I took the bus across Panama from Panama City west to the Bocas del Toro archipelago; I went during the day so I could see some scenery on the 12-hour or so trip, but found that the middle of the country is largely uninspiring other than the dusty little native kids skittering down unpaved roads. I stopped about halfway, in David (pronounced Da-VEED) and dropped in on Richard, a retired sea captain, writer, and seasoned traveler who had lived for a time in New Orleans and had been providing me a lot of good information about how to manage in Panama. Those little tips and insights (like, "bring a nickel when you take the bus - you have to drop a nickel in the turnstile before you get on the bus but no one gives change," and "beer can be 75 cents a bottle in one place, and $3 next door, so be sure to ask in advance or check the menu") were helpful and he lined up a local Panamanian to pick me up at the airport, and I enjoyed the conversation. It's good to do as much research and planning as you can when traveling to a new country. So I dropped in on 70 year-old Richard and we went to buy some beers and he broke out some cigars for an evening of storytelling and good New Orleans music. He let me stay in the upstairs apartment at his house. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting him, and we stay in touch. He writes an interesting blog, which sometimes is simply great:
http://onemoregoodadventure.com/
He has also self-published books and keeps himself busy writing. In the morning, we went to get some breakfast, and the local place didn't even have ham and eggs, so we went next door to the grocery and I bought ham, and a few eggs and they cooked them up for me, and I was off.
After the overwhelming beauty of the San Blas (Kuna Yala) Islands, the scenery was a let-down, except when the large van filled with Panamanians and me labored up into into the mountains, and then across the Continental Divide.
Arriving at Bocas del Toro, I took the water taxi to the main island (Bocas) and walked down the street and the first people I recognized were Zac and Indra, the young Aussie couple I'd met in the San Blas Islands. Good folks. Zac is mellow and easy-going, an avid surfer and skateboarder, and Indra has a sweet personality, a smokin' body and a big smile - a perfect couple. They had been working on a yacht in Spain, and took some time off to travel into Panama and Costa Rica. What I thought was cool is they didn't really have a travel plan or schedule - they were just going to go with the wind and stay where places seemed interesting, until their money ran out.
Since I hadn't planned much I walked the main street in town, lined with small shops, restaurants, and bars. (no Starbucks, no McDonalds) looking for the hostel the Argentinians I'd met in San Blas had suggested. Toward the end of the street I tracked it down. It was a huge place with over 100 people staying there. That's 100 backpackers, mostly all in their 20s, from all over the world. I wasn't crazy about staying 10 people to a room but that was the deal, as accommodations were tight. There were two old partying dudes who were actually older than me staying in the room. They were Key West-ers, free spirits. They said they were heading to one of the other islands, Basimentos. And there were a lot of surfers. Soon I was partying with the Argentines Juan, Andres, and Guido again, and some girls they knew from home. Julia, a fun-loving vivacious blonde, laughed through most of the evening. Later I found out that she is a serious photographer. We had a lot of fun that night!You might want to see my YouTube video - it starts with Julia laughing uncontrollably and about halfway through I joke with Andres and Guido:
Partying with the Argentinians
I was waiting on my ship to come it - literally. Waiting on a boat to arrive from Maine for a planned trip across the Caribbean waters. So I didn't know exactly how long that would be, and I also was waiting for the Crazy Canuck and Meggie to arrive (he from Canada, she from Seattle).
The group of us went on a boating tour the next day, watching the dolphins, then to a good snorkeling spot and a nice restaurant on the water for lunch. The coral was amazing.
Then we headed off to a different island to hang out on the beach and swim for the afternoon. As we were nearing the island, a group of bikini-clad gals came into sight. They looked to be doing some sort of photo shoot. Talk about paradise!
So we swam and snorkeled and relaxed and Julia and Juan posed for a goofy shot.
The next day we took a trip to Red Frog Island, which has a nice bar and a great beach. The frogs are tiny and red - and poisonous.
After a few days the rest of the group (including the Aussies) moved on to Costa Rica and I hung out waiting on the ship and the rest of the my shipmates. I decided to stay a few nights on Basimentos Island, about 10 minutes away by boat. It is more Caribbean in culture, mostly populated with black people who speak in English and Spanish, but also a French Creole patois. The island is not as developed as Bocas (the main island) but it also has a slower, simpler pace.
You can rent rooms for about 10 or 12 bucks a night, although I went upscale and stayed at this place for $25 a couple of nights. It was a sweet spot!
The owner is John, an American man from California who sold his house at the peak of the real estate bubble and moved to Panama. He said, "I made more money than I ever thought I'd have when I sold my house. So I came down here to drink, fish, and womanize - and I've been doing that ever since!" He laughs heartily and his giant pot belly (he never seemed to wear a shirt and was perpetually sweating) bounced and jiggled like a bad Santa Claus who'd taken a wrong turn. John makes a trip to the main island about once a week to play poker at a local bar, and he filled me in on a lot of the locals and local news. The most interesting item was his knowledge and detailed descriptions of a serial killer, "Wild Bill Cortez" - who had been caught after killing off a family, a loner, and a well-regarded local (American) lady, and then taking over their land. The stuff was creepy, like right out of a movie.
Here's a report on ABC News about it:
ABCNews Report on Panama Serial Killer
Near John's place there is a nice, paved and covered basketball court that the locals play at every evening once it cools off. I decided to get in on a game. Of course, all the other men were black guys in their 20s or 30s. I had a hell of a time running up and down full court, and my shot timing was off, since these guys would swarm when anyone got the ball and they could out-jump me by a mile, so I stuck with pushing the boys around under the bucket and grabbing some rebounds, and playing some hard defense to block up the middle. At the end of the game, huffing and puffing, I had a chance to win it and I set up a nice baby hook (a la Magic Johnson), but it careened off the backboard and tight rim, We ended up winning, but I quit after one game, I was pooped.
After a few days I returned to Bocas, and hopped around between hotels and hostels. I rented a bike and bought a basketball so I could get in better shape, and found an apartment which I rented for the month. it was a great location in the Saigon section of town, not far from a basketball court, local bars with 75 cent bottled beers, and a couple of beaches. I also found a campy little dirt court in town to play on, and I'd shoot around with the local kids, and played a few pickup games.
I got news that the boat was getting closer and they were going to anchor near Basimentos, so I went back to that island to wait. And finally, finally, there it was! The good ship Maggie, cruising into port. I missed the Captain (Patrick) but we exchanged notes at a local hostel and soon we met up. He ferried a group of young travelers along with me over to the boat and we had a party. He wasn't too pleased with the mess they left, but everyone sure enjoyed themselves.
I was still waiting on Crazy Canuck and Meggie to arrive. They were almost a month late according to our original plan. But one morning they made it in. I was ready to go sailing! So Canuck grabbed an apartment across the street, and we were set to go. But then, bad news: I had just received an email from an editor at the publishing house and they needed me to re-write the book - again! That was unsettling. But the next day we packed our things and headed out to meet up with the ship.
When we got there the ship was empty. We climbed aboard and found a note, saying Patrick, Meggie and another shipmate (co-captain) had gone to the other side of the island to go surfing and they would be back within a couple of hours. Canuck was pissed off, but we decided to go back to shore and just wait. We ate. We drank. Still no sign of them. So after about 4 hours we headed back to Bocas. I had work to do anyway.
Meantime, Canuck had gotten his buddy Johnny interested in taking the ship ride too. But he wouldn't arrive until the weekend. This would give us one more paying passenger, and another friend to share the experience, so we decided I would work on my book and we'd wait for Johnny.
Meggie and Patrick wanted to leave the next day, and we met at a bar had this big pow-wow, but settled on leaving on Sunday. I'd already paid, and Canuck was on the brink of canceling the whole thing, but I convinced him to wait it out and we'd have a better time. I certainly would feel better having my work behind me. And Johnny was coming in which would make the trip more fun and more profitable for the captain.
Johnny flew in Saturday and we immediately started pounding beers and planning the night. There was a happening bar on another nearby island that was loaded with hot young chicks in bikinis and surfer dudes, around 10 o'clock an night. It was mostly outdoors with swings and decks and ocean pools, where people would swing out and jump into the water. We got there and made the brilliant decision to do some shots of Jagermeiseter. Of course, we didn't feel them at first, so we kept going, Next thing you know we're chatting up girls, and Canuck jumps into the water without realizing his new Panama cell phone was in his pocket. We got just ridiculously blasted.
Next morning Johnny was sick - really deathly ill - but we were shoving off. I gave him some antibiotic I'd brought along and he was a little better. We got to the boat and found they hadn't stocked up on supplies - not even water or ice! We weren't happy since we'd already handed over our money and told the captain what we wanted to eat on the trip. He'd sent Meggie out and she'd gotten cookies, cereal and some other garbage. We wanted chicken, meat, and salads! So we went into town and stocked up pretty good - including 9 cases of beer (for the three of us). I bought Panama beer - my favorite - and the other guys bought Balboa.
The Captain had picked up some woman who'd been left on Basimentos by her boyfriend after an argument. Suddenly we had another (freeloading) passenger. She said she was Moroccan, but lived in the U.S. I got a bad vibe off of her right from the start, but what the heck - we were ready to cast off!
There wasn't much wind so we used the motor which cruised at about 4 knots (about 5 mph). After a few hours, we didn't get far, but needed to anchor since if we went farther, there would be no place to let it down. In the morning, the captain said he had some repairs and things to do so we swam ashore to a nearby island and hung out on the beach.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go: we had paid to sail and we were still stuck in the Bocas del Toro islands! Our patience was growing thin.
Finally, finally we shoved off. I held off on drinking beers and Johnny was still sick so Canuck was the only one drinking away. Within an hour I was seasick - this was totally unexpected to me since I generally have a cast iron stomach. I started puking, and puked probably 10 times during the night, rushing up the stairs and leaning over the edge, projectile vomiting into the sea, with the boat rocking wildly from the high waves. This sucked! Johnny and I were down near the diesel engine which was ramming away moving the ship against the current, and against the wind. This went on for 36 hours. It was like a puking marathon to me. Horrible. Of course, Canuck was drunk and laughing the whole time. he took this pic of me ailing which he thought was hilarious.
The boat was tossing and turning from one side to the other, taking on water, and the water would rush down the hatch and soak me. I closed the hatch but some still was seeping in. We were in high seas - nothing but water all around. I'd nearly drowned in the Pacific a few months earlier, so this wasn't much fun.
I asked the captain how bad it was and if he ever got seasick, and he said this was pretty bad and that sometimes, rarely, he got sick too.
We pulled into the port of Portobello, a quaint city by the sea with a good harbor. As soon as the ship leveled off and slowed down, I felt better. We found a restaurant and hostel, Captain John's, and it was busy. We ordered up burgers, beers and fries. I hadn't eaten for almost 2 days so I was starved.
That night, I heard the captain throwing up over the side. He'd eaten the cerviche.
The next morning we had to look for gas for the dingy, and to get some vegetables and ice. Finding gas was hard - we were told usually you have to order it a day in advance. But I talked a local lady into getting us a couple of gallons at premium price, 5 bucks a gallon.
Canuck and Johnny were off shooting some hilarious video which involves an angry spider monkey lurching at Johnny and a black Jesus. Once I get the video from Canuck I'll post it. The entire boat was filled with laughter watching them cut up!
Captain Patrick told me he had some Dramamine, somewhere in his First Aid kit. I wish he would have told me that the day before! So I downed one and started pounded beers with Canuck and Johnny (that's him with a cigarette being a dork), once we shoved off.
We had a great time!
The next day wasn't bad at all and soon we were in the San Blas Islands. We stopped at one and went to a small museum, and asked some directions, since we were searching for Senidup Island - which was not on the nautical map. But we did eventually find Pero (Dog) Island, which I knew was only 10 minutes or so away. With a few more directions, we finally pulled up close to Senidup/Franklin Island (each half of it has a different name - due to a family dispute) and a small boat came up to check us out.
I recognized the young man in the boat as Tony, whose grandfather owned half of the island, and he pretty much ran the place like a little prince. He was short like all the natives, but had all the ice and pot and cocaine he wanted (not illegal in their nation) and with his good native looks and long hair, foreign girls flocked to him, usually a different one every night. When I was there the first time it was a sexy tall woman from Denmark, and the second time it was this very sexy and coquettish Argentinian girl, who, BTW, could also belly dance. And wow, what hips!
So I said 'hello' to Tony and told he recognized me and I said we were coming ashore and were going to stay the next couple of nights at the island. We came in by dingy except for Johnny, who swam ashore. The people visiting the island were excited that some sort of pirates had landed (literally hadn't shaved for a week, and had bandana around my head). The energy jumped up, and the lights went down, and Tony cranked up the music and broke out a bong, for a few select individuals. Since I was almost a regular, I got in on the act, and got Johnny a few hits too. We looked around for Canuck and later learned he was off with this German chick - and up to his usual shenanigans.
And later some other fun stuff happened!
http://onemoregoodadventure.com/
He has also self-published books and keeps himself busy writing. In the morning, we went to get some breakfast, and the local place didn't even have ham and eggs, so we went next door to the grocery and I bought ham, and a few eggs and they cooked them up for me, and I was off.
After the overwhelming beauty of the San Blas (Kuna Yala) Islands, the scenery was a let-down, except when the large van filled with Panamanians and me labored up into into the mountains, and then across the Continental Divide.
Since I hadn't planned much I walked the main street in town, lined with small shops, restaurants, and bars. (no Starbucks, no McDonalds) looking for the hostel the Argentinians I'd met in San Blas had suggested. Toward the end of the street I tracked it down. It was a huge place with over 100 people staying there. That's 100 backpackers, mostly all in their 20s, from all over the world. I wasn't crazy about staying 10 people to a room but that was the deal, as accommodations were tight. There were two old partying dudes who were actually older than me staying in the room. They were Key West-ers, free spirits. They said they were heading to one of the other islands, Basimentos. And there were a lot of surfers. Soon I was partying with the Argentines Juan, Andres, and Guido again, and some girls they knew from home. Julia, a fun-loving vivacious blonde, laughed through most of the evening. Later I found out that she is a serious photographer. We had a lot of fun that night!You might want to see my YouTube video - it starts with Julia laughing uncontrollably and about halfway through I joke with Andres and Guido:
Partying with the Argentinians
I was waiting on my ship to come it - literally. Waiting on a boat to arrive from Maine for a planned trip across the Caribbean waters. So I didn't know exactly how long that would be, and I also was waiting for the Crazy Canuck and Meggie to arrive (he from Canada, she from Seattle).
The group of us went on a boating tour the next day, watching the dolphins, then to a good snorkeling spot and a nice restaurant on the water for lunch. The coral was amazing.
So we swam and snorkeled and relaxed and Julia and Juan posed for a goofy shot.
After a few days the rest of the group (including the Aussies) moved on to Costa Rica and I hung out waiting on the ship and the rest of the my shipmates. I decided to stay a few nights on Basimentos Island, about 10 minutes away by boat. It is more Caribbean in culture, mostly populated with black people who speak in English and Spanish, but also a French Creole patois. The island is not as developed as Bocas (the main island) but it also has a slower, simpler pace.
You can rent rooms for about 10 or 12 bucks a night, although I went upscale and stayed at this place for $25 a couple of nights. It was a sweet spot!
Here's a report on ABC News about it:
ABCNews Report on Panama Serial Killer
Near John's place there is a nice, paved and covered basketball court that the locals play at every evening once it cools off. I decided to get in on a game. Of course, all the other men were black guys in their 20s or 30s. I had a hell of a time running up and down full court, and my shot timing was off, since these guys would swarm when anyone got the ball and they could out-jump me by a mile, so I stuck with pushing the boys around under the bucket and grabbing some rebounds, and playing some hard defense to block up the middle. At the end of the game, huffing and puffing, I had a chance to win it and I set up a nice baby hook (a la Magic Johnson), but it careened off the backboard and tight rim, We ended up winning, but I quit after one game, I was pooped.
After a few days I returned to Bocas, and hopped around between hotels and hostels. I rented a bike and bought a basketball so I could get in better shape, and found an apartment which I rented for the month. it was a great location in the Saigon section of town, not far from a basketball court, local bars with 75 cent bottled beers, and a couple of beaches. I also found a campy little dirt court in town to play on, and I'd shoot around with the local kids, and played a few pickup games.
I got news that the boat was getting closer and they were going to anchor near Basimentos, so I went back to that island to wait. And finally, finally, there it was! The good ship Maggie, cruising into port. I missed the Captain (Patrick) but we exchanged notes at a local hostel and soon we met up. He ferried a group of young travelers along with me over to the boat and we had a party. He wasn't too pleased with the mess they left, but everyone sure enjoyed themselves.
I was still waiting on Crazy Canuck and Meggie to arrive. They were almost a month late according to our original plan. But one morning they made it in. I was ready to go sailing! So Canuck grabbed an apartment across the street, and we were set to go. But then, bad news: I had just received an email from an editor at the publishing house and they needed me to re-write the book - again! That was unsettling. But the next day we packed our things and headed out to meet up with the ship.
When we got there the ship was empty. We climbed aboard and found a note, saying Patrick, Meggie and another shipmate (co-captain) had gone to the other side of the island to go surfing and they would be back within a couple of hours. Canuck was pissed off, but we decided to go back to shore and just wait. We ate. We drank. Still no sign of them. So after about 4 hours we headed back to Bocas. I had work to do anyway.
Meantime, Canuck had gotten his buddy Johnny interested in taking the ship ride too. But he wouldn't arrive until the weekend. This would give us one more paying passenger, and another friend to share the experience, so we decided I would work on my book and we'd wait for Johnny.
Meggie and Patrick wanted to leave the next day, and we met at a bar had this big pow-wow, but settled on leaving on Sunday. I'd already paid, and Canuck was on the brink of canceling the whole thing, but I convinced him to wait it out and we'd have a better time. I certainly would feel better having my work behind me. And Johnny was coming in which would make the trip more fun and more profitable for the captain.
Johnny flew in Saturday and we immediately started pounding beers and planning the night. There was a happening bar on another nearby island that was loaded with hot young chicks in bikinis and surfer dudes, around 10 o'clock an night. It was mostly outdoors with swings and decks and ocean pools, where people would swing out and jump into the water. We got there and made the brilliant decision to do some shots of Jagermeiseter. Of course, we didn't feel them at first, so we kept going, Next thing you know we're chatting up girls, and Canuck jumps into the water without realizing his new Panama cell phone was in his pocket. We got just ridiculously blasted.
Next morning Johnny was sick - really deathly ill - but we were shoving off. I gave him some antibiotic I'd brought along and he was a little better. We got to the boat and found they hadn't stocked up on supplies - not even water or ice! We weren't happy since we'd already handed over our money and told the captain what we wanted to eat on the trip. He'd sent Meggie out and she'd gotten cookies, cereal and some other garbage. We wanted chicken, meat, and salads! So we went into town and stocked up pretty good - including 9 cases of beer (for the three of us). I bought Panama beer - my favorite - and the other guys bought Balboa.
The Captain had picked up some woman who'd been left on Basimentos by her boyfriend after an argument. Suddenly we had another (freeloading) passenger. She said she was Moroccan, but lived in the U.S. I got a bad vibe off of her right from the start, but what the heck - we were ready to cast off!
There wasn't much wind so we used the motor which cruised at about 4 knots (about 5 mph). After a few hours, we didn't get far, but needed to anchor since if we went farther, there would be no place to let it down. In the morning, the captain said he had some repairs and things to do so we swam ashore to a nearby island and hung out on the beach.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go: we had paid to sail and we were still stuck in the Bocas del Toro islands! Our patience was growing thin.
Finally, finally we shoved off. I held off on drinking beers and Johnny was still sick so Canuck was the only one drinking away. Within an hour I was seasick - this was totally unexpected to me since I generally have a cast iron stomach. I started puking, and puked probably 10 times during the night, rushing up the stairs and leaning over the edge, projectile vomiting into the sea, with the boat rocking wildly from the high waves. This sucked! Johnny and I were down near the diesel engine which was ramming away moving the ship against the current, and against the wind. This went on for 36 hours. It was like a puking marathon to me. Horrible. Of course, Canuck was drunk and laughing the whole time. he took this pic of me ailing which he thought was hilarious.
The boat was tossing and turning from one side to the other, taking on water, and the water would rush down the hatch and soak me. I closed the hatch but some still was seeping in. We were in high seas - nothing but water all around. I'd nearly drowned in the Pacific a few months earlier, so this wasn't much fun.
I asked the captain how bad it was and if he ever got seasick, and he said this was pretty bad and that sometimes, rarely, he got sick too.
We pulled into the port of Portobello, a quaint city by the sea with a good harbor. As soon as the ship leveled off and slowed down, I felt better. We found a restaurant and hostel, Captain John's, and it was busy. We ordered up burgers, beers and fries. I hadn't eaten for almost 2 days so I was starved.
That night, I heard the captain throwing up over the side. He'd eaten the cerviche.
The next morning we had to look for gas for the dingy, and to get some vegetables and ice. Finding gas was hard - we were told usually you have to order it a day in advance. But I talked a local lady into getting us a couple of gallons at premium price, 5 bucks a gallon.
Canuck and Johnny were off shooting some hilarious video which involves an angry spider monkey lurching at Johnny and a black Jesus. Once I get the video from Canuck I'll post it. The entire boat was filled with laughter watching them cut up!
Captain Patrick told me he had some Dramamine, somewhere in his First Aid kit. I wish he would have told me that the day before! So I downed one and started pounded beers with Canuck and Johnny (that's him with a cigarette being a dork), once we shoved off.
We had a great time!
The next day wasn't bad at all and soon we were in the San Blas Islands. We stopped at one and went to a small museum, and asked some directions, since we were searching for Senidup Island - which was not on the nautical map. But we did eventually find Pero (Dog) Island, which I knew was only 10 minutes or so away. With a few more directions, we finally pulled up close to Senidup/Franklin Island (each half of it has a different name - due to a family dispute) and a small boat came up to check us out.
I recognized the young man in the boat as Tony, whose grandfather owned half of the island, and he pretty much ran the place like a little prince. He was short like all the natives, but had all the ice and pot and cocaine he wanted (not illegal in their nation) and with his good native looks and long hair, foreign girls flocked to him, usually a different one every night. When I was there the first time it was a sexy tall woman from Denmark, and the second time it was this very sexy and coquettish Argentinian girl, who, BTW, could also belly dance. And wow, what hips!
So I said 'hello' to Tony and told he recognized me and I said we were coming ashore and were going to stay the next couple of nights at the island. We came in by dingy except for Johnny, who swam ashore. The people visiting the island were excited that some sort of pirates had landed (literally hadn't shaved for a week, and had bandana around my head). The energy jumped up, and the lights went down, and Tony cranked up the music and broke out a bong, for a few select individuals. Since I was almost a regular, I got in on the act, and got Johnny a few hits too. We looked around for Canuck and later learned he was off with this German chick - and up to his usual shenanigans.
And later some other fun stuff happened!
