Visualizzazione post con etichetta friends. Mostra tutti i post
Visualizzazione post con etichetta friends. Mostra tutti i post

7 dic 2014

Bocas del Toro: young, wild, and free in the Panamanian Caribbean!

[**Click here for the Italian version on Bigodino.it!**]

I just came back from a trip to Bocas del Toro with 2 of my dearest friends, Claire & Ben, who came visit me in Panama from far away.
...Needless to say that it was LEGEN - wait for it- DARY !!! Besides the beauty of the place, I had so much fun with the guys, enjoying both Bocas and Panama City and surroundings, Pacific and Altantic oceans.

Bocas del Toro is a beautiful archipelago located in the north-western side of the country, towards the border with Costa Rica, and which -thank God- is still not as touristic as many popular destinations and still gives you the pleasure to find youself alone in virgin beaches.


After the friday night out in Panama City and 0 hours of sleep, we ran directly to Panama City Albrook airport for our morning flight to Bocas! ...And after 40 minutes, paradise found!!
Partners in crime: ready to meet Ben in Bocas!
Not to miss:
  • Red Frog Beach - Ten minutes boat from Isla Colón (the main island where the plane lands and where we had the hotel), this emerald-water & white-sand beach is lovely. You can surf, body surf, chase coconuts, and simply have beautiful walks along the sand. And it is not crowded at all!
Arriving to the island of Red Frog Beach
Heading to Red Frog Beach
Ben =)

Coconut hunters!!


  • Fishing day - You can´t miss the adrenaline of fishing a tuna, spotting a shark, and (if you want) to snorkel in those beautiful waters! At the end of the day, you can cook the fish caught or in your hotel/hostel or in a restaurant. A Catalan chef cooked our big tuna and macarela for us and prepared DELICIOUS tataki, tuna tartare, tuna sashimi etc. Just the best thanksgiving dinner ever =)
Our second caught of the day! Tuna!

  • Isla Zapatilla - 30-40 minutes away form Isla Colón by boat, Isla Zapatilla is composed of two little islands which are incredible. They are covered of wild palmtrees, with pure white sand and cristalline water. Super wild and it´s inhabitated! You can combine it with the fishing day (as we did), or just go there for the day and make a pic-nic on the border of the blue water.
Isla Zapatilla
Claire and I arriving to Isla Zapatilla
Paradise found in Isla Zapatilla
Love them




  • Rent a bike and discover Isla Colón - Isla Colón is lovely and it really deserves a tour around, to discover all those places/beaches which are not so popular but yet amazing. You can rent a bike for some dollars for the whole day or some hours and just go around. For example, i LOVED Bluff beach (our footprint were the only ones on the sand of the whole beach - spectacular!), and the bike tour on rocky/sandy roads along the sea is very nice. (My bike was, of course, fucsia!)
Playa Bluff - just the three of us!

Lunch break
Arrived in Playa Bluff with our bikes!

  • Relax on a hammock after the beach day - If you stay in a hotel which is right on the water border, there´s nothing like relaxing on a hammock on the water after a long beach day!!!! Especially if you share the hammock with someone like Claire or Ben... (I have been to Hotel Olas, and for the position and price I can recommend it!)
 
  • See the dolphins - We didn't have the time to do it but there is a harbour where spotting a dolphin is almost 100% guaranteed!

What else to say...Visit Bocas! And see the amazing video that Ben made of the trip ;)
Gracias chicos!!!! I miss you

11 nov 2014

Discovering Guatemala - Panajachel, Lago de Atitlàn, Chichicastenango and Antigua!

When I bought the tickets one day before leaving I wasn't sure it would have been a great idea...I told to myself: "Damn Sofia, stop doing crazy things" - but I just couldn't help, travel was calling me, and my Trolley Fucsia was looking at me with hungry eyes!!!

Copa Airlines, Panama City->Guatemala City and San Savador->Panama City. The idea was to visit Guatemala on my own for 4-5 days and then pass to El Salvador by bus to visit my salvadoreña friend Karla other 4-5 days. Eventually, it turned out that my friend Ben -who is backpacking CentralAmerica in these months, btw check his Guatemalan video here!!- was in Guate with other friends exactly the days I was there, and in the same cities! **Such a perfect coincidence!**

Let me tell you about GUATE.

5 days are not enough to visit all Guatemala: I only managed, indeed, to visit a little area of the country: in the order: Panajachel, right on Lago the Atitlàn, el mercado de Chichicastenango, and Antigua. Following the suggestion of my friends, I didn't even stopped by the capital, Guatemala City (a dangerous and not really interesting place), therefore when I landed in the city I moved directly to Panajachel. I wish I had more time though, because even if I got to see the best part of the country, I still missed the Maya temples of Tikal, and the Festival de Sumpango, 20 minutes from Antigua, which is a unique cultural event they do the 1 of November (right the day I was around there!) for All Saints day. But for that day my friends had planned a full-day boat party in Lake Atitlàn, so I definitely could not miss it!!

But definitely - if you visit Guatemala you can't miss el Lago de Atitlàn (with its beautiful volcanoes and villages all around), Antigua, and possibly Chichicastenango (with its typical thursday and sunday artisanal market).

As always, I let the photos speak. I hope they inspire you to go visit this amazing country!!!

1. Panajachel and Lago de Atitlàn
Playing with a kid
Making new friends =)
Portaits
As promised - Ben in The Trolley Fucsia!!
Before taking off with the party boat - For Ines' birthday!
Sunset - lago de Atitlàn and its 3 volcanoes behind
Sunset on the Lake
Que paz!
After sleeping in the most beautiful bungalows in front of the shore, good morning!
Boat people!
Boat
En casa de Inés
Halloween Party
 2. El Mercado de Chichicastenango
 3. Antigua 
Coffee pickers
The coffee experience - visiting a Finca de Café
Coffee beans
Between coffee plants



My lunch, for 1.5 euros
Antigua market



me in Guatemalan style



Waiting for the sunset on top of our hostel "Hacia el Sur"

...Go living the Guatemalan experience !! Thank you all for the great time spent =)