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Written by Matt Landau
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Tuesday, October 23 2007 |
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This list is not in depth. The
very act of publicizing these rare and once-in-a-lifetime experiences could
burn the very bridges that make them possible.
Further, many of these experiences include aspects which we are not
allowed to divulge. Next to each, in parenthesis, we've listed the related Panama
province. But the rest is up to you...
You can only understand a culture
so well from the air-conditioned confines of a tour bus. Comfy beds and room
service can be found anywhere in the world. However, when you are able to gain
access to people, places, and events that are perhaps off the beaten track or
normally off-limits, you privy yourself to remarkable encounters. These
remarkable encounters, and the ability to experience them, are what make Panama
truly an undiscovered and magical place.
- Camp
out with nesting leatherback turtles on Isla Canas (Los Santos)
- Work a
shift on a tugboat on the Panama Canal (Panama)
- Spend island
weekend with Kuna Indians of San Blas (Comarca Kuna Yala)
- Enjoy Panama's National Theater from the
President's personal box (Panama)
- Break
a giant marlin record off Pinas Bay (Darien)
- Spend
a day island hopping (Bocas del Toro)
- Experience
a Saturday night Chiva Parrandera party bus (Panama)
- Partake
in the Black Christ festival (Colon)
- Undergo
the revelry of Carnaval in notorious Las Tablas (Los Santos)
- Buy
hand-rolled cigars in the streets of Penenome (Cocle)
- Go
snorkeling on Isla Iguana (Los Santos)
- Buy a
traditional basket from a Wounan Indian
- Reserve
a hotel night in Panama City's historic
district of Casco Viejo (Panama)
- Sip a
glass of sunset champagne on the Amador Causeway (Panama)
- Charter
a boat for the day through the Pearl
Islands (Panama)
- Gamble
on a live cockfight (Herrera)
- Learn
to surf at Playa Venado also spelled Venao (Los Santos)
- Perfect
your new surf skills in Santa Catalina
(Veraguas)
- Research
and dig for Pre-Columbian artifacts (Veraguas)
- Eat a
ripe Panama
mango off the tree
- Get a
customary Wounan Indian tribal tattoo (Darien)
- Explore
the underground caves of Lago Bayano (Panama)
- Attend
a Panama-style rodeo (Herrera)
- Visit
the secret (and massive) Tavidal waterfall (Cocle)
- Brunch
at the Panama Canal Museum alongside cruise liners (Panama)
- Scuba
for antique iodine bottles off the coast of Isla
Bastimentos (Bocas del Toro)
- Go
whale watching in Boca Chica (Chiriqui)
- Drink
a cold $0.25 beer in an interior province
- Spot
the mythical quetzal bird in Boquete (Chiriqui)
- Explore
a top secret bunker used by the Americans during US occupation
- Camp
out a night on Isla Coiba (Veraguas)
- Hunt
for gold in the old Fort
San Lorenzo
- Do a
shark dive off the coast (Chiriqui, Veraguas)
- Learn
to box with Roberto "Stone Hands" Duran (Panama)
- Experience
a sunset booze cruise overlooking the Panama City
skyline (Panama)
- Partake
in a culeco (don't forget to wear your bathing suit) (Los Santos)
- Drink
Seco con leche with a farmer
- Go
waterfall hunting in the Darien Jungle (Darien)
- Eat
fresh ceviche at the Mercado de Mariscos (Panama)
- Hike
to the top of Cerro Ancon (Panama)
- Walk
Metropolitan Rainforest, situated within Panama City
limits (Panama)
- Visit Smithsonian Tropical Research
Institute (Panama, Colon, Bocas del Toro)
- Go
spear fishing for tuna off Pedasi (Los Santos)
- People-watch
at a bar on Calle Uruguay
(Panama)
- Reserve
corner table at La Posta, Eurasia, or Market Restaurants (Panama)
- Chew
the coca leaf or taste Viagra fern (Darien)
- Paddle
traditional wooden panga with Ngobe Bugle tribe (Comarca Ngobe Bugle)
- Swim
in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean in the same morning (Panama, Colon)
- Get
healed by a local shaman in El Valle (Cocle)
- Learn
to windsurf off the coast of Chame (Panama)
- Relax in
thermal hot springs
and mud baths (Cocle, David)
- Kayak
through the little-known Lake Alajuela (Colon,
Panama)
- Sneak
into a hotel pool for an afternoon of sun and drinks (Panama)
- Hike
the largest hill on Isla Taboga to reach the giant white cross (Panama)
- Join
in on a game of dominos on the historic streets of Casco Viejo (Panama)
- Trace
the steps of the ancient Camino Real
- Venture
out for a morning of bass fishing on Lake Gatun (Panama)
- Have
an ice cold agua de pipa in Rio Mar beach
- Watch
the Panama
national soccer team live at Rommel Fernandez stadium
- Spot
the colossal Harpy Eagle in it's natural habitat
If you think we missed anything, feel free to contribute using the comment form below...
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Last Updated ( Sunday, October 28 2007 )
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