The best beach in Central America?

Central America has around 6,000 km of coastline along two oceans and thousands of beaches. We have only visited a few of them on our travels but we think we have found our new favourite: West Bay on the island of Roatan. The island lies 65 kilometres (40 miles) off the northern coast of Honduras and is surrounded by the second largest…

Up in the clouds in Monteverde

Our final stop in Costa Rica was in the cool mountainous area of Monteverde. In 1951, Quakers from Alabama purchased land in Monteverde to avoid being drafted in the Korean War, an obligation which contradicted their pacifist ideology. They chose Costa Rica because it had abolished its army three years earlier and for the cool lush climate. They named the area Monteverde (“Green…

Finding our favourite beach in Costa Rica

Two boats, three buses and a border crossing later, we arrived in Puerto Viejo (“Old Harbour”) on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Puerto Viejo is a small seaside settlement, famous for partying, surfing and relaxation. One day we went on a gorgeous 15km bike ride along the coastal road to the sleepy village of Manzanillo. We…

Island hopping in Bocas Del Toro

Our final stop in Panama was the Caribbean archipelago of Bocas Del Toro (which translates as “mouths of the bull”), close to the Costa Rican border. It is made up of nine islands and hundreds of cays and islets. The main village, Bocas Town, is equal parts rickety and charming, with tin-roofed clapboard houses converted into colourful shops,…

Bucolic Boquete

After a sweltering few days in Panama City, we were relieved to move to the cool and fresh climate of Boquete, a ten hour bus ride away. Boquete is a small town, nestled in lush, green, forested mountains in the western Chiriqui province of Panama – less than 40 miles from the border with Costa Rica. Hiking is…

Panama City: a capital of contrasts

Casco Viejo is the oldest district of Panama City. Jutting out into the sea on a peninsula (a site chosen to guard against invaders), Casco was initially abandoned as modern Panama City sprouted its skyscrapers across the bay. Just fifteen years ago tourists were warned not to stay here. Even now we were given a map with clearly…