Whitewater Rafting

Boquete is supposed to have fantastic whitewater, especially in the rainy season, so I figured I'd try my hand at rafting. The company picked me up at around 7:30am to head out to the river. It was me and three of the most obnoxious backpackers I've met. It was two guys who'd come from France to visit their childhood friend who's working in Panama City, although I don't know how any of them could've gotten a job since none of them spoke Spanish or English all that well.

The pass was called Sendero de las Brujas (Witches' Path or something to that effect) and had class 3 and 4 rapids. This section was called La Caldera (The Caldron). On the whole it was a good time, but I have to say I would've preferred to try kayaking. In a raft you really can't do anything but paddle forward or paddle backward. It's kind of boring. When I went whitewater canoing there were like a dozen strokes to learn and you had all sorts of control. Maybe I'll do kayaking once I'm further north and the prices are a little cheaper.

Boquete

I finally made it to the mountains, at around 6 o'clock in the morning and checked in to a little hotel to nap and drop my bags off before exploring. The area is very pretty, and like Medellin the temperature is much cooler than all the coastal towns I've been bumming around in lately. Unfortunately, it's also technically a rainforest and it is definitely the wet season. It starts clouding over in the morning and by the afternoon it starts raining. And it doesn't stop. On the plus side its nice going to sleep to the sound of the rain, and it's good motivation to wake up bright and early. I probably won't stick around long though.

Surfeando

I know how to surf now! In Spanish they call us corredors de olas, which literally means wave runners, how sick is that? The beach break here is pretty beginner friendly. There are tons of waves so when you miss one there's usually another right behind it. Unfortunately Felix, the guy I paid for the lesson, decided to ask for more than twice as much money after the class was over. I refused and the dude got mad and took my sandals.

I talked to a friendly expat about it later on and he said although most of the locals are really nice there are several people like Felix in the town. They're young guys who spend all their money at the canteen and are bitter because people their same age come in from the cities with their own cars, surfboards, and girlfriends. He told me I could get a pair of flip flops in the city for a few bucks and said he'd tell Felix's dad (who he still lives with) which I got a kick out of. I'm off to the mountains, I hated those sandals anyway.

Isla de Coiba

The island is an old penal colony with a nasty history from Noriega's brutal reign which was converted into a national park by the Panamanian government in 1992. It's surrounded by coral and our first dive was right off its coast around Wahoo Rock. The visibility was amazing and we swam with a gigantic manta, dozens of species of fish, and white tip sharks.

We docked on the island for lunch and I got thoroughly lost on the unmarked trails leading through the ancient forest. I ran into the island's resident crocodile but wasn't able to get very close. When I found my way back to the boat we headed back out for the second dive, which was less eventful though we spotted a few more sharks. My ears are still throbbing from the pressure of 70 feet of water.

La Vida Dura

I'm hanging out it a little village on the Pacific Coast of Panama called Santa Catalina. The population here is just a few hundred and there are only two roads. However it's the jumping off point for all the trips to Coiba, a national park with some of the best scuba diving in Central America. It's also full of surfers from all over the world who come for the beautiful beaches. During the day there's a sea breeze which keeps it cool and at night there's a land breeze to warm things up so it's pretty much always in the 70s.

I'm got in late yesterday afternoon and checked into little hotel right by the beach called Rolo's. Everything was closed so I spent the afternoon reading a little Spanish novela in a hammock and listening to the waves. That night I collected leaves with some surfers to use as chips and stayed up late playing poker and drinking rum. They told me about a secret grove with mango trees that I think I'll try to find tomorrow after scuba diving. I might also rent a board and try my hand at Playa Estero. It's gonna be hard to leave this tropical paradise but I think I'll head to the mountains the next day.

Panama Nightlife

I heard Panama City has the best nightlife in Central America so I met up with some party people and headed out to see it myself. There's a big strip full of fancy clubs, most of which have English names like People or Blue. They usually have covers, especially the new ones, of which there are always plenty thanks to frequent reopenings. Booze is cheap and you can find whatever music you could want, but it's clearly an expat town. There are tons of gringos, frequently toting prepaid girls. I still had a blast but I'm eager to get out of town and away from all these creepy American businessmen.

Mormons

The Mormons are campaigning hard for Latin American souls and just built allegedly the best Mormon temple in Latin America just outside Panama City. The place is made mostly out of marble and looks insanely expensive. It just opened a few weeks ago and all the visitors lined up to have people put plastic covers over our shoes. They had massive crystal chandeliers, huge hand painted murals on all the walls, and reliefs carved into a huge marble font. I think they will get converts just because people will want to have their babies baptized in it.

Miraflores Locks

The canal waters are actually like 50 meters above sea level so in order to get container ships in they have to drag them into chambers called locks with towing equipment, then wall off the chambers which flood to the appropriate water level. At the other side the boat enters the lock, the water level inside falls to sea level, and the ship sails back out into the ocean.

Waterflow is controlled by floodgates using only the force of gravity and boats are charged by weight, usually paying tens of thousands of dollars per passage. The cheapest passage ever granted went to Richard Haliburton who swam across for 36 cents in the 20s. The Panama Canal only accepts cash and wire transfers because they are badass.