Central America
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Northwards To The Picturesque Town Of Boquete
“No ingles, solo español”, says Jose as we climb into his slightly battered looking speedboat. It takes Jose a good eight pulls on the cable before the motor finally bursts into life rather than coughing and spluttering, and we are off across the waves towards Isla Iguana, although the occasional phut-phut noises make us wonder if we’re going to make it. Despite the name of the island, iguanas, though they are here, are not the main reason to take an excursion to this dot of land out in the seas off Pedasi, and nor are the tens of thousands of crabs which make it look at times like the ground…
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Across Panama To Pedasi: Into Cowboy Country
The heavy cloud which tends to envelop Panama City every afternoon is visible from the ferry some time before we reach the marina, large grey smudges marking cloudbursts and darkening the skies behind the lines of tankers and container ships waiting for their turn to pass through the Canal. Even the Bridge of the Americas looks dark and brooding rather than majestic. Passing through Panama City again – the second of four times we’ll be here due to the shape and layout of the country – we are now very ready for the next stage of this adventure as we collect the hire car and head out of town. Our…
- Africa, Belize, Central America, Independent travel, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, North America, Panama, Photography, Travel Blog, Wildlife
That Was 2022
When we retired at the end of 2019, full of wide eyed enthusiasm about seeing the world and feeling like the entire world was our oyster, we had a vision of what a year would look like. This was of course before we had any inkling that something very nasty was about to escape from China and have something of an impact on those plans. Resourceful as we were in ‘20 and ‘21 (we travelled as much as we could and more than most), 2022 has probably been the first year which really did match the dreams we had at the start. As a year which started in Costa Rica…
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Paradise Lost: Time To Move On
Michaela’s coming together with the floating log necessitates hiring a golf buggy to explore the island rather than going everywhere on foot, primarily because her oh-so-slow walk gives her a gait which brings both John Cleese and Jake The Peg to mind at the same time. She climbs steps as a toddler would, carefully assessing next move before lifting the first leg and then placing both feet on each step. Golf buggies are slightly odd too: at first the combination of a top heavy centre of gravity and uneven road surfaces with an ever changing camber makes us feel as if the thing will topple at any moment and we’re…
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Drug Barons, Michaela’s Knee And An Island Named Accountant: Days In Paradise
We have to admit that we’ve been a bit self-indulgent for the next seven days – well, it is Christmas after all. From now until 28th we’re on the ridiculously picturesque island of Contadora, out in the Pacific about 90 minutes on the little ferry boat from Panama City – a ferry boat which, with echoes of how Greek ferries used to be, crams as much goods and produce into its limited space as it does passengers. An early departure time means we’re down at Flamenco Marina before daylight and disembarked and checked in to our room-with-an-incredible-view on the island shortly after 10am. Before coming here we’d read that the…
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Exploring More Of Panama City
Once inside the Iglesia San Francisco de Asis in Plaza Bolivar, the lady behind the cluttered desk motions us towards a door at the side of the church and explains that the nativity scene within is a permanent display, not just for Christmas, and is one of four in Casco Viejo. It’s an extensive and impressive display, but passing through the next door we are cast into some sort of ethereal, pretend world. In this ante room there is, in working model form, an entire replica of an American town at Christmas time. Fairgrounds are alive, music ekes out from various venues, the Big Top issues sounds of a crowd….lights…
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The Mighty Panama Canal
The narrow, eel-like shape of the isthmus which is Panama, plus the layout of its network of roads, means that we will be passing through the capital city several times over the next few weeks, and no visitor can come here even once without taking in one of the 20th century’s greatest engineering achievements. Of the several available ways to experience the mighty Panama Canal, the best is reputed to be to pass through the locks on what is known as a transit boat. Be prepared to commit a day to it though: the operation of the locks is a slow process made even slower by waiting for the larger…
- Central America, Independent travel, Jamaica, Music, North America, Panama, Photography, Travel Blog
From Jamaica To Panama Via A Drama
Our money policies when it comes to travel include never carrying too much hard cash, using a bank card wherever we can and keeping amounts in that “live” account relatively modest. And above all, checking the account at least once daily. It’s a good job we stick to our policies, as you will see. With the Jamaica roads as they are and journey times unpredictable (and significantly longer than Google tells you), we opt to spend our last night on the island in Montego Bay to ensure we are close to the airport. Making our way first along the south coast from Treasure Beach and then across country, the views…
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Dreadlock Holiday
Not the first time we’ve used a 10cc song title as the header for a blog post, let’s just hope it never has to be “Rubber Bullets” or, especially, “I’m Not In Love”. Isn’t planning the next trip just one of the absolute joys of being a traveller. It doesn’t pass us by just how lucky we are, in so many ways, as we open books entitled “Where To Go When” and “The Travel Book”, knowing that the world, almost in its entirety, is our proverbial oyster. Although using a snot-like seafood which needs lemon and tabasco just to be edible for such a positive metaphor is a bit of…
- Africa, Asia, Central America, England, Greece, Independent travel, India, Mexico, North America, Photography, Transport, Travel Blog, Turkey, World food
Questions About Travel
Travelling the way we do, in regular lengthy stretches, is not something everyone is fortunate enough, well enough or even inclined to do. Whatever your chosen style of travel, there are some questions which all of us who do so are asked on a regular basis. Like… What do you miss about home? Answer: very little. My stock answer is “proper English ale” which is true, I do find myself craving a good pint sometimes. Michaela meanwhile goes straight for the roast lamb and mint sauce. With both of our families being scattered around the country, we always make a round of visits on our return and probably don’t see…
