Buenos Aires to Vegas - The Trek

I felt a bit guilty arriving back at Panama city at 4am as we needed to wake Rita up to let us in. Luckily she wasn ´t too grumpy with us so I slept a bit better until midday. I didn ´t get up to much at all that day besides sorting out some admin stuff. In the evening it was time to party with Angelica´s friend, Santiago or Santi for short. We went to a nightclub called Pure which was all white couches and blue lighting. The music was a pretty good mix of Reggaeton and commercial chart stuff and the crowd seemed very cosmopolitan... luckily I had my one and only collared shirt on so I don´t think I stuck out too much as the traveller bum that I am! The next day started off bright and early. Another family expedition had been planned to the indigenous Embera tribe and we were soon en route with mewling kids and hungover 20 somethings. The area was nearby to the city (only just over an hour drive) and had a unique micro climate . This valley is a catchment area for a large amount of ...

Bocas del Toro is the name of an island chain in the Atlantic just off the Panamanian coast and near the border to Costa Rica. It is largely covered by thick steaming rainforest and is world famous for its eco -diversity. The people there are also very diverse with local Indian tribes mixing with Spanish Panamanians and Black West Indians. The West Indian population means that English is widely spoken... a very good thing for me! Our bus from Panama city leaves at 8pm and we arrive at the town of Almirante 5am having had very little sleep. We immediately take a taxi to the local docks and catch a water taxi to the main Bocas Town which is situated on the main island of Colon. The ride is only 30 mins long owing to some hefty outboard motors on the small packed tourist boat. I see the sun rise over the ocean which is quite spectacular. Dawn at Bocas del Toro We walk around Bocas town looking for accommodation . Most places are only open at 9am which does not help. The prices a...

Panamanian buses in the rural areas (and urban too for that matter) were usually old US school buses that had been repainted and put into commercial use. We got on one of these to go from Puerto Lindo through to the port town of Colon. After only an hour we rolled into Colon, a port with a "Free Zone" where no tax is applied to goods at all. We had been forewarned that due to high unemployment, the town was very unsafe for foreigners. The town didn ´t look particularly inviting when we drove through it and there seemed a high degree of poverty with most of the housing needing some serious renovation and paintwork. Upon reaching the bus station, we grabbed our things and booked onto the next available bus to Panama City leaving in 20 minutes. We huddled together like frightened herd animals at the terminal until given permission to board. Just over an hour on the bus and we were in Panama City and safely at our hostel, Luna´s Castle . I get dumped into a room with strangers ...