finally back on the road...dallas, san jose, panama city, boquete

I am finally back on the road...after a few years of minor trips, this time I will be spending 5 weeks in Central America...Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala (if all goes well).
I left a few days ago, flying from IAH over to San Salvador through Roatan, an island in the Caribbean of the coast of Honduras where I am going in a few weeks...it looked pretty from the plane, and it has the second biggest coral reef in the world, after Australia of course. The last leg of my flight to San Jose was delayed because of maintenance to the aircraft...so I landed in San Jose kind of late, I missed my bus to Panama City, it was raining, I had no clue how to go about anything, the center of town was closed down...in all this, I was lucky enough to be hosted by A in Escazu, a beautiful area outside the city center. Of course I could appreciate its beauty only the next morning...then it was time to get on a bus for 15 hours all the way to Panama City, which was pretty uneventful, except the 2 hours it took to cross the border and go through all the checks...the officer in Panama didn't want to let me in because I didn't have a return ticket...after a little arguing (his point did not make sense) he finally stamped my passport!
I arrived in Panama City bright and early, my host R was super nice to let me in at 6am, after which I immediately took off to go see the might Panama Canal...which was impressive...I got to understand how it really works, see a few cargos go through, and learn some interesting facts about it all...it takes a boat about 24 hours to cross from one ocean to the other, versus about 2-3 weeks to circumnavigate South America...the boats pay a fee that goes by weight...the highest ever paid was around 390.000$...the lowest? 0.36$ by a guy who was weighed and decided to swim across! It took him 10 hours!
After the Canal I walked around Casco Viejo, the old area of town, which reminds me a bit of Cartagena, Colombia, or Montevideo, Uruguay...parts of it are extremely run down, it almost looks like an urban slum, but the few buildings that did enjoy renovation are quite stunning! The pedestrian area was always packed with people eating, walking around, shopping, and people selling stuff...all sorts of stuff...of course all sorts of goods go through Panama...mostly "made in China" goods I would say...then I took a bus through some residencial areas, which are nice and lush, and kinda remind me of Key West, FL...which contrasts with the hectic and shiny part of town called El Cangrejo, which reminds me of a wannabe Las Vegas with a touch of Miami in it...casinos, electronics stores, big hotels, lots of lights, skyscrapers...I even managed to find a vegetarian restaurant in the midst of all that!
The second day, to escape the bustle of the city, I took a day trip to Isla Taboga, about 1hr boat ride of the Pacific coast...I hiked up to the hill from which you could still see the Panama City skyline, and of course the whole island with its beaches, boats, and houses...then I spent the rest of the afternoon chilling in the water trying to protect my sunburn and chatting it up with some local guys...after that was a visit to El Cangrejo, and then it was my turn to leave for a new destination...not before being stopped by a policeman in the old part of town, around 9pm...he asked me if I was either lost or had a death wish...I said "neither"...he then proceeded to explain I should be really careful, walk only where there are people around, and get out of there...that got the message across especially when he ran his thumb across his neck! haha So I quickly got my stuff, said "bye" to my wonderful host R and his brother A, and took off for a fast walk towards the bus stop...once at the bus terminal, everything was nice and modern so I took some time off to enjoy wandering around the 24hr supermarket...before hopping on a night bus to David and sleeping the entire 6hr ride!
This morning I woke up at 6am in David, caught another bus to Boquete, and tried to stay awake to enjoy the views...but couldn't. Once I got here and found my hostel, I took an hour nap, figured out what to do and went for a 4hr walk on this path that leads through coffee plantations...Boquete is a 5000 mountain town by the Volcan Baru, the highest peak in Panama...it's really nice and I am really enjoying the chilly and rainy weather, which is very good for my sunburn! I came back from my walk, checked out the city center, and then visited the supermarket for some food...what I did not know (and eventually noticed throughout my day here) is that the town is a major destination for gringo retirees and snow birds in general, so parts of it cater to a wealthy, English-speaking population that has nothing to do with the locals...just like in Panama the modern areas are all aspiring to be like the US, while the local folks don't know a word of English and manage to get by on little or nothing...well, here it seems very similar, although there is "no crime" and it's much more cooler and relaxed than Panama City! So the town has a bunch of services that are English-speaking and seemed a bit out of place to me, like several real estate agencies, attorney's offices, and such...even the supermarket has "specialty" goods like Barilla pasta and Silk soymilk that you might not find in Panama City, let alone in a small mountain town! So I learned a little about this back at the hostel while cooking my dinner as I was talking to a Santa-looking like, Tennessee hailing, snowbird that is about to spend 4 and a half months in Boquete, just as he has done for the past 5 winters...I had seen him earlier in town handing out candy to local kids...of course not saying a single word, as he does not speak any Spanish...but he told me about all of this gringo side of things here, which is kinda interesting...again, very contrasting, but Latin America is all about contrasts anyway!
Tomorrow I am off to Bocas del Toro, on an island on the Caribbean side, by the border with Costa Rica...and I am getting there on a water taxi that goes through a bunch of banana planatations, supposedly producing about 30% of the world's supply, and the headquarters of the famous Chiquita brand! haha