Those of you who have checked out the geography of Panama or are familiar with it, know that the country of Panama runs east and west with the Pacific ocean to the south and the Carribean Sea to the north. Both our previous visits and this one so far had been around Panama City which lies on the Pacific side so it was high time that we checked out the other side.
First let it be known that Uwe and I rarely get lost , nor do we use GPS. We left around 10AM armed with our map of Panama and our hand-drawn map curtesy of our neighbour Paul. The first part out of the city past MetroMall where we had been twice before was no problem. We missed the first turnoff - we had assumed some kind of sign for Corridor Nord or Colon, NOT- so used one of the many 'retornos' ( Uturn ) and got back on track. We finally got unto the Corridor Nord- nice 4 lane plus highway around north perimeter of Panama City. We were on the lookout for signs to the city of Colon and took the first exit with Colon on it- wrong again! Back ontu the highway and then hit a half hour wait at the second toll booth ( there are 4 all together along our route). Seems that in spite of the traffic only 3 booths were open so there we waited.
Once past the toll, we flew by our exit to Colon- no warning, just the Colon sign on the exit. Are you counting- we are now at 3 mistakes!
Finally we got on the highway north with 50 KM to go to the city of Colon which is shortly after we turn off towards the village of Portobelo. The highway was great, no traffic and quite scenic- rolling hills.
We did manage to find the turn towards Portobelo in spite of the Portobelo sign being twisted and not visible- Paul's map showed a McDonald's and Supermercado. This road was only a 2 lane and again no signs! At the next village we missed yet another turn off and again no sign. After going down the wrong road for 5 minutes and ending up in a local subdivision, we figured out our mistake and backtracked. Finally, finally we were going the right way. After 4 errors we were headed towards Isla Grande.
We stopped at this very nice restaurant for lunch on the outskirts of Portobelo.
And had a necessary cervaza after our ordeal- LOL
The road from here on was very pretty hugging the sea shore.
We came to the resort parking lot, parked our car and went to the beach to wait for our boat which was to take us to the resort.
Here is our driver taking us on a pretty small boat.
After an approximate 10 minute boat ride to the island, we arrived at Banana's Resort
our home for the next 2 days.
The pool and main reception/dining room
And the beautiful beach
Besides snorkling, this was my favorite activity for the day.
The next day we took a walk to the little village on the other side of the island. The path was made of concrete steps going up to the top and middle of island and back down the other side. Quite a strenous 20 minutes- are we getting in shape or what!
The way up leaving from our resort
And resting at the top
The village on the other side was very poor but very scenic
With the most incredible clear beaches
We had a beer in a little bar called Pupy's ( and met Pupy who looked a bit like a rasta man!) where Bob marley music was played all day.
We spent the rest of the day hanging around our resort beaches, snorkling, and yes, laying in my favorite hammock enjoying the incredible 'eye candy'.
And having the odd cervaza or two
These are my friends gypsies!
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