Places

Shortly before sundown on our last day in Bocas Town, I signed us up for a tour on the mainland. This was Oreba Chocolate Tours, a tour organized and run by a local Indian village that takes visitors on a …

Here’s what we’re not going to talk about today: Surfing. Why? Because Nick wiped out in a highly embarrassing fashion, then took two consecutive waves on the head and puked up seawater. That’s why. Don’t worry. We’ll talk about surfing …

Mono Loco Surf School in Bocas del Toro.   I went surfing for the first time six years ago with a fellow named Guy Needham. He’s good friends with my ex-wife’s family and volunteered to take me out to Pacifica …

Bocas Town, Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro.   Ten years ago, Bocas Town was still a pretty quiet place. Surfers had discovered it and made it a popular destination to ride waves, but the current tourist boom hadn’t really happened …

Two days of transit and we’ve arrived on Panama’s Caribbean coast. It’s been a trying couple of days, the kind that leave you (okay, me) smacking your forehead (okay, mine) and wondering why you though THIS route was a good …

Twilight in Casco Viejo.   I’ve always found New Year’s Eve to be the most anti-climactic of holidays. The big moment approaches, everyone gathers and excitement buzzes around the neighborhood. Then the final ten second countdown, the exclamation of “Happy …

Greetings again from Panama City. We’re now staying in Casco Viejo (Panama’s old city), at the Hostel Panamericana. Our room sits on the third floor and has a balcony that overlooks a playground where kids have been playing soccer for …

Greetings from Panama. Land of Canals. Or Canal. I don’t know if they have more than one. But as Panama says, “It’s not the size of your canal, it’s your canal’s importance to world economics!” I’ll have photos soon, but …

Corrinne and I are finally on our way. We’re sitting in the airport in Providence waiting on our flight to Newark. From there, we will catch a flight to Panama City, thus beginning The Great Central American Adventure. This morning, …

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve recently become owner-by-proxy of my girlfriend’s rabbit, who goes by the moniker of Baron von Widget (a.k.a.–The Widge). A big part of any adventure for us now involves getting the Baron into …