Daily Archives: January 21, 2013

Hostel recommendation in Panama City, Panama

 in Central America / Deb in Panama / Deb's Travels / Panama / Sleeping Accommodations / Stay in Panama

If you are seeking a beautiful hostel in a safe, well-to-do part of Panamá City — and you are OK with staying in a 6-8 bed dorm — I highly recommend Los Mostros hostel. It was built by an Architect. It had a pool in back, a billiard/pool table and ping pong tables out front. The kitchen is spacious and has real cooking items and plates, not broken odds and ends. There is a refrigerator for your food — and it actually works. There are just a couple of downsides: Smoking is limited to outside but you breath that smoke in the inside recreation rooms too. There are no private rooms. Here is a photo taken from the lobby area looking into the main recreation areas. Those two bean bag chairs are upstairs across from the reception desk. I will add more photos and info, time and photos permitting.

Travel between Panama and Colombia

 in Boats / Central America / Panama / Sight-seeing / Sight-Seeing in Panama / Transportation

I share this because every backpacker that has time, has the interest to travel between Panama and Colombia. I have not made this trip and will not be doing so, but I watched a lot of travelers research and book passage. The flights are around $500 as are the commercial sailing boats. The sailing experience be excellent or, like some travellers tell me, your captain can fail to being enough food and water or can be high or drunk on the voyage. Every hostel in Panama City, and Captain Jack’s in Portobelo (and maybe hostels in Bocas del Toro) can provide information about several of the approximately 30 boats that now make this trip. Jeff at Captian Jack’s is a sailor and told me that several years ago there were only 10. This voyage is a popular thing for people with boats to do in order to make money. Jeff […]

Hoping for a boat

 in Boats / Central America / Deb in Panama / Deb's Travels / Sailing

It is 8:20am. I am again sitting at Captain Jack’s bar, upon the bar stool immediately beside the radio. I woke up before 7, took a fast (cold) shower, threw my sarong on to rush from the bathroom, then quickly donned my dress to run upstairs. There are two reasons for my early rise and rush — but both are because late last night I met a guy named Aaron who was lucky enough to be invited onto the boat that is sailing to Bocas del Toro this morning and I asked him to please put in a word for this solo traveler. I wrote down my contact info and my credentials. He said “I want to be the person that wakes you up with a call to get down to the boat. Sleep with that phone.” I absolutely did sleep with my phone! But, I do not get Claro […]