panama

Oh Panama. Panama for me is a very special place. It's where this whole trip for me started. Straight to Bocas Del Toro, and into the vortex where I spent some of the most amazing months of my life. Getting used to long-term life on the road. So I can't be without nostalgia for the country. It's a country that contains multitudes. Thank you Mr. Walt Whitman, for that one. I also returned and spent another 4 months or so in Panama on my way down the Pan-American highway, so I am extremely familiar with the country. — In total about 7 months, longer than I have spent anywhere other than a place I had a lease.  I spent the majority of my time in the islands. I am partial to them. But outside of the islands Panama is a country that has a very large selection and diversity of things to do, climates, and cultures. It's a place that you can easily get stuck in. Rich with culture, natural beauty, diversity, Indigenous heritage, a big and modern city if you are looking for it, a backpacking culture, stunning beaches, warm clear water, and most of all for me, excellent waves. It's the only Central American country that boasts excellent waves on both the Caribbean and the Pacific sides. So if you run out of season on one side... — well, the other side is only about a day's drive away.  Panama is the bottom of Central America. — Famous for the Panama Canal, and if you are driving your car through this part of the world, it is notoriously where the Pan-American highway stops. — Or rather, gets interrupted. The dense and harsh Darien Gap is the reason for that. An impassible with a vehicle fortress of jungle, gangs, human trafficking and drugs. A fascinating little part of the world.  The country has a very interesting mix of the haves and the have-nots. Panama City is a poster child for differences in equality. A massive, very affluent community, adjacent to oppressive slums. The country also has conflicting climates. The Caribbean side is hot, humid, frequently rainy, and sticky. The Pacific is beautiful, wild, rural, dry and more resemblant of a hot California coastline than the better known Caribbean side of Panama. The center of the country has mountain ranges, volcanoes, a high altitude coffee region, and finally a respite from the heat. Lastly, but certainly not least, the 'San Blas' Island chain — one of the most unique things that I have ever done, a chain of about 300 islands that are so beautiful you would have thought that they were an animated render from Pirates of the Caribbean, rather than something you are seeing in real life.  So Panama has a lot to do, but, surprisingly for its size, there aren't that many places that I would say are popular to hit from a tourist perspective. I am intentionally omitting one place called Cambutal. If you got this far in the description, which I doubt anyone really has, then look it up. It's an absolute gem. It's easy to spend a lot of time in Panama — the places mentioned here for the most part are amazing and worth spending time, but at the same time if you are on a quick trip, the simplicity of the tourist stops makes it really easy to do the country, and do it well in a short period of time.  Okay... well, I think I have exhausted my words on Panama. It's amazing. But if you spend long enough anywhere, you will learn it's amazing.