Week 12 Panama

Week 12

Wednesday to Saturday. Another early start to make our way to Santa Fe. Armed with a packed lunch of sandwiches and bellies full of papaya and freshly brewed coffee we got a:

• Taxi to the port
• Boat to Almirante
• Bus to David
• Bus to Santiago
• Bus to Santa Fe

Boat back to main land

We arrived at Santa Fe at 8pm - the bus dropped us off at the beginning of a dirt road and we hoped it led to our home for the next 4 days.

Walking in complete darkness, we were welcomed by the only lights in the area - it was our hotel, Anachoreo.  Once we dumped our bags in our very nice spacious room, wine was a priority, so we headed straight for the bar.

Anachoreo was a lovely place run by a Cambodian lady and her Dutch husband. The business had only opened in 2012. They had come to Panama to build a home and a business for themselves. Set in amongst the beautiful village of Santa Fe with mountains in the background everywhere you looked. Anachoreo was a great place to relax and explore the surrounding area by foot.

Eagle in the tree

The hostel grew a lot of fruit and vegetable - this is a baby pineapple!!

Santa Fe is a sleepy little village where horses are still the main mode of transport, even though there was a well maintained tarmac road (unusual).  We attempted a few adventures by hiking to a waterfall (couldn't find it after 3 hours of walking), climbing to the top of one of the surrounding mountains (didn't quite make it as the path vanished in amongst the vegetation), walking to a different waterfall (couldn't find it either) and exploring the area around the village.

Eating oranges which had fallen onto the floor - they were lovely!

Dead end on the way to the view point!

Roland checking for ants

Which way shall we go?

Sweaty Betty

House in the mountains

On the way up the mountain, I couldn't help but laugh when Roland had to take his trousers down to free a wasp which had somehow got trapped up his trouser leg and stung him a few times. And then about 20 minutes later he had to take them down again as he literally had ants in his pants after standing on an ants nest. Poor Roland!

Anachoreo boasts to have the only Cambodian restaurant in Panama. Roland and I certainly enjoyed the food - it was absolutely delicious. I especially enjoyed the fish curry - I had it everyday! Roland worked his way through the menu deciding that the chicken curry was his favourite. The breakfast here were also very good (included in the price of the room). I was addicted to the English style pancakes (sugar and lemon) while Roland enjoyed eggs and bacon everyday.

Admiring the view during breakfast

Sunday. 9am and it was time to leave Santa Fe and make our way to Panama City. Thank god this trip will only involve 2 buses! I am amazed at how many people they can fit on a 12 seat Collective bus - I counted 24 at one point! I was pleased we had a seat! Arriving at Santiago we were lucky with our connection to Panama City as there was a bus getting ready to leave as we arrived.

Monday. We stayed at Mediterranean  Dreams and we were very happy to have air conditioning for the first time this trip. After scoffing  breakfast we headed out to explore Panama.

This actually told the correct time!

Coca-Cola Xmas Tree

Merry Xmas!!!!