Day 211 - 212 : More Days in Bocas

We followed closely the news about the situation between the indigeneous and the police and things seem to have taken a drastic turn in the last few days from the peaceful protest.

What was originally a reasonable reason for protest by the Indians started turning nasty as we saw images of Indians being filmed burning down police stations and attacking the police.

As days went by, the blockade on the main highway had been forcefully cleared by the police using big tractors, and though the road seemed clear, it was not safe as images were shown of Indians throwing rocks at all passing vehicles from a hill located next to the main highway.

Day 210 : Night at Blockade

We have heard over the last few days on the news that the blockades by the Indians had increased, with one blockade located on the main highway (the only single road that connects one end of Panama to the other), and is in our way to get back to the boat.

Hoping that we can at least get through to David to get some things for the boat before the shop closes for the weekend, with hopes that the blockade will be intermittantly open to traffic on our way back to the boat (like what we encountered on our way to Bocas), we took the speed boat back to the mainland yesterday and made our way.

Day 207 - 209 : Bocas

Bocas is located about 20 mins by speedboat from the town of Almirante.  It is interesting to see 3 different speedboat companies offering competitively different pricing for the trip to the island.

View at Almirante port

Day 206 : Blockade towards Bocas

Along with another lady we met on the Ziplining tour who needed a ride to Bocas, we left Boquete at about 2.30pm and made our way.

A couple of hours later, we came to a standstill with behind a huge line up of cars.  Not knowing what happened, we parked our car in the queue and was told that there was a blockade by the local indigeneous people (Indians).

Boquete Tree Trek Zip lining Tour

Truck waiting at cabin

We were required to meet at the reservation office at about 7.30am, where we were picked up in a large truck to bring us to the base of the Boquete Tree Trek Ziplining tour.

After a 20 mins climb up the hills in the vehicle through road and some rough terrain, we arrived to a base filled with nice wooden cabins and lots of greenery.

We were subsequently ushered to a cabin to gear up and subsequently briefed on the "Dos and Don´ts", before jumping back into the truck again, which led us into the beginning of the Amistad National Park, where the ziplining will begin.

Day 205 : Horse Riding in Boquete

Boquete

Boquete is located in the mountainous region of Panama, and we were welcomed by cool weather upon arrival in Boquete around 11am. We were looking to do zip lining in the afternoon, but as it was full for the day, we booked ourselves in for a session early tomorrow morning.

One of the waterfalls

 So instead of waiting around, we decided to go horseback riding. 

The idea was good, but unfortunately the tour wasn`t. We were ¨picked up¨ at 3pm, and followed the guide in our car to a farm located about 30 minutes drive away.

When we got there, we were the only ones there, and the guide interacted with a guy at the farm, whom we later learnt to be the owner.

Day 204 : Car Rental

Niklaus felt bad that he had put me in a situation of not going anywhere, and since the boat will not be operational until parts can be replaced, he suggested to show me around Panama. So off we headed to Colon to rent a car.

The ironic thing was that we used my driving license (Niklaus has misplaced his license) but his details for the insurance coverage – something which I don`t think will be allowed elsewhere?

Day 203 : Engine Breakdown

We were planning to leave for San Blas this morning, but due to strong winds in the wrong direction, Thomas suggested that we wait till the afternoon to monitor the weather, as it may get stronger, and may not be advisable to leave as scheduled.

While waiting, Niklaus decided to do an engine check, and it was at this time he found water had entered the engine! Olivier came by the boat to check what had happened, and discovered that the water pump had burst, resulting in water leaking into the engine.

Day 197 - 202 : Puerto Lindo

Puerto Lindo

Niklaus boat is located in a sheltered bay in Puerto Lindo, located about 1.5hour from the city of Colon and 30 minutes from the small town of Portobello. Both Puerto Lindo and Portobello is where most of the sailboats heading to San Blas islands and Cartagena departs from.

Puerto Lindo is where we had spent most of our days at, having a meal or drinks at Han's (an open air restaurant by the sea side), if we were not on the boat. Most of the people residing here are blacks (vs the fairer skin Panamanians residing further inland) and had a more fishing village feel.

Monkey Feeding

Located near our boat was a small jetty, where lived 3 monkeys. Thomas said that they often come out to the pier in the evening, waiting for people to feed them, and that they are really funny to look at.

We invited Jim to come with us, and we were surprised at his answer.

Portobello

Portobello

We had to make a trip to Portobello today to the port authorities to get the paper work done for the boat to go to San Blas, and Niklaus took the opportunity to show me around.

It is an extremely small town, which can be covered within an hour. It used to be a historical fort, with remnants of the fort structures still remaining.