Portobelo and Isla Grande Panama

Panama City to Portobelo

I had little worries and it turned out that taking the bus here in Panama is super relaxed and relatively cheap. And everything somehow has a system, which makes it easy to travel. So I found myself at the 'Terminal International' in the Albrook district of Panama City. All destinations are clearly marked and have their own ticket sales counter. Mine was of course closed, the nice man at the neighboring counter told me to just go ahead towards the buses on the right and behold, a young woman recognized my search and took care of me and she spoke English, which is not self-evident here.

She pointed to the red bus, I thanked her, seconds later I was already sitting in it. After 15 minutes, we started. It was a quick ride, 50 minutes later we reached Sabanitas. Here at the 'Rey Supermercado' it was time to transfer.

Continuing with a nostalgic 'Chicken Bus', that's the name of the old stinkers that are still seen quite often on the streets here. Actually a journey of about another 45 minutes, we found ourselves stuck in traffic, at a police checkpoint. So I didn't reach 'Portobelo' until 3 hours instead of 2, but it doesn't matter. Entertainment on the bus was provided. Loud music from some Super Dj Rooney from Panama was playing continuously, interrupted every 25 seconds with the phrase. This was emphasized with a MEGAAAAAA bass box somewhere at the rear of the bus. Everyone has to go through this, young or old. One has to endure it.

Portobelo

The little idyllic town immediately put me in a good mood. On the way to my accommodation, I ran into a little girl, maybe 10 years old. It turned out to be the daughter of the owner of my guesthouse. In any case, she was tough, she was the real boss. She checked me in and showed me to my room. The guesthouse turned out to be an absolute paradise. I immediately felt like a family member and the dad, originally from Canada, took excellent care of me with food. His pizza, in particular, was outstanding. For the following day, he recommended a kayak trip to the nearby 'Playa Huerta'. A beautiful little beach only accessible by boat. His friend Ramon in France welcomed me and handed me his kayak, gave me some tips along the way, such as paddling close to the shore and definitely not going out to sea...Later, when I returned, I explored the town more closely. There were a total of three remaining parts of fortresses that looked like the Spaniards had left them, the cannons were still in position facing the bay. It used to be one of the most important export stations to Europe, but today it is a village that is decaying with time.

Isla Grande

Actually, I wanted to continue directly from here to the famous 'San Blas' Islands, but the prices for accommodation were not within my budget. So I came across the small island of 'Isla Grande', which is 15 km away. I was attracted to it and decided to visit it for 2 days.

At the end of the road in 'La Guaria', there were a few boats that would take you across for $3. After a 5-minute ride, you could already smell the island air. There was no road here, only a paved path from one end of the island to the other. Everything was totally relaxed and there was a nice little beach. The only negative thing I have to mention is the piles of garbage behind the beach. Otherwise, you could do nothing here but take a walk and swim, and that's why I came here in the first place.