Panama city is very developed and cosmopolitan, largely shaped by U.S. influence. Huge supermarkets carry North American foods, city buses are painted-over American school buses, the currency is the U.S. dollar, and many people speak perfect American-accented English. Yet, the city also has it's own history and identity, which we discovered in the traditional food, colonial architecture, and a folkdance show. The first couple of nights, we stayed in a dorm room in a hostel and met lots of young travelers with whom we shared information, taxi rides, meals, and nights out on the town. We found the nightlife to be one of Panama City's fortes as we drank buckets of bottled beer at a local canteen, listened to a fabulous 8-piece salsa band at a casino and marveled at the traditional costumes, dance and music at Tinajas folkloric dinner show. We were lucky to have made a Panamanian friend, Akira, who reserved us a table at the Tinajas show, took us to authentic Panamanian lunches, and drove us out to the causeway for views of Panama City's skyline and the Bridge of the Americas, which marks the Pacific entrance to the canal. Around the canal, the city gave way to rainforest that surrounded the former US military bases. Of course, we checked out the canal one afternoon at the Miraflores Locks, the first set of locks from the Pacific side. Two massive cargo ships came into the locks, were lowered 16.5 meters, pulled through the lock chambers by cables attached to electric cars, then sent off to the Pacific Ocean. We were amazed by all that we learned about the Panama Canal's creation and configuration and could see how something like this could be a country's defining feature.

But the country had another main feature that we were even more eager to explore, the surf. We hooked up with Fidel from Panama Private Tours and headed out of town in a 4WD owned by Alan, our driver and second guide for the weekend surf trip. On the way out of town, Alan drove us through the old city center of San Felipe, with it's narrow cobbled streets, crumbling colonial buildings and busy fish market, where hundreds of Pelicans waited off shore for leftover scraps. However, as soon as we were on the Panamerican Highway away from the city, we knew that most of Panama would be lush green fields and jungle, refreshing breezes and smaller towns. After driving all evening through the rain, we got bogged on a steep muddy slope and rescued by the surf camp truck who pulled us down the hill. We were happy to have Alan's awesome 4WDing skills and the bit of adventure! We woke up the next morning to finally see where we were, the tiny coastal town of Santa Catalina, a tropical village of a few dirt tracks now turned to mud, resting on a stretch of the Pacific Ocean where huge waves peeled across an offshore reef. We had a great weekend with Fidel and Alan, staying at the surf camp cabanas, watching surf videos, walking or driving along the wide black beach, catching some nice waves in the extremely warm water, and taking great advantage of the 50 cent beers. The warm, wet season rains kept us under cover a lot of the time, but we were grateful to have a 4WD to plow through the muddy roads from place to place. Santa Catalina is a town mostly only known by locals and surfers, so it was a great place to get off the beaten track and a great time with our new friends.

Traveler Tips:
**There is plenty of surf in Panama. For more information on breaks in Panama, click here and check out Panama Private Tours website.

**You can take a series of local buses from Panama City to Santa Catalina, but having a car (specifically a 4WD) makes things much easier, especially in the rain. The best way to do this is to go with Panama Private Tours.