Panama

Tankers wait in the harbour for passage through the canal

Arriving in Panama brings a new feeling of excitement for both of us. Whereas our time in South America had been researched and roughy mapped out before we left, Central America is the complete unknown. It'd had never been in the original plans to make it this far north and it's a late change to avoid expensive flights to Mexico. Admittedly Nic has been the driving force on the research front, but Ecuador aside, we've both had at least some idea about the places we were visiting and when. 

Because of this I've been a bit dismissive of travelers whose pre-holiday research didn't extend beyond the airline website. Surely there's added enjoyment with at least some expectation of what you're seeing and doing? Our experiences at Machu Picchu or Torres del Paine, or any number of other places suggests so. And the memory of a clueless traveller we met in Vietnam, who fell into every tourist trap imaginable after boarding the outward flight straight from his goodbye drinks is a good warning to do at least the bare minimum of background work.

But I'm starting to think there're some advantages to traveling blindly to a new destination. Just like the expectations of New Years Eve often weighs down the night, the guidebook hype or photoshopped pictures can sell something that real-life can't deliver. The hawkers and touts, stifling humidity or rubbish strewn streets - these things are left out of the descriptions. It's not that any of these omissions can ever be endearing, but the real attraction of a new place tends to shine through in spite of these factors when expectations haven't been driven up. So with flights to Cuba flying out from Cancun in just under 6 weeks, we disembark in Panama with almost zero idea how we'll make the 3000km journey to Mexico. We're officially ignorant tourists and it's exciting. 

Miraflores lock

At this point I note that my knowledge of central american geography is awful. I know Mexico sits at the top of the map and dwarfs its neighbors to the south. I know that Panama occupies the skinny bit at the bottom because this is the logical place to build a canal. But the rest of the countries muddled in the middle, to my uneducated mind at least, have spent their entire history recovering alternately from either civil war or natural disasters. The very little I know about Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica was fed to me by Judy Bailey at 6pm news time. I need to find the middle ground between ignorance and over expectation.

It's with some luck then that the first people we meet in our hostel have spent the last year traveling solely in Central America. They're rushing out the door to the airport but there's just enough time for them to condense their epic itinerary into a few personal highlights. Even luckier is that they're headed to Colombia and so it's a chance to ditch the Lonely Planet South America in exchange for the less brick-like Central America version. I start educating myself about places that were formerly just a wiggly line on the map.

Panama City comes across as a strange mix of South America and the Middle East. The latin-american influences are obvious and expected, but it's peculiar to see modern skyscrapers alongside traditional markets. It bills itself as the most cosmopolitan city of Central America and the Dubai of the Western Hemisphere. It's a safe feeling introduction to Central American capital cities which, as I begin to learn about in the LP, are not the best places to roam. Like Ecuador, its primary currency is the US dollar and the american influence is noticeable also. It's not love at first sight but there's enough happening to keep us busy for a few days. 

Pilfered from another blog because we didn't have anything better of the skyline 

It's a sloth. Near desperation point after not seeing one in 6 months in South America, Nic spots it on arrival at Bocas.

This includes a visit to the Panama Canal, which I'm very keen to see despite feeling a lack of enthusiasm on Nic's part. It's impressive to see huge tankers passing through the narrow locks but the displays and video are a bit light on info to keep me interested. Surprisingly Nic seems to take a lot more from it than I do, which just affirms my new thoughts on trying to travel without preconceptions.

Spotted red dart frog, native to Isla Bastimentos. The size of a thumbnail he narrowly avoids falling under my shoe.

Selling coconuts to the few beachgoers at Bastimentos

We depart from Panama City to the Caribbean islands of Bocas del Toro, close to the border with Costa Rica and 600km closer to Mexico. Bocas del Toro, we read on the bus, is a collection of several islands and a popular backpacker spot. But relatively fresh from our time in San Blas the main island fails to meet up to the Caribbean dream. There's hardly a beach to speak of and the waterfront is surrounded by mangroves. For me, mangroves fall under the same category as birds and clowns - complete irrational fear.

Thankfully only 15min by water taxi is Isla Bastimentos which couldn't be more different to dirty Isla Colon. Cheap accommodation (a failed resort that's been converted to a hostel) on an otherwise mostly vacant, jungle island. Mangroves at a minimum. Four days of reading on the beach mixed in with swimming, eating and drinking. Paradise found again. 

xN&G