We wanted to see a bit more of Panama so we decided to get a bus to Bocos del Toro and visit Isla Colon, an island in the north. We jumped on a Diablo Riojo (the local buses) and made our way to the main bus station. These local buses are so cheap at around $.30 cents a pop, and all though they are very run down with seats broken etc, they sure look cool from the outside (check the gallery!) and you can’t argue with the price!
The bus to Bocos del Toro was leaving at 9pm and it turned into some thing resembling bedlam trying to board it. We were all waiting inside the terminal before being allowed to pass through the gates and board the bus. When we were finally asked to pass through the gates we found we had to pay 5 cents into the swing gate to enter. We didnt have 5 cents and they wouldnt except 10 cents or a quarter so we had to go back into the main concourse and frantically run around to try and find the change! We werent the only ones though and there was quite a hoard of us ‘gringos’ near begging for 5 cents! A crazy system and if we had been informed before hand there wouldnt have been a problem, still I guess it’s all part of a steep learning curve. If you ever find yourself at the main bus station in Panama, just remember to have 5 cents at ready! After all the commotion the bus eventually left at 930pm and arrived, after an uneventful journey, in Bocos at 730am.
Next up we had to get a boat to Isla Colon that took around an hour. It had started to rain when we arrived so we ran across the main plaza and dived into a cafe to shelter and have some breakie, while also planning our next move. We decided on a few places to try for a room and when the rain eased up we started a walk around town. To our dismay the best of the bunch (in the lonely planet anyway) was closed for refurbishment so we started to knock on doors. The first was a B&B and the lady promised us her place was the cleanest, quietest and best priced room available.
Before she would tell us how much the room was she insisted we have a look as, apparently, we would be amazed. Well we were. But not at the room, of the sheer Gaul of this lady for trying to rob us of $45 for 1 night! This price had come down from her initial $55, which she had immediately, and in the same breath, discounted as she saw our mouths drop and me have to catch Sandra before she feinted! This lady still wasn’t giving up and as we were leaving she called after us to say we wouldn’t find cheaper on the island… Well just two doors up we tried our luck in another place and to our surprise we were offered a double room with private bathroom and cable TV for $25 p/n. After a short discussion they accepted $20 and we settled in. I wanted to go straight back to the first lady and tell her that there was indeed somewhere on the island that was not only nicer, but more than half price cheaper, but after the initial rush of blood to the head decided to let the old lady continue living in her heavily inflated world.
The weather seemed to get progressively worse the whole time we were on the island and there was some good thunder and lightning shows thrown into the mix. We were both disappointed with the island on the whole. There wasn’t really much to do and we didn’t fancy getting another boat off to another island so we just chilled for a couple of days on the rainy island and watched the busy locals go about their business.
The next day we got the overnight bus back to Panama city. This time we decided to stay at the other side of town away from the old town. We stayed at The Voyager Hostal on Via. Argentina, and although it was in a very rundown tower block building, above a Subway sandwich shop?!, the actual hostal wasn’t bad and the lady running the place was really nice. Panama were playing USA at football that night so there was a bit of excitement around the place. We went out for a meal and a few drinks to join the locals. Panama lost 2-1 and there were a few sad drunk faces on our walk back to the hostal!
Tomorrow we fly to Peru and start our South American adventure proper - we’re both really excited now!
So off we went to explore the old town. Right from the start we loved it. It has a ‘Cuban’ feel to it and is a mixture of old dilapidated colonial buildings amongst some very newly, and expertly refurbished ‘old’ colonial buildings! There are also some ‘no-go zones’ but luckily we had our radars on. It’s a colourful town: from the painted local buses (Diablo Rojos) to the painted houses. Ok most are in need of a lick of paint, or in some cases a complete re-build but it all just adds to the character. And the locals seem quite friendly too, which always helps!