A lazy day after 14 hours of tramping the streets and boogying yesterday. The town looks like it is suffering a communal hangover. No one around, nearly all the shops are closed and a few council workers are making a half hearted attempt at clearing the mountains of rubbish. Roll on tomorrow.
I realised that yesterday was the first day without rain since arriving in Panama.
Tuesday 30th November
An American girl, Leah, and I arranged an early start for today to visit some impressive waterfalls. At 7am there is low cloud and the prospect of rain. By 10am it is pouring down again - I'm pleased to still be in the warm and dry hostel with a good book. The rain continues . . .
Wednesday 1st December
Leah and I are booked on a zip-line canopy tour. 8am at their office around the corner then a 45 minute truck journey uphill all the way to the cloud forest for the 9 of us who are crazy enough to try it. 3km of being suspended on a cable hundreds of feet in the air and at speeds up to 80 km/hour (50 mph).
We are all very nervous to begin with but they start us with some short, slow rides to give us confidence. Then the excitement commences.
Leah and I have swapped memory cards to our cameras - that's how I have photos of myself!
Volcano Baru from the first platform.
I'm just about to launch myself into the air suspended from the bottom left cable.
We get back to town just before it starts raining hard AGAIN!
Tomorrow I'm up early and travelling most of the day. I'm not sure the next place, up in the jungle again, has internet. Don't be surprised if you don't hear from me for a while.
Thursday 2nd December
One and a half hours on a rural bus through to the city of David. Then 3 hours on an express coach to the town of Santiago. I then need a taxi ride from the main coach station to the rural bus terminal. After this it is another one and a half hours on a mini-bus into the jungle to Santa Fe.
Most of the time it is pouring with rain; the rivers are full and brown with silt. When I get to Santa Fe I’m lucky that the bus driver knows the small hostel where I am staying and it’s only a 10 minute walk from the bus stop. I still managed to get soaked in that short time!
Just as I arrive the electricity goes out to the whole small town. It’s an omen to make me feel at home!
I check-in to a lovely airy room with great views. I’m desperate for at least 2 cups of tea but need milk (I brought UK tea bags!!). I find out that the nearest mini-market is just by the bus stop so it’s out with the umbrella again. Just as I get there they are closing early – no light stops play!
So I have black tea and hang out on my balcony to see if the electricity will return. By 8pm I get fed up sitting around in the dark (it reminded me of my night on the beach on Crete 13 months ago – what do you do for 12 hours in the dark!). I go to bed.
At 10.30pm I am awoken by the playing of an audio book on the shared balcony; I don’t think my neighbours are aware that I’m in the room and with the shutters wide open. Oh well, it means the electric is back and there is some entertainment. The only problem is that I recognise the book; “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. It has an interesting story but a crating style; I doze off again.
Friday 3rd December
Up early; no great surprise what with the early night! Stephanie, the hostel owner, tells me that all the best hikes are mud slicks. But she does give me info on a strenuous 5 hour round walk mainly on roads.
It is not raining. But when the sun comes out it is incredibly humid; you drip when just sitting having a break.
It’s a wonderful small hostel in beautiful grounds but it does not have WiFi or even any Internet. I have to go up the road to the only Internet in town. It is slow. Expect more photos when I get back to Panama City in 3 or 4 days time!
Hostel La Qhia, Santa Fe
My balcony
The view from the balcony
Saturday 4th December
Another strenuous walk in the hills. A lazy afternoon. It rained on and off.
A living fence, beautiful.
Sunday 5th December
It rained most of the day. There are not many guests here but one is an ‘Aussie John’ – talks crap and just won’t stop! It seems like he has been following me around all day.
Monday 6th December
Walked up to what would have been a beautiful quiet waterfall in the jungle a week ago. However, due to all the rain, there has been a big land slip that has ruined the beauty of the place. It rained all afternoon.
The village of Santa Fe in the valley
Tuesday 7th December
It is pouring with rain when I wake up. It looks like it may rain all day. Motor mouth is still here. What to do?
I may as well waste the day travelling on to Panama City even though I’ll be returning to Mamallena Hostel one day earlier than expected. I get to the city late afternoon in pouring rain. The huge bus station is chaos. I have no idea what local bus to take and so I have to vie with hundreds of others for a share taxi. After nearly an hour I strike lucky and reach the safe haven of the hostel 20 minutes later.
I meet Luke’s brother Stuart. Will informs me that they are full but that I can grab a mattress on the floor in their soon to be opened travel office over the road. It’s OK. The rain keeps pouring down.
Wednesday 8th December
I am on a mission. One of the things that I really wanted to see whilst here in Panama City is the new Museum of Biodiversity designed by an architect I greatly admire, Frank Gehry.
The rain stops at 9am so I grab a taxi to the other side of the city; to a causeway overlooking the entrance to the Panama Canal. By the time I get there it is peeing down again. I had learned that the museum should have been finished by now but that it was not. I arrive to find a deserted building site and a fascinating tangle of steel beams. I wander around the site for over an hour just marvelling at how they could possibly conceive, draw and then build such a complicated 3D work of art. It would appear that work ceased about a year ago; lack of funds me thinks.
Panama City from the Causeway
By the time I get back to the hostel I am soaked, yet again! Not long after Omid arrives. The remainder of the day is a blur of raki shots, beer, Perudo and Indian food. It is still raining!
Thursday 9th December
Over a late breakfast / early lunch at a local cafe we find the national news on television dominated by the weather. There are serious floods around the country and the Panama Canal is closed for the first time in over 20 years because of too much water! Now is it me being stupid but I would have thought that they would have to close the canal if there was no water!
As the rain continues we have an afternoon and evening of beer, pizza and Perudo. I get an early night as I have an early start on Friday.
Friday, Saturday & Sunday – they all kinda drifted into one long day!
I shared a taxi at 7am with 3 others out to the airport. Easy but boring flights to Newark (New York) and then on to Athens. Although my watch told me the flying time was 24 hours it was actually only 17 hours when I put my watch back by 7 hours. I’m booked on the 1pm flight to Iraklio. I go through all the security checks and wait and wait. The flight has been cancelled due to bad weather in Iraklio. It’s hard to believe. Here in Athens it is cold, nearing freezing, windy and with snow flurries. I have made an error; all my cold weather clothes are in the hold luggage as I didn’t think I would need them on the journey home!
So we all have to queue up to try to get tickets for the next flights; well that wasted another hour! I get a ticket for the 7.40pm plane; go through all the security checks and wait and wait. Eventually, at about half past 8, they tell us that this flight has also been cancelled due to bad weather in Iraklio and that we all have to queue up again for new tickets for tomorrow. I’ve had enough having been on the road for over 30 hours.
At least Olympic Air did the right thing and bussed us all to a high class but nearly empty beach hotel for the night with free dinner and breakfast. I eventually get to Iraklio at 2pm on Sunday. I have a hotel and car booked as I want to do some serious shopping whilst I’m in Iraklio.
I make it home at 4pm on Monday and yes, the weather was seriously bad on Crete on Saturday and Sunday. Home . . . happy.
