Marbella Panama City

... of about 5 minutes so after having a look round and an al fresco lunch we decided it was worth the risk to walk back. It was fine though it definitely felt a bit sinister with all these dangerous looking home boys giving us the eye as we ambled along the road. After that we walked alomg the promenade for a while as it was a bit more tourist friendly until the heavens opened again and we beat a hasty retreat back to the hotel.<br>Next day went to the bus terminal to investigate how to ...

... what to do, so we thought we were in the wrong place. We walked down the hallway and asked a nice stranger to help us, in Spanish. He was very kind and lead us to where we needed to be, right where we were before! Finally, after I tried to open the door and force myself on them, they decided to do their job and help us! They took our paperwork and placed it on the desk. When they finally looked at it they told us we needed to do customs in Colon, where we ...

... t too b*d; we m*n*ged to hold our own (food down) while the rest of the bo*t in the words of M*ximus from Gl*di*tor ´unle*shed hell´, one little *si*n l*dy demonstr*ted her projectile prowess *nd only n*rrowly missed us *s she stepped out onto the deck for some freshish *ir. Phew! w*s *ll I could s*y in rel*tion to the ne*r miss *nd the stench th*t followed. But, like *ll good storms the c*lm c*me soon enough *nd we found oursleves doused in *qu*m*rine w*ter *midst the ...

Even before we landed, I could see the ships waiting to get through the canal from the air.  It was pretty neat.  (Just for those who were wondering, I had already slept through a flight and a half and was ready to be awake.)<br>I got to Panama City in the afternoon, and because I didn´t have any baggage to claim, I went straight through to the taxi stand to get a taxi.  I hadn´t had a ton of time to figure out what there was to do in Panama and I only had ...

... my birthday though... Me and my Bristolian friend Kirsty met a load of Aussies and played Ring of Fire in the hostel before heading out to a club for the night before. The music was pretty rubbish but it was a fun evening all the same. On my actual birthday... Kat showed up! Hooray! We drank frozen margheritas and planned our week. We decided to head up to the San Blas archipelago on the north coast stretching towards Colombia. It's a group of about 400 desert islands ...

... unless we have this declaration from the police, which is reported to take 6 hours to get.   You need to be at the police station in Panama City (can only be done there) at 12 noon and you wait around for hours for this paper.  Sounded like a blast. When we got through the hellish traffic in Panama City with a couple of close calls of cars hitting us, etc, Mabel, the sales person we were dealing with was at lunch.  She would be ...

18/02/08<br><br>Just for the record Panama Hats actually originated from Ecuador and the finest ones come from there. I guess they're cheaper there too. And, no, i have not brought one. Yet.<br><br>I made a split second decision to leave Bocas yesterday, and grabbed the night bus to Panama City, getting in at 4.30am. A pricey but modern and fast coach - can someone explain to me exactly WHY all intercity coaches turn the air-con to 11 on the 0-10 scale? It ...

... island, so that bigger ships can pass through the canal. 15. The ships travel at 5 mph through the locks. 16. If the ships don´t use the canal they have to go around the coast and it can take up to 3 weeks longer and end up costing them a lot more. Sure you are really grateful for all that useless info but you´ll thank me if it wins you a pub quiz!!! That´s your lesson over for today and the end of our Panama trip so will be in touch with more useless info soon!

Last night I met my room mate, Christine. She is originally from Bolton but has lived abroad for the last 12 years, currently in Rio in Brazil. She is a music teacher and is very well travelled and has plenty of very interesting tales to tell. We met up with Gordon (the Canadian), Linda and Dan (American) and Patrick and Rosalyn (Australian) for the welcome meeting with Shonagh, our tour guide (Scottish). Christine and I popped out for a quick dinner. I had the Sococho ...

... zone. A police officer standing at the front of the construction zone not a flagman. As we drive past the officer there is a large pick up truck with it's windshield smashed. A quick glance and I can see a small motorcycle underneath the front axle of the truck. A pool of blood just a few inches from the front tire. A nasty reminder of one's vulnerability on a motorcycle. My mood was hampered immediately and my thoughts remained with the ...