Panama
2 weeks ago, I was looking at my calendar for the month of May, and I decided to do something impulsive. I found a cheap flight to Panama City 10 days later, and I booked it. I've been dreaming about backpacking through Central America for the last 5+ years, and the stars finally aligned, so I figured... why not now?!
If you know me well, you know that I am a PLANNER. I have a plan for every hour, day, week, month, and year of my life. I've created an itinerary for pretty much every trip I've ever been on. For the first time EVER, I'm taking it one day at a time and figuring things out as I go! I didn't book a return flight, and I don't know how long I'll be gone. I'm SO grateful for the power of the Internet that allows me to work from wherever I end up, and I couldn't do this without my incredible team at Theory.
I am currently 7 days into my trip, and I'm sitting at a coffee shop in Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean coast of Panama. I've spent the last week traveling around this beautiful country. Check out this vlog with some highlights from Panama City, Boquete, and Bocas del Toro!
Panama City
I had a red-eye flight from Seattle to Miami at 11:30 PM last Wednesday night, and I landed in Panama City around 2 PM on Thursday. The city was WAY bigger than I expected. I walked over 40,000 steps in 2 days, strolled along the waterfront (Cinta Costera), hiked to the highest viewpoint in the city (Cerro Ancon), explored Old Town (Casco Viejo), and had the craziest taxi ride of my life. Overall I'm glad that I went, but I'm not rushing back.
Boquete
I took a 1-hour flight from Panama City to a town in western Panama called David, then I rented a car and drove another hour to Boquete, a small mountainous town and one of the most popular retirement destinations in Central America. I can definitely see why. The mild climate, incredible restaurants, beautiful scenery, and relaxed pace of life made it hard to want to leave. I stayed at a beautiful Airbnb in the mountains (Vista Volan), went on several hikes (Pipeline Trail and the Lost Waterfalls), checked out the Caldera Hot Springs, ate at some delicious restaurants (Sugar and Spice, Boquete Sandwich Shop, Big Daddy's, and Tre Scalini), and walked around a coffee plantation (Finca Lerida).
Bocas del Toro
I left Boquete on Friday morning, dropped my rental car off in David, took a 4-hour bus drive to Almirante on the coast of Panama, and then took a water taxi to Bocas del Toro. I explored Bocas via bike and rode almost 15 miles around the island. Then the next day, I went on a boat tour of the surrounding islands (Zapatilla Island, Sloth Island, Coral Island). The water was completely clear and we saw tons of wildlife - Sloths, Dolphins, Star Fish, and more. My skin was burned and sandy, but my heart was happy.
