood as compared to the international airport
- Our experience in Bocas del Toro, a popular backpacker/tourist destination, including finding some great accommodation!
- A couple of the different ways you can get to Bocas
- Our travel to a more secluded part of the island, Las Bastimentos, and our stay at a great eco-hotel there called Al Natural
- Our tips for someone who’s thinking of planning a trip to Bocas, and our recommendation to find the accommodation/travel style that suits your needs or how you like to travel
- How the vibe of Bocas town struck us as very Caribbean, including the architecture and the locals sounding like they had a Caribbean accent to their Spanish
- Our relief at coming back to civilization in Panama City and enjoying the luxury of Wifi again!
- Some of the tourist attractions we visited in Panama City, including the Panama Canal and Casco Viejo (Old Town), where the colours, architecture and bustle reminded us of Cartagena, Colombia
- How it was cool to look across and see the new Panama City with its new and huge skyscrapers from Old Town
- Our walk along the beautiful boardwalk and recommendation to check out the fish market
- Our visit to the Miraflores lock on the canal, and learning about the new part of the canal that let through some huge freightliners
- Going to the Amador Causeway from the lock, which was originally built to protect the canal
- Our overall thoughts on Panama and Panama City, including thinking it might be a cool place to live at some point (although a bit expensive!), how we liked the blend of North, South, Central and Caribbean American cultures, and how it would be a good place to work into a bigger trip due to its proximity to other South and Central American countries!
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Music Credits:
www.bensound.com
Check out some of the cool stuff we got up to in Panama!
