Boquete to Panama City

Mon 17th to Tues 18th October

We left Boquete and headed back down the mountains to pick up the Pan American Highway towards Panama City. It is the main travellers and truckers route through the Americas and although we have ridden bits of it already, I suspect we'll be using it a lot more as we head into South America

We rode on the Pan American highway most of the day today (200 miles). It is great for getting the miles under the belt.........

..........and spotting the odd fellow traveller. The landscape wasn't much to get excited about though.......

........and neither were the roads, but it got us to our overnight stop in good time.

Our bed was a cabana on the Pacific coast at Playa Santa Clara. The once isolated and unspoilt coastline is fast disappearing under high rise resort hotels.

The beach in front of our cabana.

In a few years it will probably be filled with loungers and sun shades. We thought about staying here two nights but decided to move on to Panama City.

Tuesday: We decided to visit a couple of places before making our way to Panama City as it was only an hour or two away.......

Bob couldn't find a pink one to go with his stetson!

Bob wanted to buy a panama hat and according to Lonely Planet Penonome was the place in Panama to go for one. Panama hats actually originate from Ecuador and were given the name panama because that was where they were originally sold to the American and European traders.

Another place worth a visit according to the books is El Valle, a 20 mile detour off the Pan American highway up into the mountains. El Valle nestles in the second largest volcanic crater (extinct) in the world and is the largest continuously inhabited one. The ride and views are worth the effort although by the time we got to the village the clouds had moved in and the rain wasn't far behind.

We stopped long enough to enjoy the offerings from the 'Gourmet & Coffee Shop' before starting back down again.........

.............out of the clouds and rain to the main road and on to Panama City.

After eventually finding a suitable hotel at the right price we went off to dinner in our usual attire of creased shorts and tee shirts. We are always the scruff bags so thought a change of image wouldn't go amiss...............

............by the time we get home maybe we’ll have the full monty of cream linen suits and white shoes. What more could you ask for girls? Answers are not necessary by the way.

View from the top of our hotel in Panama City.

Back to the modern world for a short while, We have six nights here. Time to service the bikes, do a bit of sightseeing and obtain a few bits and pieces before tackling South America!