“Don’t go too far to the left, that’s where the crocodiles are”

So sad to be leaving our hotel in Boquete this morning. We loved it and would have given anything to have a few more days there, watching the clouds pass over the mountains, the light changing constantly and our feathery friends.

A little downbeat, we boarded our private transport, which was spacious and luxurious. So already things were looking up. And then we noticed our driver’s nephew’s t-shirt: ‘Save a cow, Eat a vegetarian’.

An hour into our journey, we stopped at Rey supermarket in David and did a mini supermarket sweep. We had 35 mins to get breakfast for the next two days, and we picked up a few treats too. We didn’t do too badly considering it’s always tricky to navigate a supermarket you’re unfamiliar with.

Back on the road, we hit the PanAmerican Highway. Progress was slow as traffic was reduced to two lanes for all vehicles; the other two lanes were being upgraded or maintained.

At some point, we turned left. The smaller road was in good condition. It was also deserted. The landscape’s definitely more rural. Grazing fields. People travelling by horseback.

None of the grandeur of Boquete; the houses are modest and made of bare bricks (some brightly painted, others not) and metal roofs. A horse stood waiting at a bus stop.

We stopped in Soná for lunch. Brian (we found out recently that the correct spelling of his name is Brayan) suggested Ise Ming, a local restaurant. The menu changes daily; there wasn’t much for us today so I ordered a fried egg sandwich; Andy a cheese one. Both were tasty, and excellent value – we paid $4.60 for both sandwiches and one drink. The currency in Panama is the Balboa but everything is priced in dollars (one Balboa is one dollar). Every now and then we get a few Balboa coins as change. Having placed my order, I walked down the main street for a bit and noticed that all the bars have a metal fence in front of the doorway. How very wild west!

Back on the road, the landscape’s more parched. The road twisted and turned. Slowly, we made our way down to the coast. We passed the small community of Farfán – there was no sign of life. Deserted. Everyone’s probably keeping out of the sun.

We arrived in Santa Catalina around 3pm. This is a small fishing village famed for its surfing. We’re staying in a hostel type place, but we have our own private room. Rooms don’t have numbers here, they have colours. We’re allocated the pink room (!!!) but it comes with an en-suite so I don’t complain too much. It also has two double and four single beds.

We put our swimming gear on and walked ten minutes down to the beach. First, we needed to cross a small river – we’re told to watch out for the tide (so we didn’t get cut off) and the crocodiles on the left.

The sand was so hot, we hopped to the sea (yes, we really did). When we got there, it was glorious. The beach’s curved and it wouldn’t look out of place in an advert. It’s stunning. We played and splashed about for a while. A lot of fun.

On the way back, we stopped at the hostel for a couple of beers and made it back to the coast five minutes from the hostel in the opposite direction to the beach in time for sunset.

Tonight, Brayan organised a barbecue for us all. We chipped in – cooking and washing up. Good fun. But we didn’t stay up too late as we have a fairly early start tomorrow morning.