panamaniac

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please excuse my total absence from the blogosphere over the last couple of weeks.  like always i'm armed with a good excuse and like always it's travel.  i've been back on the road, the sky, and the seas in search of more beautiful baubles. 
this time the hunt has taken me to central america where my first stop has been panama.  i didn't really know what to expect from panama but turns out it's way more than just a useful canal.  we started off in panama city where the old and the new coexist albeit warily with one another.  it's really crazy to look out over the skyline and see the skyscrapers looming over the casco viejo.  from there it was onto santa catalina for some lazing in the sun and sand because all work and no play would make me dull and who wants that?  from there it was back to work and on to boquete in search of guaymi handicrafts.  the guaymi tribe is native to panama and my god are they good with the beads.  they pretty much invented putting a bib on it with their amazing chaquira necklaces.  on our bus ride through the chiriqui province we passed hundreds of roadside stalls selling the most gorgeous chaquira necklaces and beaded pendants and i spent most of it hyperventilating over how beautiful everything was.  in chiriqui we based ourselves in the highlands of boquete where the weather is perfect, the living is easy, and the hiking is only moderately strenuous.  from there it was onto bocas del toro to see panama's other coast and to do a bit of island hopping.  i'm taking more than a little bit of liberty with the term island hopping considering that you can take a $3 water taxi between all of the islands but feel free to imagine me on a yacht or something.  bocas was amazing and it has to be one of the most budget friendly caribbean islands.  same food, same beach, and same music as i learned while sharing a water taxi with the famous calypso joe. 
thanks for the memories panama, and by memories i mean jewelry.  but when do i not mean that?  and i swear i haven't forgotten, as promised lookbook photos are on their way in an upcoming post!  but in the meantime scope out these photos of my adventures in panama and stay tuned for more central americana!

an example of the artisan roadside stand.  this should explain my hyperventilation.  photo credit joe duvall.

low tide in santa catalina.

real classy boquete.

views from the moderately strenuous hike.

in my head these were going to be amazing photos of me clicking my heels but i turned out looking like a demented lumberjack michael jackson.  you live you learn.

miniature panamian guard dog.

more than a little skeptical of this "bridge".

my caribbean dream house bocas del toro edition.

wizard beach at isla bastimientos.  pure magic.