Los Tumulos: the Obsession with Sleeping Policemen

They come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are fat, others have really protruding bellies.  Some have decayed a bit with age and are crumbling around the edges.  Still others are double-breasted.  A few are quite bright but most tend to be quite grey and blend in with the surrounding.  Central America, and Guatemala especially, seems to be obsessed with sleeping policemen. They appear everywhere, whether it’s on a dirt road or on a highway.  Sometimes they appear from nowhere, other times they prefer to stay in groups and slow your progress every 100 meters.  Their most common characteristic is that they are insanely annoying.

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Chicken Buses #2

Were you late getting up and did not have time to have any breakfast?  Did you forget about your nephew’s birthday and are now rushing there empty-handed?  Are you feeling a bit under the weather?  Did you have to stay at work late and now need to head home in the dark? Or maybe you missed your Sunday service?  Well, no worries.  All that you might desire will be provided for you.  Whether it is a cold Fanta, a breakfast snack, a meal comprised of chicken with rice, a kid’s toy, a flashlight, some vitamins and even a 20 minute sermon, all of this can be found on your local chicken bus.

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Chicken Buses

If you ever wondered what happened to our school buses after they had seen their share of years in service, I believe I have the answer for you.  They all get shipped to Central American countries, get repainted, and get put back into service for another 20 or 30 years.  Who cares if a window doesn’t close, if the padding from the

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Panama: Cost Breakdown

Panama came out under budget, which is always a nice way to start a trip. Below you will find the detailed breakdown for our expenses throughout the 7.5 days in this country.

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Beach Bumming in Bocas del Toro

After Boquete the day was once again spent in transit, heading first south to David and then north across the mountains and the clouds to Almirante on the Caribbean side of the country.  From there a 20 minute ride brought us to the town of Bocas del Toro, the capital of the entire Archipelago and province. 

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Boquete: Coffee Heaven

We left Panama on Tuesday on a 7 hour bus ride to David from where we transferred onto another 1.5 hour ride to the highland town of Boquete.  Higher up, this town has much milder temperatures and is considered by many Americans as an ideal place for retirement.  For us, the main draw of the town was a famed Quetzel

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Panama City: Waterlocks and Sunburns

Apparently there is absolutely no need to have an alarm clock in Panama so long as you need to wake up around 7am.  Still exhausted from the previous night’s flights and unable to fully open my eyes I was woken by drumming and percussion.  Completely confused I finally managed to force one eye open and check the watch only to realize that it was barely past 7 am compounding the confusion even more.  Why would there be a marching band and a procession passing in front of a little quaint and peaceful neighborhood at 7 am?  Apparently this is standard procedure here for the

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Panama City? Maybe Havana or Miami?

After a sleepless and uncomfortable night spent on two Continental Air flights we finally arrived in Panama City to be greeted by 35 degree temperatures and gorgeous sunshine. Not bad in comparison to Vancouver, but a bit overwhelming after a long journey. With an airport located 35km out of the city, our first introduction to Panama City was the drive in: first among lush forests, then in between highrises which would put the Shangri-La tower in Vancouver to shame, and finally right along the waterfront. 

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