La Isla Grande
On Saturday (8th of July 2006) Ed and I hit the road towards Colon to visit La Isla Grande, a small island on the pacific side of Panama. It took us 4 hours to go there by bus. We had a quite new bus with air condition from Panama City towards Colon. But we had to change 20km before Colon to a Diablo Rojo (Red Devil) which has now air condition and was quit full. After a long time we arrived in Portobello where we recognized that we've missed the last bus to the port where we would get the boat to Isla Grande. After waiting some time we decided to get a taxi there. The road was in very bad condition what made the ride an adventurous experience :-) Finally we got a boat to the island for 2$.
There we tried to get a bed for the night. After some expensive experiences, Ed asked an old man in front of a house for a cheap accomodation. And he gave us a cheap bed: used sheets (Leintücher), no bathroom, run-down toilets and shower on the other floor... never let brits negotiate ;-)
Afterwards we went out for eating something, we've found a nice restaurant built on a footbridge (Steg). Ed had fish, I had chicken with rice. Afterwards we looked for a cocktail. Ed started to complain about 1$ with the barkeeper, who throwed us out of the bar. This time I wanted to k*** him... Finally we went to the second bar on the island, where he got his cocktail. We started a conversation with a panamanian couple and Ed told them the story of the other bar. The couple told it the barkeeper who also became angry... I was just keeping my head low drinking my 50 cents beer. I really love to be an Austrian. (Sorry Ed ;-)
On the next day we walked around on the coast after having breakfast. I was sweating like hell, but I liked it. After 1 hour or so, we met a group of people who wanted to visit the light tower of the island. We joined them which was a good choice. On of the guys, Luis, works for the Smithsonian Tropical Institute. On the light tower we had a great view over the caribbean sea and on the north side of the island, where we went afterwards. The weather was quite nice for the rainy season. Luis showed us a natural basin on the shore which is filled by waves. I borrowed the diving goggles from Luis and had my first snorkeling experience - amazing - it's like in an aquarium. We went back to the little village on the south side of the island where we drank lots of water and exchanged phone numbers with Luis.
Finally we went to the public beach for swimming and snorkeling. A little bar had a TV set where we watched the final of the FIFA world cup while having beer and caribbean food. Ed had fish and rice, I had lobster (Langusten), and patacones - fried plantains (Kochbananen) which was great, believe me :-)
Finally we hit the road back to Panama City, where I had the best shower ever.
Pics made by Eduard Blum.
There we tried to get a bed for the night. After some expensive experiences, Ed asked an old man in front of a house for a cheap accomodation. And he gave us a cheap bed: used sheets (Leintücher), no bathroom, run-down toilets and shower on the other floor... never let brits negotiate ;-)
Afterwards we went out for eating something, we've found a nice restaurant built on a footbridge (Steg). Ed had fish, I had chicken with rice. Afterwards we looked for a cocktail. Ed started to complain about 1$ with the barkeeper, who throwed us out of the bar. This time I wanted to k*** him... Finally we went to the second bar on the island, where he got his cocktail. We started a conversation with a panamanian couple and Ed told them the story of the other bar. The couple told it the barkeeper who also became angry... I was just keeping my head low drinking my 50 cents beer. I really love to be an Austrian. (Sorry Ed ;-)
On the next day we walked around on the coast after having breakfast. I was sweating like hell, but I liked it. After 1 hour or so, we met a group of people who wanted to visit the light tower of the island. We joined them which was a good choice. On of the guys, Luis, works for the Smithsonian Tropical Institute. On the light tower we had a great view over the caribbean sea and on the north side of the island, where we went afterwards. The weather was quite nice for the rainy season. Luis showed us a natural basin on the shore which is filled by waves. I borrowed the diving goggles from Luis and had my first snorkeling experience - amazing - it's like in an aquarium. We went back to the little village on the south side of the island where we drank lots of water and exchanged phone numbers with Luis.
Finally we went to the public beach for swimming and snorkeling. A little bar had a TV set where we watched the final of the FIFA world cup while having beer and caribbean food. Ed had fish and rice, I had lobster (Langusten), and patacones - fried plantains (Kochbananen) which was great, believe me :-)
Finally we hit the road back to Panama City, where I had the best shower ever.
Pics made by Eduard Blum.
posted by Martin Loitzl at 14:23
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