So Panama City was said to be quite risky in parts. Met an older US couple who couldn't believe that I was walking round the place on my own. She said that she had to hold onto her husband all the time for fear of being mugged. I didn't get that impression outside the shopping mall though.
So I booked myself onto one of these city hopper buses which are strictly not travelers territory but I rate them. They allow you to hop on & off the bus at all the major sites in a 24 hour period - brilliant if you haven't got much time in any one place. Went to the canal-unfortunately the visitors centre was closed so that was a disappointment, then went to the causeway which gave great views back to the city, a couple of other places & then the old part of the town which is called Casco Viejo. Was totally brilliant. Some of the buildings had already been renovated & others were in the process of being turned into upmarket hotels, bars & restaurants. Sat in the plaza & had a well deserved Atlas beer watching the world go by. Very relaxing apart from the searing heat, clouds of brick dust & the scream of construction equipment-but you get the idea.
So walked back to the bus & thought I'd have a little wander in the surrounding area- it turned out to be not the worlds most brilliant idea as I ended up in a barrio called El Chorillo which the guidebook describes as 'notoriuosly unsafe & to be pointedly avoided at all times'. Well I did realise my mistake very quickly & legged it out of there sharpish.
Had a couple more days just chilling in the centre & checking out the bus for my next stage which was to be in the town called David. Got the bus which wasn't a chicken bus as I had expected but a modern-ish double decker coach. Really lucked out on the seat allocation as was on the top deck right at the front so had a good view & leg room. Brilliant I thought. Didn't think that after about an hour into the 7 hour trip when I was wearing a t-shirt, long sleeved t-shirt, my Cervinia hoodie & hat. It was feezing as the AC was on full blast & I couldn't turn it off. The only thing that kept me warm were my hot flushes!!
A couple of days in the pouring rain in David & then it was time to move onto an island group in the Caribbean sea called Bocas del Toros. Lovely backpacker place with free bike rental thrown in as part of the deal to get round the place. Met a couple of girls from Appleby who knew my Godmother-that is a strange one I can tell you.
Stayed in a lovely place where there were hammocks so I used them & read my Kindle only to be rudely interrupted on regular occasions by the deafening noise of the humming birds feeding on the birdfeeder about a foot from my head. Noisy little fellas they are too.
After a night at a Salsa club with a guy from NYC who recognised me from Utila- his chat up line was 'Utila' (& it worked) I made my way on a shuttle bus here to Costa Rica & a small village/town called Puerto Viejo. It's lovely. The usual backpacker place with wooden buildings, bars, restaurants & hair braidiing emporiums.
Have spent the last couple of days on a fantastic beach pretty much by myself in very hot sunshine & crystal clear water. Was savagely attacked by a couple of very small reef fish today which I wasn't that happy about but just about recovered in time for a plate of chicken with rice & beans at a street stall. Excellent.
All is good but forgot to buy a hat in PC!
