#7. Take Your Hat Off to Panama...

Following several days in Costa Rica (more on this later) and after a death-defying walk across the bridge at Sixaloa (seriously, one false move and it's adios amigos), we arrived in Panama. Panama is quite possibly Central America's most underrated and least spoken about country. Aside from the engineering feat that is the infamous Panama Canal, US presence (albeit not always welcome) has left a modern infrastructure and thriving towns, shrouded by the beauty of the abundant national parks, barely-trodden nature trails and natural cloud forests. And if it's idyllic Caribbean beaches you are after, Panama does not disappoint.

Our first destination was Bocas del Torro (from the border, take local buses to thewater taxi), an archipelago of islands nestled in the Caribbean. We opted to stay in Bocas Town (Casa Max http://www.casamax.netfirms.com/ $25 Dbl room w. private bath, balcony, fruit and coffee in the morning) on the most frequently visited Isla Colón. Although perhaps not to everyones taste, we found Bocas Town to be the perfect location for some early-evening beers; lively but not crazy, Bocas offered a relaxing, laid-back ambience and an abundance of not-to-be-missed Happy Hours!

The following day we took an all day snorkelling tour ($15), which included watching the dolphins frolicking at Dolphin Bay. Sadly, my dream of developing a Flipper-type bond did not materialise! The snorkelling itself was also better than anticipated, with an array of technicoloured marine life and a few stingrays and nurse sharks thrown in too! We also visited Red Frog beach, situated on Isla Bastimentos, an island with some of the most beautiful and remote beaches! Part of the Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos, Red Frog Beach ($2 entrance fee) is home to...you guessed it...the Red Frog, part of the Poison Dart frog family. But could we find any? NO! Our animal magic had eluded us!

The next day we took a colectivo to Boca del Drago, a palm fringed and quite desolate (albeit barely-there) strip of beach, perfect for swimming and for frolicking unnoticed with your boyfriend!

Feeling a wee bit flush we decided to splurge on a flight from Bocas to Panama City (www.flyairpanama.com) to save time and avoid having to backtrack later on. Lively and cosmopolitan, Panama City (Hotel Latino $20 dbl room, private bath, a/c & cable) is by far the nicest city in the whole of Central America. High-rise buildings fronted by palm lined avenues stand in stark contrast to the rundown, Havana-esque colonial district of Casco Antiguo. Be not mistaken, some areas on approach to the latter are dirty...gut churningly dirty...and other areas considered unsafe even in broad daylight. But the ever friendly Panamanians are quick to tell you to walk the other way when heading towards imminent danger!

Naturally we visited the Panama Canal, a piece of engineering genius that took 10 years to build and killed 23,000 workers in the process! Just picture the largest cruise liner you can imagine being steered into a lock with a mere 2ft of leeway either side...hey, I can't even park a car in an empty field! Very impressive, even if you're not generally interested in such engineering marvels! Following the canal we decided on a spot of hiking at the nearby Parque Natural Metropolitano with the intention of partaking in some sloth spotting! As nice and natural as the trail was, offering spectacular panoramic vistas of Panama City, the sloths were clearly hiding from us...it seems that the Panamanian wildlife does not like us [sigh]...

Our final destination in Panama was Boquete (bus to David, 7hr $12, local bus to Boquete, 1hr $1.45), home of Sendero Los Quetzales, or The Quetzal Trail. Finally, it seemed, we were to spot the ever elusive Resplendent Quetzal (pictured)...or were we...?

As we were staying in Boquete (Hostal Colibri 720-1024, alight bus at Texaco, take next right, walk 1 block) and due to the fact that there is no road that connects the 8km between the start and end of the trail, we had to undertake a 3.5hr journey via David before we could start our hike, but this only added to the adventure...

Barely-trodden, the hike took us through rough terrain emcompassing natural, misty cloud forests and the torrential downpour and blustery winds were reminiscent of a good ol' English summer! However...ever tried spotting a green bird amid thousands of acres of lush, deciduous rainforest? We should have saved the eye-strain. As nature would have it, the Quetzals had decided to migrate to warmer climes..apparently normal for this time of year. D'oh!

Despite this disappointment the hike was fun, especially the last 2km which resembled a sodden, muddy, perilous assault course. GI Jane and Action Man, eat your heart out! As expected I fell over once and ended up with ice-cold puddles in my trainers on several other occasions - a day wouldn't be complete without acquiring some fresh wounds!

Sadly, our time in Panama came to a seemingly abrupt end. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our time here immensely, however short and sweet our stay...

[Photos: 1 - Panama beer sign; 2 - Red Frog Beach, Bocas del Torro; 3 - The elusive Respendant Quetzal]