We thought we would leave the city relatively early this morning and head to a town about 45 minutes away named Gamboa to do some light hiking through the rain
forest, then do some ziplining and then move on to a beach town a couple hours away. Well, one outta three ain't bad! We made it as far as arriving at the park in Gamboa (again, no thanks to our completely worthless GPS which seems to be plotting against us) and got out of the car to look at the map of the hiking trails. Less than one minute later, a car pulls up and out hop two American guys and a conversation strikes up. They're down here working for a year so know the area pretty well and ended up offering to show us around a bit.
forest, then do some ziplining and then move on to a beach town a couple hours away. Well, one outta three ain't bad! We made it as far as arriving at the park in Gamboa (again, no thanks to our completely worthless GPS which seems to be plotting against us) and got out of the car to look at the map of the hiking trails. Less than one minute later, a car pulls up and out hop two American guys and a conversation strikes up. They're down here working for a year so know the area pretty well and ended up offering to show us around a bit. We started with the hike. You need to know that Jenn is a hard-core outdoorsy girl and rugged to the core. She came prepared with everything we might need to hike a jungle, the most important being hiking boots. I showed up in flip-flops. She was kind enough to loan me a pair of sneakers, for which I will owe her eternally. The four of us set off and, no lie, within one minute I was sweating hardcore. SO freakin' humid down here! We stuck to the trail in the beginning and all was well, even for a novice like me. We saw some cool plants (one that shrivels up when you touch it) and some even cooler little critters along the way. I thought hiking was easy. I MAY have even started to think "Hmmph, I could have done this in flip-flops". And then... the REAL hikers heard rushing water and decided we just had to follow it to see where it was going.
We went down hills, we went up hills, over rocks, through water, under branches, over branches, and through mud trenches, all while
not being able to grab onto any trees or branches for fear of mistakenly grabbing onto the dreaded "black palm" tree, which has wicked barbs on it which will give you a nasty infection. Finally made it pretty far down and found a gorgeous spot with water falling over the hill behind us. Took our "victory" picture in front of it (I was WAY too hot to carry a camera so all the pics are on Jenn's camera, which means that I can't post any for proof... doh!), splashed some water on our faces and decided to start the hike back up to the trail. With my first attempted step onto a rock to go up the hill, I slipped and slammed my knee into another huge and very unyielding rock. I tried to brush it off but within a few seconds all of the all-too-familiar warning signs of impending fainting came over me (I'm practically a pro at all things having to do with passing out) and I had to sit down for a few minutes. Embarrassing, but not nearly as embarra
ssing as passing out in the middle of the rainforest with a couple of virtual strangers looking on. But at least I have a cool bruise to show for it!
not being able to grab onto any trees or branches for fear of mistakenly grabbing onto the dreaded "black palm" tree, which has wicked barbs on it which will give you a nasty infection. Finally made it pretty far down and found a gorgeous spot with water falling over the hill behind us. Took our "victory" picture in front of it (I was WAY too hot to carry a camera so all the pics are on Jenn's camera, which means that I can't post any for proof... doh!), splashed some water on our faces and decided to start the hike back up to the trail. With my first attempted step onto a rock to go up the hill, I slipped and slammed my knee into another huge and very unyielding rock. I tried to brush it off but within a few seconds all of the all-too-familiar warning signs of impending fainting came over me (I'm practically a pro at all things having to do with passing out) and I had to sit down for a few minutes. Embarrassing, but not nearly as embarra
ssing as passing out in the middle of the rainforest with a couple of virtual strangers looking on. But at least I have a cool bruise to show for it!We eventually made it back to the top and went quite a bit farther along the trail before realizing that the two pieces of toast we'd had for breakfast weren't going to hold us over much longer (yeah, two pieces of toast... guess the words "Free Continental Breakfast Included" vary greatly in meaning from country to country) and we were still thinking we needed to be making a plan for the rest of the day. And we still had to hike back out all the way that we had come in.
Made it out, covered in mud and sweat and feeling good, and decided to have lunch together. Jenn and I have had a strict rule about not eating anything American while here so when we told them to pick the place and we'd follow them and we ended up in a Bennigan's parking lot, we groaned. Loudly. But at least it was located on a gorgeous causeway and we got to eat our meal overlooking blue skies and beautiful water. For this, we can break our own rule... but just this once!
After that we headed up a winding mountain to the highest point in Panama City which offered amazing views of the Panama Canal on one side and of the city bordering the ocean on the other. Sadly, all of those pictures are also on Jenn's camera (I was still too hot to be carrying a camera... stupid raging humidty!) so I can't post them. Sad times, as they would be our best pictures yet, hands down!
By the time we finished with all of our completely unplanned and yet completely amazing activities, it was nearly 5 pm
and we decided we didn't feel like driving to another town after all. But we also didn't want to go back into the city. Which is how we now find ourselves at the most lovely little hotel along the causeway, overlooking the ocean and the skyline of Panama City. Doesn't exactly fit into our $25-40 hotel budget, but it has been SO worth every penny. The view is stunning and, as Jenn is coming down with a little something and is trying hard to fight it, we really needed a nice, clean place to spend the evening and get some really good sleep. And, well, the ocean view just can't hurt. The only pictures I took today were of the magnificent view from our balcony but it was too dark for them to turn out well (they're the last 2 posted here). Will take more tomorrow in the light of day.
and we decided we didn't feel like driving to another town after all. But we also didn't want to go back into the city. Which is how we now find ourselves at the most lovely little hotel along the causeway, overlooking the ocean and the skyline of Panama City. Doesn't exactly fit into our $25-40 hotel budget, but it has been SO worth every penny. The view is stunning and, as Jenn is coming down with a little something and is trying hard to fight it, we really needed a nice, clean place to spend the evening and get some really good sleep. And, well, the ocean view just can't hurt. The only pictures I took today were of the magnificent view from our balcony but it was too dark for them to turn out well (they're the last 2 posted here). Will take more tomorrow in the light of day.
3 comments:
I guess you of all people need to faint in each country you have been otherwise the trip would not be a success. Hope Jenn isn't coming down with the flu. It is epidemic here. Drew's school had 177 kids absent today. Tell her to eat lots of oranges for the Vit. C. Have fun.
Hey, always have to keep things interesting, you know. We're not sure what Jenn has... sometimes she thinks it's allergies, sometimes a cold. So just when I thought I escaped all of you sickies back home w/o a scratch, I get stuck in a room with one. Doh! Are you back among the living yet?
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