Isla De Coiba

Isla de Coiba, the largest island in Panama can be found on the south-western coast in the Pacific Ocean

     “Yeah, I wan’t sure if you guys would show up or not, I had my bags packed and ready to go on trip myself” Michael says as we jump in his truck this morning, on our way to the beach to load up the boat.

  Oops. Sorry about that, Michael.  After a frustrating night in Santiago dealing with internet and last minute work stuff, Jaime and I returned to Santa Catalina around midnight, nothing yet packed, and only a few hours of sleep banked before trip. 

Trip Preparations

A run-through of setting up the boats in Santa Catalina before our trip

  We’re nearing departure time for our kayak trip around Isla de Coiba, and our next task is to piece together a dialogue for el heffe of the National Park on the Island.  Though everyone who visits the island must obtain a permit to do so, it turns out we may not be able to simply paddle around the island as easily as we’d assumed.  It seems they aren’t too friendly to people camping just anywhere in this UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it’s a real gamble to get permission from them to do this sort of trip.  

Wherever you go, There you are

I’m having a really difficult time writing this post. I’ve started and stopped and erased and re-written several times. Letting myself be distracted by every little thing, watching out the corner of my eye at the trip photos that Jaime is editing on his computer next to me, experiencing heightened awareness of non-existent bugs, looking around me to see what everyone else is up to...but there’s no one in the restaurant. It’s more to do with this vulnerable feeling encroaching and I’m wanting to do everything I can to cover it up.
The quote seems cliche, but I know that ‘wherever you go, there you are’ and I’ve been waiting for my anxious-self to arrive here in Santa Catalina.


Often lost in thought

Fruit Truck Comes to Town

Finally my hula hoop Madame Tutu and I had a playdate this morning. (Madame Tutu is the name she came with though we’ve been together almost a year now, I haven’t yet thought of anything different) All those days spent awkwardly hooping in my living room, or braving the cold out in the backyard, I would dream of doing it in sunnier climes, wide open spaces, overlooking the ocean....now I have it! Yay!! I’ve also found that bare skin sticky from the morning heat and salty air helps to keep the hoop slightly bonded to me better, so I had some good success with a couple tricks. I haven’t picked it up in many long months, it was a great feeling to dance with it again. With Jaime doing yoga on the waters edge and I with my hoop, it was another lovely start to our morning.

A Case of the Monday’s in Santa Catalina

We awoke this morning with the sun at I’m guessing 8am, already blazing hot in the all-mesh tent. I rolled over and looked out at the water, barely a handful of people out surfing yet which was my first clue to the weekend being over. My skin needed a break from the sun today so instead of our morning session in the waves, we spent it in a shady corner of the beach practicing yoga, as a group of tourists on horseback passed us by, surfers heading out, traversing the beach in the distance. It’s so nice having someone to practice beside, as I really admire Jaime’s practice. Well ok, it’s pretty hot admiring his sculpted body flow through handstands, arm balances and the likes.  *giggle*

I actually thought I’d see more people doing yoga here, but not so. Jaime has a fairly advanced practice and a few of the guests have come up to us voicing their admiration and curiosities. I feel like such a yuppie westerner when I talk about yoga.  [see YouTube video of  "Shit Yogis Say" for further emphasis of what I mean by that] Vancouver being so saturated with it, I tend to assume much of the world is as preoccupied with it, that it’s perfectly normal for everyone to have tried it at least a few times in their life.

Weekend Warriors

Our first weekend is now over, with the last of the weekend warriors headed back home to Santiago and the surrounding areas, leaving Santa Catalina a sleepy beach town once again. For two days, cars full of youth and of young families would line the shorline, bringing surfboards or boogie boards, some with lawn chairs and toys for the kids to spend the day playing in the waves. Others though, the flash young adults of the big city would stay behind at their cars, open all the doors, the boot, the hood even! and have a tailgate party, attempting to win over their neighbour by playing their terrible reggaeton noise louder than the next. All day for 2 days did we hear nothing but this cheesy obnoxious music. (I like to think of it as the Latino version of Bollywood music but even then I think I like Bollywood better) They would drink their beers, and stand around looking for people to admire them. The music drove me absolutely mental. It was so loud that escaping it was impossible. A couple of the houses around us even started in on it and finally we had to get out of here, so we grabbed a couple bikes and headed into town.


Quaint little eateries offer simple dishes of seafood and fresh licuados or batidos (fruit juices or smoothies)

Arrival in Santa Catalina

Jaime's rendered map of Panama ;)

“Um Paradise? Hi, lovely to meet you, name’s Allie, I think we’re gonna be best friends. Ok?” (Hmm, strikingly similar to how my best friend Bree and I met years ago, pretty sure it’s the exact same conversation we had. It sure turned out alright eh Bree?!)

We are Loaded (yes, capital L loaded) down with gear. These folding kayaks are heavy business, thank god they’re on wheels! We pull into Santa Catalina in the dark, and already the vibe is laaiid back mon. Barefoot, surfboard-toting locals and gringos alike, pedestrians and bikes roam the roads, the air is smelling oh so sweet.