Panama Pandemonium: The Final Frontier

The final episode of this crazy pandemonium features an "island" (or more technically speaking, an "archipelago") off the Eastern coast of Panama called "Bocas del Toro."  If you have even a rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, I suspect you have already figured out that it translates to "the mouth of the bull."  Beyond that, I was unable to find out any other clues about its name, but I do know that it is a very popular surf destination and I have a feeling that the waves in "the mouth on the bull" might be gnarlier than average, hence the attraction of all those surfer brahs.. Although when I went, I had no part of that biznaz. For comedic purposes only, I will divulge that I was set on fulfilling this idealistic romantic getaway fantasy.. and when we reached the resort, it became very transparent the hope is was harboring as we were the only people not on our honeymoon........... Awkward.   But in spite of all this, it remains one of the coolest places I have ever been to!!  

It is an acqua lodge and we found out once we got there that we had reserved a cheaper unit that did not include hot water, which did become an issue. 

We took The SMALLEST plane from Panama City to the landing strip in the Bocas del Toro province and were met by the hotel staff representative upon arrival where we were taxied to a boat which ferried us to this resort:

If you go, I should also mention that there are these "sand flies" which bite you all over your body and itch... But STILL TOTALLY WORTH IT.

While at the resort, we went snorkeling.. Both off our balcony and during beautiful coral areas in the Caribbean Sea.  We also went dolphin watching, went to a rainforested island where we saw the endangered red tree frog and a sloth.. And got to hang out at a gorgeous beach.  The resort offered lots of excursions so you never got the feeling that you were stranded in the middle of the ocean... All of your meals are included in the cost of your stay and you get to choose between several phenomenal dishes at each meal. In a nutshell, it was positively perfect. 

However, if you do go, make sure to book a room with hot water.. They are a bit more expensive but entirely worth it lest you get caught in a torrential rainstorm and are on a boat and are dashing through the water in a boat with winds blazing and all you can think of is taking a shower to warm up.. And then you turn on the water and it's freezing. That scenario = NOT IDEAL. 

The rooms are exquisite though, and each cabana has a balcony which you can just right off into the water, they have a canopy bed with amazing views in the upper floor of your hut and a quaint sitting area down below.

As usual, this trip comes highly recommended by yours truly!

Now, go off and have yourselves stellar weekends filled with spontaneity and decadence!

Xoxo

Panama Pandemonium: Part Two

SOOO.... Guess what?!  After I posted yesterday's article, my friend contacted me to tell me that some other friends of ours that I met through her, who are Panamanian (and are engaged), just bought an apartment in the Casco Viejo neighborhood and are getting married at the Ace Hotel in Panama this January!!  Woah.  Can you even get over that coincidence?  I cannot.  R + C, if you're reading this congrats and best wishes! 

So, as promised, I was going to drag out my Panama recap for as long as I think you can stand.  And I am NOT one to shirk on my promises.  Therefore, today I am going to talk about my personal experience in the Casco Antiguo district and tomorrow, will give y'all a debrief on my experience in another part of the country, Bocas Del Toro - NOT TO BE MISSED!

When we went (to Panama City), we stayed in a vacation rental that I found on VRBO.com (Vacation Rentals By Owner) and I have absolutely no complaints.  The apartment was economical, nice and centrally located.  When we arrived from the airport to the neighborhood, the guy we had booked with came to meet us and on the way to our "rental" bought us the most delicious banana bread I've ever had (second to my mom's, of course) from a street vendor walking around selling banana bread.  I'll have you know I am quite a banana bread connoisseur, so this moment was HUGE for me.  It's probably safe to say that set the stage for my whole experience because in my version of heaven, there will be people s̶e̶l̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ handing out banana bread.  There were also vendors walking around selling Panama hats which really made you feel as though you were in a different land.  To be fair, I think Panama hats are the sexiest of brimmed hats, so I may be biased.

While I have no regrets about the place we stayed, I was SOO bummed when we couldn't stay at this place, The Canal House, because they were fully booked... 

Yeah, no surprise there. 

The district has this adorable gazebo in the middle of the main square, that oozes quaintness.  Many of the restaurants are situation around the plaza of the neighborhood/town square and have outdoor seating.  It is an ideal set up for an afternoon beverage (or "(Insert day of the week here) Funday" if you're like me ;).   There are also street walking around selling Sno-Cones during the daytime, and that's a good thing not only because sno cones are awesome but also because it can get as hot as the dickens there and a Sno-Cone starts looking like the difference between survival and perishment.  

Um yes... we did go see the Panama Canal while we there because,  you at least have to see it.  But it wasn't something to base a whole trip around, by any means.  I think that's pretty much all I really need to say about it.  

Unfortunately we didn't really spend much time outside of the Casco area while we were in Panama City, and I definitely wish we had because it is quite the burgeoning metropolis but yet another reason to go back.  You can see the city from "across the bay" however, while you are in the Casco Viejo neighborhood, which is pretty spectacular.   

 .... And that concludes my editorial on the Casco Viejo district in Panama City, Panama.  If I haven't convinced you to want to go by now, it's hopeless ;).  

Come back tomorrow for the final day of Panama Pandemonium!
 (Teaser: Colorful thatched cottages in the middle of the Caribbean Sea). 

Panama Pandemonium

A few (five) years ago I went on a trip to Costa Rica and Panama.  For the Costa Rica leg, it turned out to be one of those trips where we just kind of missed the mark.  We didn't visit the right cities and didn't really get the experience that, after hearing of other people's trips to the land of Pura Vida, we wished we had done our trip differently...  Oh well, I'm not going to cry over spilt Imperial, I'll just have to go back again.  And don't get me wrong, we still saw beautiful beaches, lots of crazy cool wildlife, did the zip lining thing, went on ATV's, sampled coconuts and I even had a cheeky monkey try to rip my bikini top off... BAD MONKEY!  But, for me and my "travel partner" (ex-boyfriend), the real highlight of the trip was the Panama portion.  So amazing in fact, that I think I will need to dedicate several posts to talking about it.  Therefore, today I'm simply going to be the bearer of exciting news and then tease you with the promise of additional posts so that you come back tomorrow and the following day to get the full scoop! Deal? Ok cool.

                              That is a cat chasing a laser pointer, in case you couldn't tell...

So the news:  If you've been reading this blawg for a while, you may have caught my post on the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs... and perhaps picked up on my obsession with both the brand and the resort...?  Well, either way, since I'm of the impression that the Ace Hotel company can do no wrong, I was elated upon hearing that they are opening an Ace Hotel in Panama! And a bit wistful, because I would have died to have to stayed there when I went and so now I'll have to go back... But there are so many other places I want to visit.  #notrealproblemsproblems

One of the reasons why I LOVE Panama is because of the area we stayed in Panama City... 'twas perfect.  Unlike Costa Rica, we got lucky and everything just kind of came together.  I happened to come across this neighborhood during my pre-trip researching, called the Casco Viejo (translates to "Old Quarter" and is also referred to as the Casco Antiguo) in Panama City.  It's the historic district of Panama City and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.  The Casco Viejo was established in 1673 by the Spanish colonists and was historically one of the richest and most densely populated neighborhoods in the Americas!  However, it went through decades of neglect starting in the 1950's and only in recent years has it started to see a resurgence as many of the historic colonial buildings with strong Spanish and French colonial architecture influences, still remain and are being renovated and revitalized.  I was entranced because you feel as if you've gone back in time but don't have to do without modern amenities.  It also felt a bit like I was in the small old school town that was a mixture of Havana, the French Quarter in New Orleans and the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland.  And apparently (as I went there five years ago), the number of gourmet restaurants, bars and high end shops continues to grow as the area gets more attention.  When I went, there were definitely some cool restaurants, jazz bars and salsa dancing clubs but it was amongst just as many buildings in disrepair so there was a bit of eerie-ness that made you wonder if you were supposed to be there... Although that aspect also made it feel like you were in on a cool secret... And I am all about being in on secrets.  With the Ace Hotel moving in, however, this pretty much confirms that the number of buildings in need of revitalization is decreasing and the area is becoming a real player in the Panama scene.   

The hotel is actually going to be called the American Trade Hotel but is the Ace people all the way.  You can begin booking reservations now for January 1, 2014 here.

In addition to accommodations, there will be a jazz bar, farm-to-table restaurant, and rooftop deck and pool, plus Panamanian coffee roasted and brewed on-site. 

Due to the fact that they are not officially open, I had a difficult time finding some photos of the hotel and rooms but check out what I was able sift out: 

Rooms have ocean views.  Nice.

Yeah, not a lot, I know. I'm sorry.  But hopefully that just adds to the magical mysteriousness that is part of the city's charm :).

Mushy Monday

Last week my friend did the sweetest thing ever!  I walked outside my house and there was a gift wrapped package on my door step with a card addressed to me.  The awesomeness of receiving a gift + the surprise of finding a package on your doorstep (whether you were expecting it or not) all "wrapped" into one, proved to be an overwhelming experience for me.  Before I even unwrapped the gift, I was overcome and am not going to tell you if my eyes started to "water"... Maybe it was the plants my neighbor has right across the way??  Anyway, I rushed back inside and tore off the wrapping to find a book that you're supposed to write in each day to encourage self-love.  It has different lists where you jot down "10 things you're grateful for," "10 things you love about yourself," "a compliment to yourself," "2 things you want to start doing" "2 things you learned" among other things.  Once I saw this, I was able to diagnose that the eye watering was indeed tears and not allergies (I have a lot of feelings).  If you're reading this and thinking this is all a bit too mushy for you... I encourage you to hang in there because, studies have proven that "gratitude journals" are more effective than anti-depressants and is there really such a thing as being too happy?  Food for thought.   

Speaking of food... Thanksgiving is this month.. and the whole point is to giving thanks (well actually it's to stuff your face but secondly, it's about giving thanks).. And now we're back full circle... Gratitude... journals.  Dorky but awesome.  However, if the idea of the whole journal/everyday things is a bit too much for you to "swallow" (#thanksgivingpun) at this point in time, here's something you can implement at your Thanksgiving celebration this year and still not feel like you're cornier that the dish on the table! Bahaha!

ADORBS, right??

        Butcher paper tablecloths + legible handwriting = table setting envy

But if some of you are down to jump in head first into the mush, I highly encourage partaking in this exercise.  I have kept a gratitude journal before, not to the degree of the amazing book I received but just making a list each day, in the notes section of my phone, to be specific.  However, I am finding the book to be a very helpful reminder tool for me by having the physical book there to trigger my memory to write my list down every day and also helpful for delving deeper into self love.. The deeper you go, the deeper the result in this case.. But true story:  I became SIGNIFICANTLY happier after doing this super simple exercise.  You don't even have to go back and read them later, or show anyone.. just merely writing it down seems to have some direct magical correlation to happiness. 

Ok so that's all, just some friendly, unsolicited advice..  

I'm grateful for the fact that I know you're all going to come back to this site tomorrow even if this post wasn't really your cup of tea :).  

Dazed and Confused

Happy Day After Halloween.  This is about all I can manage to post in the state I'm in. 

                                                                             I wish I was there

But boy, was last night fun!  :)

                                                                     Don't I have pretty friends? 

Have a great weekend everyone!  Also, please send positive thoughts that my Colorado Buffaloes don't get beat too badly at tomorrow's game against UCLA.  Ha!