Sometimes spring follows summer

Paradise led to Panama city, a boiling hot inferno chock full of shopping, canals and people. I shopped, avoided the canal, tried to visit the old city by getting on a bus marked Panama Viejo (Old Panama) - ended up in completely the wrong area, then walked back to town.

and then the following:

10pm taxi to airport
2am flight to Lauderdale
5:55am stupid questions from US customs
6:10am pulled aside for luggage check
6:25am escape from luggage check
6:45am board plane to Boston
10am arrive Boston
10:30am ask tourist information for information (completely incorrect - called Hilton Hotel for correct info - thanks Hiltons)
11am visit ICA in Boston (Contemporary Art Gallery) - cool exhibits, photography prohibited
12pm check email at Boston's courthouse - awesome!
1:30pm go to catch bus to Salem at subway - customer service tells me there's no bus, go to other subway.
1:45pm get to other subway - visit two customer service areas - both tell me there's no service to Salem
2:10pm miss bus to Salem
3pm meet to lovely ladies waiting for the bus to Salem, they sympathize about stupid transit people - bus clearly stops at both subways that I was told it didn't, and as an added bonus - also stops at the airport!
5pm get to Salem
5:03pm see sign for witches museum - yes, it's that Salem!
6pm meet ride to Montreal

24 hours later - ask some Hasids what time Seder starts - they reply not before 8:20, but as I learned the less orthodox actually get hungry earlier
3 hours later - ring doorbell
30 seconds later...

A brief trip to paradise

Last you heard I was in Bocas Del Toro, Panama - a place with heaploads of angry people - the government is selling off lots of land to foreigners, causing prices to rise, lives to be disrupted, and people to be generally unhappy. From chatting with people, it looks like only 2-3 years ago cars were a rarity on the main island - i.e. one every half hour - while there's still no gridlock, it's easy to see the the way of life is changing for all the locals. The ambience is therefore not excellent, as everyone is annoyed that you're there, or trying to make a fast buck. Ah well.

From there I headed to San Blas - a territory governed by the Kuna - an Indigenous group that gained autonomy in the early 20th century. The territory includes the San Blas Islands (my destination) - a group of approximately 365 islands, most of which are super-tiny and filled with palm trees, white sand and the occasional shell. They're surrounded by the clearest water one could possibly imagine. In other words - paradise.

Off and on the beaten track

My last week in Colombia was jam-packed with an adventure into the unknown - it all started Sunday at 7am. My first stop was in a little pueblo called Guatape - most notable for being within walking distance of ¨The Rock¨. (I had my backpack repaired here by Dona Flor)

Then a quick stop in Sante Fe de Antioquia - a charming town where I stayed indoors due to enormous amounts of rain.

Then a quick 8 hour bus ride to Turbo - a Caribbean port town near Panama, followed by an 8am boat ride to Capurgana (see video below). This experience was the most painful of my entire voyage. (thus far anyhow)

Capurgana is a super lovely beach town with no cars (or motorbikes for that matter). Sadly, I had only 2 days in this wonderful place. Whilst there, I took a quick hike across the border to a beach in Panama. Interestingly, the beach I went to is actually in the Darien National Park. So.... I´ve now officially been to the Darien. Too Cool!

After the one hour flight to Panama City, I spent a short three hours (!!!) going through customs. (10 people) I thought that this sucked, but imagine the Colombians who must go through this every time they take the route. Incredibly frustrating.

And now, I´m in Bocas del Toro, Panama in a town with seemingly more gringos than Panamanians. Seeing as the beaches are completely mind-blowing, I´ll somehow manage to suffer through it.

Political Note: Terrorists, drug smugglers and arms shipments do not travel by official means. There is a group of Islands in Panama that are self governed - the drugs arms and terrorists would probably choose this option.