Panama Travelogue (Panama City & Rainforest, Boquete, Bocas del Toro)
 

Hello --

Thank you to everyone who provided advice on traveling to Panama.

Recently finished posting my travelogue at:
http://www.esmetravels.com/category/...a-travel-blog/

Page 1: Panama Overview, Gamboa Rainforest
• Panama seemed like a good idea then
• Canopy Tower Ecolodge: serious doubts
• Venturing into the rainforest

Page 2: Gamboa Rainforest, Panama City
• Odd conversations with birdwatchers
• The start of a Panama romance
• The Panama Canal and other sights

Page 3: Boquete
• Jaunting to Boquete
• Coffee Estate Inn awkward encounter
• Curious El Explorador Gardens

Page 4: Boquete
• Price Peterson, International Man of Coffee
• Esconced at the Panamonte Inn
• In Search of the illusive quetzal

Page 5: Boquete, Bocas del Toro
• Coffee estate tour discovery
• Escaping to Bocas del Toro
• Eff It, we're in Bocas

Page 6: Bocas del Toro
• Hanging with La Coralina deckflies
• Erwin: naturalist, sniper, fugitive
• An education in dart frog smuggling

Page 7: Bocas del Toro, Panama City
• So this is what quicksand is like
• So long Panama: saying goodbye

You are a great story teller. I really enjoy your style of writing. No beating around the bush, straight to the point. I'll stick to the beach in Panama. Thanks for a good read :)

Thank you, Travelbound44! It was a fun trip to write about -- met so many characters along the way...

- Esme

You are hilarious, Esme; you should for sure write a book! I enjoyed this so much, thanks.

Thanks, Cattail. Panama offered such great fodder to write about..

This was a fun read, Esme; I enjoyed it!

volcanogirl: I appreciate the feedback.

I agree with the post above - I'd love to read a book you published.

Well thank you for the compliment. Maybe I will collate my blog posts one day. In the meantime, feel free to subscribe! Working on Laos/Bangkok right now.

http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/ma...vels&loc=en_US

Loved your Panama travel blog. Made me want to return and see areas we missed last time. Apparent bad news is that Coralina is closed/has new owners. We had our heart set on going there. Any more news on that anybody?

Thanks, shelleybeach.

I'm sorry to hear that Stacy is no longer at La Coralina and that it is closed. She did such a great job of getting that place up to speed and running in the face of a lot of hardships. I hope she mad a BIG profit.

Great read. I love Panama ( grew up there) , it was fun to see it through your eyes.

I appreciate the feedback, cmcfong.

Loved this travelogue - funny and informative. You're a great writer.

Thank you very much, joangk! Off to Burma tomorrow. Should provide lots of future fodder.

Travelbound44, Cattail, volcanogirl, shelleybeach, cmcfong and joangk: just posted a new report (Jordan & Israel) if you are interested in additional reading:

http://www.esmetravels.com/category/...israel-jordan/

Oooooh, this is GOOD stuff!

New article on Panama (If Ever There was a Time to Visit Panama, This Is It) from Conde Nast Traveler:

http://cntrvlr.com/1sKgU5T

Exciting developments:

- Gehry-designed BioMuseo, a $100M museum
- American Trade Hotel, an Ace property in Casco Viejo
- Madrigal, a new restaurant by Andrés Madrigal, a Michelin-star chef
- Humo, a Panamanian barbecue with an emphasis on local ingredients
- Amazing-looking pool at the Waldorf Astoria

I went on a tour of the Biodiversity Museum while there in March. It is excellent. I recommend doing it before you go to Barro Colorado Smithsonian preserve. It gives you an excellent overview of Panama's unique role in plant and animal diversity.
And the American Trade Hotel is a definite wow.