This is all the clothing I brought with me to Panama, plus the clothes that I was wearing when I took this picture, (including my hiking boots). This was the first trip where I learned to wash my clothes in the sink every night and it worked marvelously.
The temperature range for this trip was 40-90 degrees F and the entirety of my clothing packing was what’s on this bed and some Campsuds.
-2 synthetic quick drying t-shirts (Patagonia, REI)
-1 synthetic tank top (Old navy, no joke)
-heavy wool shirt (Minus 33)
-wool bottoms (Smartwool)
-wool hat (Smartwool)
-glove liners (REI)
-rain shell (White Sierra)
-zip off synthetic pants (Prana)
-2 pair socks (Smartwool)
-cotton shorts for sleeping (Duke University gift store)
-Thermoball jacket (North Face)
-swim suit
-Tek Towel (Amazon)
-flip flops for showering in hostels/ beach (Marshalls😛)
-climbing shoes (La Sportiva)
-hiking boots (Merrell)
-2 pair underwear (Patagonia)
-2 sports bras
I do wish that I would have brought a universal sink plug. I learned my lesson on this trip and started carrying one going forward.
Update 2017: This amount of clothing is overkill. Check the post on packing for Cuba for a new and improved list. Also, I now bring my universal sink plug and a [amazon_textlink asin=’B00V7P1R86′ text=’steripen’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’80liters-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’2764e573-dfc3-11e7-b2c6-bbbfc4aa37f4′] on every trip.
I have been traveling for a while now and unable to shower, but had to snap a selfie because I was so happy to be on a crappy Latin American bus again, blaring salsa and all smelly and decrepit. In this really weird way, it feels like home. Not my actual home, of course. But like home.
I hadn’t made any plans when I left for Panama, but after less than 24 hours in Panama City I knew I had to escape. A climbing friend had mentioned a place in the mountains called Boquete and I found a bus that would take me there.
Ah, it feels good to get out of the city.
As soon as we left the city limits, I started feeling better. That is, until they turned on the entertainment. A Spanish-dubbed old Kung Fu movie blared at max volume, so loudly it hurt my ears and my head and it threatened to hurt my soul. I resorted to wearing my neck pillow as ear muffs and that helped slightly. From that moment on, I never, ever forget ear plugs on a trip. They’re on my standard packing list and I just don’t leave town without them.
This is what desperation looks like.
Rather unexpectedly, we were stopped for an inspection and searched with a drug dog… and I was the only person who was asked for identification and questioned. I realized then that I hadn’t seen a white person since I left Panama City. I think this was a routine stop, or would have been, if there hadn’t been a weird gringa travelling alone on the bus.
9 hours and 4 busses later, I found a region of the country in the mountains near Costa Rica where I feel much more at home. I hear frogs, insects, and the occasional bird… and this is the mural at my hostel for tonight. (And I made friends with a climber!) (Who has never heard of Joshua Tree).
I am in love with the forest, but the highlight of this place is the locals. Gaboo, who took me hiking and swimming in a nearby waterfall. Ruben, who traded me climbing guide services for a pair of Evolv’s for his little boy. And Mauricio, who invited me into his home for a home cooked meal. I am overwhelmed by how generous and kind everyone has been to a solo traveler and have felt safe my entire time in this town.
Mural at the hostel. I knew after I saw this I’d found the right place.
Paradise is a wooded lawn with hammocks.
It felt amazing to be back in the cloud forest after so many years.
I did The Touristy Thing. I hired a horse and guide for an afternoon to explore the countryside.
Horseback selfie, naturally.
The volcanic rock wall near town was fascinating!
Just hanging out. I promise I looked really hardcore when I was actually climbing.
Next up: Waterfall hike. I heard tons of beautiful quetzals but was not fortunate enough to see one.
When in doubt, take your pants off and tiptoe into the freezing waterfall.
Bastimentos is magical. It’s a tiny Panamanian island in the Caribbean that can only be reached by boat and is 100% car free. People get around the island entirely on foot, via steep, narrow paths.
Bastimentos, viewed from the water.
My introduction to the region was admittedly jarring. A man tried to get friendly with me on the boat taxi, offered to carry my bag, and ignored when I tried to say no. I should have been more firm… I’ve learned to be a bolder traveler since then. He carried my bag with me desperately trailing in tow all the way to his hostel, where he then tried to pressure me into buying a room. It was nice enough, on a pier above the water, but empty. And I was thoroughly creeped out, as you likely can imagine, I grabbed my bag and gave a firmer NO and walked on to where I could locate more people. I landed at Hostal Bastimentos and was not disappointed.
Hostal Bastimentos. Highly recommend.
The main hostel on the island is fantastic. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Populated by tanned, fascinating, happy travelers who have spent varying times around Central America. And crawling with geckos. I was a happy girl.
The view from the porch.
The next day, a group from the hostel put together a number of custom local tours and I jumped in. We hiked to the beach, ate exotic tropical fruits, spelunked in a bat cave, viewed sloths on an island, boated through the mangroves, saw red poison dart frogs and snorkeled on a tropical reef. I’m very sorry to say I didn’t get photos of most of these adventures. What I have, I’ll share below.
Walking down paths on the interior of the island.
Children on the island collected almonds from the trees. They grew wild, everywhere.
Wizard beach. Worth the hike.
It wouldn’t be a vacation if I didn’t temporarily frighten some local wildlife.
We passed a dugout canoe in our motor boat on the way to the bat cave just before passing sloths!
There’s a sloth in there! I wish I had a better photo for you because these creatures are magnificent.
We headed over to unpopulated cays for some beach and snorkeling time.
I don’t like fish, but this was the tastiest one I’ve ever eaten. It was unfortunately illegally poached in a marine reserve… then it was cleaned (the innards were fed to a shark), and cooked over a fire on the beach. It was a magical, mixed experience.
Red poison dart frogs. This time, I didn’t touch them and then rub my eyes and spend days in pain (like I did that one time in the Amazon). Lessons learned the hard way.
Gorgeous creatures.
We were thirsty, so Titi, ever resourceful, opened us up a coconut.
