2026 COSTA RICA - PANAMA

 

COSTA RICA – PANAMA 2026

Monday 02.02.2026

Meeting Nico and Julia at the Luxemburgish airport Hotel „Maxy“, since we must be at the airport at 04:00 o’clock. This is a relaxed way of starting the whole voyage, we are grateful for the peace, no stress!

Tuesday 03.02. 2026

04:00 o’clock, checking in at the airport. We take a plane to Amsterdam, where we have a long-time gap (6 hours to wait for the connection flight), the plane to San Jose leaves at 14:00 o’clock. We take long strolls, enjoy some coffee and stretch our limbs for as long as we can before entering the international plane.

Wednesday 04.02.2026  San José-Tortuguero

Sábana Hotel, San Jose. We get a good night’s sleep and are ready for our pickup at 06:oo o’clock. Unfortunately, our guide is 1 hour late. So, we get a nice breakfast and leave around 08:oo o’clock. The little van is crammed, fully charged to the last place. The ride is a bit uncomfortable, but we get a break and a bite and feel better after that. At Carivaria we switch the van for a boat. This is nice, the river is quite narrow, there is a lot to see: egrets, crocodiles, lush greenery, a pleasant experience. 

Arriving at the jungle lodge we have lunch and after that try to familiarize with our surroundings. Many birds make funny noises; their chirping and twittering is totally different from our birds at home. One bird seems to be a regular customer at the kitchen; it snatches a chunk of meat and hurries away to enjoy the treat. Some monkeys are watching; we just sit there and let the jungle impressions (for all senses) just sink in. -In the afternoon we visit Tortuguero village which is basically a stretch of beach with simple houses. Here from July to October, hundreds of turtles lay their precious eggs. Tortuguero is rather unique in this way, giving home to 4 out of 7 different types of sea turtles (worldwide). The village is quite modest, some small stalls for souvenirs, some little restaurants, one single road is the whole thing.

Back at the lodge dinner and discussing the next day. We might rent some Wellington boots and hike in the National Park; we’ll have a guided boat trip in the morning. It is raining, heavily, after all this is RAINwood forest, so what else to expect? Everything turns moisty and wet, jungle all right…

Thursday 05.02.2026 Tortuguero

We are early birds again, breakfast at 7 o’clock. It has been raining all night, in abundance, so we wonder if we can see some fauna today? At 8 o’clock our guide Alex waits for us at the park’s entrance. The visit is by boat again, on the channels. It is amazing how accurate these guides are: that man detects all kind of beasts in the sheer mess of leaves, branches, stems, grass or any other plants. We see a lot of different birds like the blue heron, with its strong beak for fishing. Kingfishers are flying by, many different egrets and herons, a little bird running on the leaves of a water plant…

Male leguanas in their mating colours, showing off and dozing on the top of a hedge in wait for a female. A "Jesus Christ lizard “, so named because he can run/walk on water, his body in a poisonous green. A baby howler monkey, a couple of big Curaçaos and..: my first sloth (perezoso), a female two-toe and her baby! Sloths are experts in camouflage, it is not easy to get a good picture, but I am very happy, finally Sid and I we have met!-In the afternoon we are hiring Alex again and enjoy our hike with him, the man got the eye for spotting all kind of interesting flora and fauna. He carries his tripod and we can take pictures through the lense, this time we see even 2 sloths! He explains the medical uses of many plants, their names indicate the active ingredient, like the „tapa culo“ („ bouche cu“) against diarrhea, or „quita calçon“ ,a black wasp that slips into your clothes and you rip the clothes off your body…Sloths have a favourite tree to feed on, inside its trunk live termites, no one is permitted to climb the tree except the sloth. Perfect community! -After this instructing walk, we get back to the lodge for dinner and a deserved rest.

Friday 06.0202026 Tortuguero-La Fortuna, Arenal

Electricity cut, packing up in the dark. Breakfast and waiting for our boat to carry us towards Guápiles where we shall take over our car. The boat is delayed but later on we enjoy the ride through the channel very much and forget the delay. We even see an otter! In La Pavona we wait for our driver who arrives in a very shabby van, and late on top. Again, a crammed ride in a packed tight vehicle, through Carivaria all the way to Guápiles. We get some food and wait for the car rental employee. We sign up the contract and design 2 drivers (Nico and me). Off we are towards La Fortuna, Arenal Country Inn. The weather is bad: pouring rain and much lower temperatures than expected. We are a bit sad since the weather forecast announces the same miserable weather for the whole week. Bad prospects for our long hikes! We bravely try to cheer each other up, but spirits are a bit low…Tomorrow is another day, we plan to get to the ranger station of the Natl Park and do one of the hikes we planned…Good thing: I brought my hairdryer, handy for drying clothes and shoes.

Saturday 07.02.2026 Arenal

Get a modest breakfast but feel happy: no rain at the moment. It is grey and very cloudy but dry. So off to Arenal Natl Park, get our entrance tickets and start walking. Nature is overwhelming again, so many trees and on top of these trees again plants growing, giant ferns, anywhere you look greenery in all shapes and sizes, so lush we can’t stop being amazed. Some capuccin monkeys doing their somersaults in the treetops, the near noise (quite impressive) of some howler monkeys. 

We ascend for a long while, all the way up to the lava fields, remains of Arenal’s eruption in 1968. The volcano itself is visible to its half-size, the top disappears in the clouds and the mist. Beautiful scenery! We get back to La Fortuna town, do some shopping, enjoy a snack and a long stroll through town. In the evening we organise a „picnic“in our room.

Sunday 08.02.2026 Hanging Bridges,out of La Fortuna

Rain during the whole night and in the morning no change. Hope for better weather is slowly dying but we make the best of it. Out of Fortuna we try to get to the „Hanging bridges “, but at the entrance we learn that you need to make reservations online. We quickly book our slot and decide to drive back to the lake with the intention to take a little stroll until our time is up. Big mistake. Every single little track is blocked by a barricade, no access, all signed out „private “. 15 years ago, Gaston and I have been travelling in a different Costa Rica! Times have changed, crowds of tourists pouring into the country, everything must be reserved and booked in advance. We get to the entrance at the arranged time and start following a paved path, get over the bridges (enjoying the view over the treetops) and make the full experience of RAINwood forest! Although I have to say the mist, the clouds, the grey sky create a special atmosphere.

We get back to Fortuna, treat ourselves to coffee and cake, buy some vegetables and while we picnic in our rooms discuss our trip to Tenorio Natl Park.

Before that I depose the Sixth’s employee’s wallet at the hotel reception: the man had lost it and today, while braking a bit harder, it slipped from underneath the backseat to my feet. I contact the man via Whatsapp, he happily will come and get it the next day. Glad I could help…

Monday 09.02.2026 Tenorio (visit Park) -Rincón de la Vieja

Leaving La Fortuna at 8 o’clock and drive towards Tenorio, in the pouring rain. At the Park we have trouble to get entrance tickets: all ranger stations work with online tickets, with a totally user-UNFRIENDLY system (the previous night we tried with 3 different mobiles to book tickets, but the system kept on refusing us). So we thought,we might buy at the place itself. No way, we must use a PC. So, Julia dear, all calm and peaceful, works it out at the reception’s computer. Thanks Julia!

The park is famous for the blue Rio Celeste (colour due to various minerals etc..) and the guidebook didn’t praise it in vain: it is a stunning colour, the lush greenery around, a pleasure for the eye. Only drop of bitterness: the scenery would be even better in full sunshine. But rain, rain, nothing but rain…The park is busy with visitors, we even must queue up for a good shot at the waterfall…The trail gets pretty hard: over wet and slippery rocks, muddy, so we walk with care. BUT: we can see a Tapir, the beast crossing our path, not minding any of the tourists. How lucky we are to see this rare animal in a free surrounding! Later we see a sloth (number 4 by now!) , so despite the disastrous weather we are having a precious time!

We leave Tenorio and drive on to the Rincón de la Vieja, Hotel Spa eco Lodge. That place is really remote, so we dine in the lodge. Nico and Julia book the entrances for the coming day, hardship! Thank you both of you…

                    

Tuesday 10.02.2026 Rincón de la Vieja

Breakfast at 7 o’clock and a very bumpy ride towards Rincón de la Vieja Natl Park. It is warm for a change (very welcome), at the far horizon we see a thick layer of clouds, like a fluffy bedcover, all hold back by the chain of mountains. Hope these clouds stay where they are…The wind is hard (70kmh) howling all night long and now during daytime, too. This makes it very easy to cope with the sudden and intense heat. The Rincón is very dry, very different from the rainwood forest. It is famous for its „Pailas“ (mud holes/mud pots), fumarolic steam and smoke (sulphurous) rising up and the mud bubbling with the heat. 

Volcanos! The steam rises up between the greenery, creates lovely pictures in the contre-jour, the sunbeams through the leaves and the smoke emphasising the phenomenon. We see some big leguanas, they don’t bother the visitors, stay on the same spot barely blinking with an eye. We leave the park and get to Liberia town. Here we enjoy a nice late lunch and shop for the night’s picnic. Tomorrow off to Monteverde. We already dread the rain and the cold; this sunny break was so pleasant…

Wednesday 11.02.2026 Llano de Cortez-Hotel Elida (St Elena-Monteverde)

Great breakfast! Packing up and soon hitting the Panamericana. On the way, at Bagaces, we branch off towards „Llano de Cortez“  waterfall. 15 years ago, it was a hidden, lonely place. Now: big parking lot, entrance fee, souvenir stalls, the place busy with heaps of tourists. 

We take a stroll, take some nice pictures and head back. We still face some driving to our destination, Monteverde Cloud Forest, St Elena. The temperature drops drastically and it is drizzling. We follow a serpentine route; views of the plains are fantastic. St Elena is quite busy, we buy some goodies and move on to the Hotel,2km out of town. At Hotel Elida we profit from the last sunshine and have a little picnic outside. Then we follow the trail right back to our rooms. It leads into the forest, to a river and back. On the way a fairly large group of Capuccin monkeys seems to follow us, curiosity is a „killer “…Then we discover a giant strangler fig: it is all hollow and I detect some climbing slings inside.

 This invitation is just too good to be true; we immediately start climbing the inside. Gaston, Julia and I are quite excited to do so, what a lovely trail, right at the backyard and such attractions! -The Hotel rooms are arranged in a kind of square. Here we see a lot of Agoutis (family Nutria) and some big Coatis are robbing the waste bins…

We get a nice dinner at a „Soda“restaurant, a local food place, not expensive.

Thursday 12.02. 2026 Monteverde

The night was a chilly one, a rough wind shaking the cabins, hard gusts of wind lashing out against the trees and hedges. We wear several layers of clothes against the rain and the cold. At the breakfast room some capuccin monkeys get really close, very curious but also aggressive animals, so we keep at bay…They tell me right at the back lives an Armadillo, but they are night animals, so no chance to spot them.

 Leaving to Monteverde Bosque nuboso (MV cloud forest), the track is a nightmare: very big potholes, dirt track, steep ascent and pouring rain. A challenge for the driver, thanks Nico! Getting there we pay our entrance and choose a trail. 

Unfortunately, it rains more and more, but the views are still spectacular: the mighty trees are overgrown by dozens and dozens of other plants, so that a single tree carries a whole flora-„Universe “. It rains continuously and the path turns from bad to worse: very slippery (particularly over the roots) muddy and so dirty we decide to backtrack after 1 ½ hours. We are soaked, dirty and cold! And craving for some sunshine. We freshen up in our cabins, try to dry out a bit and have some food. It looks like a short afternoon walk is still possible. So we head to the Bosque Eterno de los Ninos (a local project, financed by many different countries to protect the forest). The park is about to close, no chance that we get the permission to walk a bit in the forest to have a quick glimpse. Overall, it is not possible to take a little walk just about ANYWHERE , or places are closed by barricades or they charge a fee. A bit of a pity. We walk back to our cabins, try to dry out (in vain), but the moisty atmosphere is getting to our bones… We hope tomorrow’s destination, Manuel Antonio Park, will provide some sunshine….

Friday 13.02.2026 Manuel Antonio

Very early (around 6 o’clock) a large coati rummages in the waste bin outside, next to our cabins. I get out to chase it away and it is quite reluctant to leave, how dare I to disturb his feeding process! -It is even colder than the other day, the wind blowing with incredible force and non-stop rain. A meagre breakfast and we leave Elida Hotel behind us. After not too many kilome
tres the world is changing: 27 degrees, still drizzling, but warm this time. We drive on to Carara, where we stop for a bite and look down, at the bottom of the bridge some crocodiles are lazily enjoying the sun at the river shore. After that break we slowly progress due to traffic jams, slow lorries and a lot of construction sides. Such a hard drive to cover a short distance! Around 15:00 we get to Quepos and soon to Hotel Karahe. It is warm and dry, hurray, finally! We plunge into the lukewarm sea, shower and arrange some laundry service for the other day. Dinner at Karahe’s and trying to make a reservation for Manuel Antonio’s Natl Park.

Saturday 14.02.2026 Manuel Antonio

Happy Valentine! Breakfast with a lot of entertainment (although NOT for the hotel staff..) :a bunch of capuccin monkeys romp about the restaurant roof (made of palm tree leaves) trying to sneak away with some stolen food. They get chased away but they are quite persistent. And fun to watch! After the monkey show we give some washing to the laundry service (all our clothes have a bit of a musty smell from the moist…) and we are off to the beach. Holidays! The sea is really warm, and we toss and turn in the waves. After that some reading and relaxing. We recuperate our clothes which smell nice and fresh now and have dinner in a very tasty Indian restaurant, Namasté. At the beach we had seen some magnificent Ara parrots, screaming their heads off. Great to watch them fly…

Sunday 15.0.2026 Manuel Antonio

Late breakfast and get ready for the Natl park. On the way some people stop the car, confusing us by telling the park would only give you access WITH a guide ,blablabla…which is of course a hoax. Parking with a fee, entrance with our belongings deposed in a locker (no food, no plastic water bottles allowed in the park…) all rather complicated. Finally, we are in and soon it is all quiet and peaceful on a little trail that leads to a dried-out waterfall.

 On the way tiny squirrel monkeys, or „Titi-monkeys“entertain us with their high and vertical leaps and jumps. They are amazing, they let themselves drop from a tree and catch at a small branch at the last moment to avoid a lethal fall to the ground. We continue and the trail leads us around the tour of a small peninsula meeting some capuccin monkeys again: they are a bit naughty, so we hold on tight to our mobile phones since these animals steal anything from food, hats, phones etc.. Lots of Iguanas are lying on tree branches dosing off in the sun. 

We see the poisonous Manzanillo tree (leaves and sap are very poisonous), a funny little lizard with a kind of „bag“ under its chin and walk on for a long while through a very dry forest. At the beach we watch the waves, there are dangerous rip currents here, so no bathing, and start our way back. Right to the exit we meet a guide who shows us a sloth and its baby through his huge binoculars (on a big tripod) We give him a tip and can film the animals through his telescope.

We drive back to the hotel and right there is a beautiful sloth, hanging on the branches of a tree! Too cute! A quick dip at the sea and off to Quepos for a modest pizza.

Monday 16.02.2026 Dominical (Hacienda Barú)

Late breakfast, packing up and going on towards Dominical. On the way a bit of shopping at Pali’s for tonight’s picnic. We get a bit early to Hacienda Barú (check-in usually at 15.00) but they are letting us in, the rooms are ready. We are surprised by the cabins: we get ALL we need, little kitchen, small parlour, fridge, coffee-machine. We sort the bags out and drive to Dominical for lunch and for some shopping. Lunch is very tasty, organic food, good quality. This was originally a little surfer town which changed into a much posher place with organic and vegan restaurants, yoga classes, treehouses, nice little shops, a different kind of tourism AND not to forget rather elevated prices. Back at the Hacienda we enjoy the beach, have a swim in the pool and organise a nice little picnic outside.

Tuesday 17.02.2026 (trail Hacienda Barú)

After breakfast we apply thick layers of sunscreen and deet and head off for the trail that leaves at the backyard. Around us so many of those giant palm leaves and magnificent old trees, with mighty trunks and flat, „blade-like“roots running on endlessly (several meters..) . Some Agoutis and coatis, accompanied by an enormous variety of bird song (we have an App that tells us by the sound which bird is singing, so funny) . A guide is showing a sloth to his clients, we can detect it without binoculars, the little furry ball. We continue the walk for a long time and get driven back because we really want a cold drink. From the cabin it is a 10 minutes‘walk to the beach, we get there and enjoy the waves. This beach is a pure jewel: endless white sands, big, foamy waves and   all ALONE. Amazing! After the seaside we have a good swim in the pool (no current here…) Dinner in a small local restaurant, El Paso. Tonight we have to sort our luggage out for the coming Corcovado experience. We wonder what lies ahead: jungle, remoteness, sea and wild nature….

Wednesday 18.02.2026 Corcovado

Get breakfast early, pack up, fill up the car and leave for Sierpe Docks. The driving is relaxed, not too much traffic. In Sierpe town it is a bit confusing, we find „Poor man’s paradise „ office only after asking around, but in the end we do so, leave the bigger bags in the office and get on a boat with a small rucksack and clothes for 3 days. The boat is
quite small, and out on the sea it gets a bit bumpy. We arrive at a long beach, hop into the water, wade along a sandy beach to get to the lodge, in the middle of Corcovado Reserve. The cabins are nice and we decide to get back to the beach for a swim. The showers are cold but since the weather is warm, we don’t mind that too much. Dinner at the lodge, no other place nearby…

Thursday 19.02.2026 Corcovado

After a sweaty and hot night, we get up at some cruel 5:00, breakfast at 5:30 and after that catch a boat at the beach that carries us to Corcovado park and entrance. At the park some more controls (no food, plastic bottles, knifes…) and get in with our guide. Corcovado is very remote and very protected. Many years ago, it was a very lonely place. Now there are a lot of groups entering the park and since access is limited (big areas stay tourist „free “to protect the fauna and flora) you are never alone, there are tourists crossing our path constantly. This makes it very hard to encounter wild animals, the place is just too busy, too much noise and action. -The jungle itself is stunning, old old trees, with looooong roots interconnecting with other trees, and the guide can give us a lot of details about the flora, the history of the park, shows us some nice birds. 

There is (apparently) a Puma roaming around but we are not lucky enough to meet it. After a break with some fresh fruits, we follow a river towards a waterfall. Nico has a little slip, hurting his toe but bravely walks on. Back at the lodge then a cold shower again and at the openair restaurant we can see 2 beautiful toucans. We spend the afternoon reading and watching the enormous variety of birds conveniently from our little balcony...Spectacular sunset and tasty dinner.

Friday 20.02.2026 Corcovado

Today we decide to spend a leisure day down at the beach: Hammocks, books, watching the rolling of the waves, Pura Vida! We all enjoy this little break. After lunch Gaston and I venture out for a little walk, up the hill, leaving the resort on a dirt track. We find the beginning of the San Josecito trail that leads (4 hours) straight to Corcovado Park. We can’t resist to follow the trail but after a very little while we get stopped by a warning sign: without any official permit (papers you need to apply for in San Jose…) you are not allowed to go on. We turn back and reach our Poor man’s Paradise by the beach. (5kms). Last dinner and drink, tomorrow early birds again, 05:30 is the plan!

Saturday 21.02.2026 Paso Canoas,Panama-Boquete

Very early check out with a host who hugs us goodbye. Had we thought to be all alone on the boat we were mistaken this is a kind of sea taxi, taking the absolute maximum of passengers aboard. The engine of the boat develops some trouble; the captain is challenged to fix it but in the end, we arrive safely after 1 ½ hours in Sierpe at the docks. At the office we get our luggage and a man from Toucanes Tours is already waiting to give us a lift to Paso Canoas, the border. Pleasant surprise: we travel alone in a nice van, with lots of space around us. At the border we get delayed when the officials check out on Gaston and myself, since we have been in the country 15 years before, they research for a very long while until they permit us to get into Panama. -Finally, we can cross the border and meet the representative of Gapa travel who drives us all the way to Boquete Palo Alto Inn. On the way we shop for a picnic. At the hotel we have nice rooms, with a hot shower, a good coffee and enjoy a nice picnic in our „wintergarden “,  taking in the sight of the hotel’s lovely garden.

Sunday 22.02.2026 Boquete

Tasty breakfast. Our guide picks us up for our coffee tour. Spirits are not really high since it rained all night and didn’t stop in the morning. The guide tells us that we might have a bit less of rain higher up in the mountains, but it turns out to be a mistake, it rains continuously. We bravely start then on the „Pipeline “-trail, walking up the hill. The landscape is very scenic: we are surrounded by high walls, super lush greenery, a river gushing downright next to us, the vegetation and plant life are in a deep and rich green, emphasised by the rain, a pure jungle experience! No animals out right now in the pouring rain, not even a ñeque, the Panama name for agoutis. Right on the trail we meet the „king“of the jungle, a mighty Cenizo-tree (Mexican Elm), 1000 years old. 

We stand next to it and feel totally dwarfed and humble, this tree is so overgrown by „guest-plants“ , it is a world on its own. The trunk is giant, absolutely magnificent! All these trees inspire modesty, in a spectacular landscape with high rocks around us and walls overgrown and loaded with thousands of plants, most authentical jungle. The rain and the mist create a very special atmosphere, although the trail gets increasingly slippery. We bravely walk on, then scramble over wet rocks and boulders to get to the waterfall. It is a beautiful sight; we linger there for a moment and then start the return. Back at the hotel we change our wet clothes for dry ones and get a little lunch at a local restaurant. After food Rolando takes us up to 1500m to the coffee plantation. Here we get a full course of the whole coffee process, from the plant, the harvest, the drying of the beans, the roasting, etc and Rolando is the right man for this. I have never met a person speaking with so much passion about coffee, we find his explanations entertaining and instructive. The tasting is funny, too, Rolando finds so many words for each cup, so many different flavors that we just HAVE to buy some coffee from this passionate man! -We order pizza for dinner and discuss the coming days.

Monday 23.02.2026 Mt Totuma

Finally, some sun. The breakfast place is an open room, so we can enjoy the sight of colorful birds (there are little feeding stations to attract them), so photogenic in the sun! At 11:00 an employee from Mt Totuma lodge picks us up for quite a drive: the last 10 kms are rough and very bumpy, on dirt tracks and with large potholes. But we arrive all right at Mount Totuma cloud forest lodge. The boss checks us in and takes us to the terrace: the place is buzzing with hummingbirds, so many of them in all kinds of shapes and colors, just beautiful to watch! So small and fast, the beating of their tiny wings reminds me of the buzzing of bumblebees. Then someone announces that the Quetzales are out. These birds are very precious and rare; the Aztec kings wore their long tail feathers as an ornation to their headdress. 

So, we hurry to the place, and yes, male and female bird on the tree, in flashy red and blue colors waiting to get their picture taken. We decide to follow one of the tracks, to get a little sight of the place. The landscape where the lodge is built in is sheer fantastic, it reminds me so much of the „King Kong Island“. Arriving back at the lodge, we just sit on the terrace, enjoying the sight of the tireless hummingbirds, get the last sunbeams until a persistent mist forces us inside. At dinner the owner of the lodge explains about the specific winds: winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean are clashing together, bringing rain, mist and storms. Quite a daily phenomenon here…

Tuesday 24.02.2026 Mt Totuma

And the man was right: all night long the howling of a very hard wind! The lodge is mainly built of wood, so a lot of creaking and moaning of wooden beams…no silent night! After a delicious breakfast a young guide takes us along on the „big tree loop“trail.

 It is cold and the wind carries some mist plus rain. , we wear double layers against the cold and the wet. The weather conditions are not in favour for some animal spotting but the landscape, primal forest with huge Cenizos (Mexican Elm) and Bambitos (Avocado trees), the mountains, the fog which is chased by gusts of wind ,all in all my king kong island atmosphere…We see the three wattled bellbird ,hear first his specific and „metallic“ cry ,incredible. 

Capuccin monkeys and the howler monkeys’ roaring howl (very loud!) . After the walk we get back to the lodge, freezing and wet. Lunch is nice and welcome to help us warm up again. -In the afternoon we follow a trail called Los Pozos, passing water cascades, following a serpentine all the way down to the hot, thermal springs. A warm foot bath and all the way up again back to the lodge. Hot shower and a delicious dinner.

Wednesday 25.02.2026 Mt Totuma

The wind is persistent through the night and noisy. We plan to hike on 2 trails today: the Roble (Oak tree) and the Puma. The first one leads back into the woods. The forest holds back part of the wind and the ribbons of mist. No animals around but it is the general atmosphere of this area that helps feeling rather enchanted. Again, we hear howler monkeys and the metallic cry of the bellbird.

Lunch break and after that off to the Puma trail with 2 fantastic cascades, little paths through the coffee slopes and back through the forest. We pick some tomatoes de arbol (tomato tree) that we enjoy: this fruit tastes like a mixture of papaya and maracuja, with many little black seeds in it. Nice. We pay our bills, buy some shade grown geisha -coffee and start packing up.

Thursday 26.02.2026 Catalina

Last day at Mount Totuma, and while we wait for our transfer to David the owner tells us the story of his life, the creation of the lodge, the farming, the coffee plantations (shade grown at 1800m altitude), very interesting. Then the trip to David starts, again on the bumpy dirt track, we bravely grab the handles in the car and suffer in silence…..In David we get to Hertz airport instead of Hertz Centre, some confusion but in the end, we can leave with our rented car. 

-We arrive around 16:00 in Catalina Villa Coco Hotel. Catalina is a surfer village that feels like „ going-to be-the place” in some years. We stroll through the village, get close to the beach and get a bit of a Caribbean feeling. Dinner at the hotel.

Friday 27.02.2026 Catalina-Isla Coiba

After breakfast we get ready for our snorkelling trip to Isla Coiba. On a small boat we ride on hard waves, the bow bangs hard on each wave and makes our bones suffer with each crash. But then we get into the water and can spot quite some nice under water life: 2 small white tipped reef sharks and at least 6 sea turtles which stay very relaxed at our sight. Tiny little jellyfish sting on naked skin but the water has a comfortable temperature. Second snorkelling with sighting of spiny puffer, grunts, beautiful angelfish and more…. After that a little lunch ashore. 

CATALINA, ISLA COIBA

We walk a way up to a viewpoint and listen to the history of the island: it was used as a prison, a penal colony (an isolated island, surrounded by water, sharks and crocodiles…), so the prisoners were stuck there. The prison is out of use today, lies in ruins. We are right now at the opposite half of the island. We get into the boat again for a 3rd snorkelling, when we meet a fairly large group of stingrays. Bumpy boat ride back to Catalina, but as a special treat we see a school of dolphins, how nice! The dolphins are chasing fish together with some birds, amazing. -Back at Villa Coco a hot shower, the bathroom is actually outside in a tiny garden, funny, get an aperitif on our terrace and a tasty dinner at a local pizzeria.

Park Eden, Valle Anton

Saturday 28.02.2026 Valle de Antón
From Villa Coco on our way to Valle de Antón. The winding road, over some small streets, leads us to the Panamericana1. We stop on the way and shop some food. Soon we leave the Panamericana heading inland, towards the mountains. We follow the navigation system and get on a very very hard track; Nico takes over and switches on the 4-wheel drive. But the ascents get so steep that we really worry if we are going to make it. The path is so narrow, we could never turn the car if we had to. We pass fields and the campesinos (farmers) look at us with an astonished expression on their faces. In the end we get to a ROAD, feeling relieved! This car is really solid, and we are happy when we arrive in Valle de Antón, Park Eden. Here we get a complete house for our B+B stay, great! We decide to get a stroll through town and leave. But each of us 4 presumed that the other one took the key, so we are stuck outside, with locked doors. The owners are gone, we decide to go to town first, hoping someone is in the house later on.... We walk around, shop some souvenirs and at our return we are lucky, the owner just drives up and opens the door with a spare key. Ouf ouf! Tomorrow another hike on the menu, but it looks like heavy rain, so spirits are sinking a bit. We organize a tasty picnic and have a good rest.

Sunday 01.03.2026 Valle de Antón, India Dormida-Panama City

We get our breakfast outside in a lovely pavilion set in the garden. Many birds around us, even squirrels. We pack up, leave the luggage on the porch and follow our guide. The ranger gives us a short but nice version of Valle de Antón’s history: the valley is actually a giant Caldera, a volcanic crater; after big eruptions (pre-historic times) the valley was thriving due to the fertile soils and became a home for many people. The India Dormida trail is a long hike with a legend attached to it: at the time of the Spanish Conquistadores an indigenous princess falls in love with a Spanish soldier. But she is promised to a valiant warrior. The forbidden love ends in a tragedy: the warrior jumps to his death while the princess lies down with the wish that nature does to her as she judges right. She sleeps on the mountain ridge and today we see the profile line of a woman’s body, lying on her back, looking up to the sky, our princess waiting for her love…

At the trail’s entrance we discover some old native symbols, on a large volcanic boulder, which up to now cannot be fully dated or deciphered. The trail ascents for a very long time, it is Sunday, many locals are taking the same walk with a lot of music, laughter, screaming. No animals there (apart from a real big spider) due to the crowds and the noise. Lovely waterfall, greenery, some more rocks with native symbols…In the end we get to the top of the mountain ridge and enjoy the view.

Backtrack and recuperating our luggage to drive to our last destination, Panama City. It takes a while to get from the bad road to the Panamerica1. But even this main road is still adventurous: bus stops at the side with a lane for the busses to pick up the clients, malls right and left, so a constant flow of pedestrians close to the traffic. Very short exits/accesses to the road which is meant to be a kind of „motorway “, even stalls with vendors of fruit and vegetables at the side, cyclists riding their bikes, driving must be done with extremely care. Gaston just manages with a quick reaction to miss a dog that runs straight onto the road, lucky to avoid a bad rear-end collision, good reaction Gaston! Some more tension to enter the metropolitan, (over the big bridge), a challenge for both, driver and co-pilot! Driving over the bridge provides a first glimpse of the canal and the docks. Car return at Hertz and a taxi drive to Global Hotel. A little first stroll around the neighbourhood, a drink at a roof top cocktail bar and a nice dinner.

Monday 02.03.02026 Panama City

Get up and ready, fairly early, for our visit of the Canal. Our guide is a very energetical person, half Panamanian half German, she gives very good explanations about the Canal and its history plus the story of the building, the locks and the politics around it. We take a boat to visit Gatun Lake, a huge lake that feeds the locks with its water. The whole of the lake’s area is a big nature reserve, and we are happy to see some animals, like the Tamarin-monkeys, small, curious and very cute animals, we learn a lot about Aztec ants, living in symbiosis with their host tree, defending the tree against intrusions. The flora is varied, some new plants to discover and many birds around.

Lago Gatûn

 After the boat ride the guide takes us to Aguas Claras, the new locks built right next to the old ones, with more capacity to handle the bigger ships. We stay on for a while watching the procedure of the locks with 2 bigger ships, one with cars, one with gas containers, the mass of water being moved is impressive! Next destination is Fort Lorenzo, a fortification built by the Spaniards at the entrance of the Canal ( Rio Chagres) with the intention to prevent attacks on Panama Canal. But all the same the fort is attacked by pirates and buccaneers (Morgan, Drake, Vernon…) as well as the City itself. San Lorenzo is fully restored and UNESCO Heritage. To round things off we get a nice lunch at the Marina planning the last day.

Agua Clara

Tuesday 03.0302026 Panama City -Return Home

Last day: packing up and taking the luggage with us in the guide’s van. We start at Cerro Ancón (Anton Hill), atop the massive Panamanian flag, a premier landmark of Panama City, symbolizing national „sovereignty “. The walk up the hill is already nice, the guide finds many plants to comment on. Amazing, right in the centre of this metropolitan some parks, forest and nature reserves. At the top we get nice views of the canal, the Causeway, the 3 small islands, the Balboa Avenue, the Old Town, the Bay….Our guide tells us a lot about Panama’s history: the wars, the conflicts, the various foreign occupations, ownership of the canal. In general, we can say Panama has always been a „trading“ country due to the strategical nature of the place. Even today we know that politics are not easy, Trump claiming the Canal for the US, a lot of tension…

When we descend the hill we see a little sloth which, to our surprise, is not rolled up into a furry ball but actually moving a bit , very SLOWLY…We get to the fish market, a smelly visit , all kind of fish displayed, the stench is pretty intense, then some „ceviche“ (raw fish marinated in garlic) for our friends and smoothie for Gaston and myself. -A final visit of „Casco Viejo “, the old town, all nicely restored and rebuilt over the years. The colourful houses (flashy red, green, yellow and blue..) with the little balconies are very photogenic, little cafés, galleries, souvenir shops, a pleasant walk. I buy a hat for my collection, a true „Pintado“, the typical campesino hat (I have already a Panama hat..)

Goodbyes and leaving to the airport for Amsterdam-Luxembourg.