The ISA JournalPanama: Have You Ever Been to Paradise?

Marissa Ruxin is a student at University of California San Diego and an ISA Featured Blogger. Marissa is currently studying abroad in Panama City on a Fall 1 program.

Panama has been incredible and I have seen and experienced so many unforgettable things. Some highlights from my trip thus far include:

Rowing a Cayuco:
I tried rowing in a cayuco, which is similar to a canoe, and our boat swamped in a lake filled with crocodiles and manatees. A guy who was with us actually had part of his finger bitten off in this lake by a manatee one time when he had swamped.

Anton Valley
We hiked the La Dormida Trail (Sleeping Indian) Trail, and it was simply breathtaking. It’s a nice hike up a mountain which is in the shape of a sleeping woman and there’s beautiful waterfalls and greenery everywhere. I also some old drawings left by the Indians from hundreds of years ago.

Bocas del Toro
Have you ever been to paradise? Well, I believe I have. This past weekend I went with a group on an excursion to Bocas del Toro. It’s an group of islands northwest of mainland Panama with restaurants, bars, hostels and some unbelievable beaches. It’s a popular tourist spot so when you are here you can meet people from all over the world.

When I was at Bocas I went to the most beautiful beach I have ever seen on Zapatilla Island. The water was a clear blue-green with rolling waves that softly hit the sandy beach. The scene looked like paradise as the perfect water contrasted with the green plants and white sand on the island. We also went snorkeling where we saw live coral of many different colors, anemone, lots of interesting fish and sea cucumbers. On the boat we saw some dolphins swimming around as well.

Then at night we went out to the clubs. Two of these were on the water so that when we didn’t feel like dancing, we jumped into the ocean and took a refreshing dip. It was a fantastic trip and was definitely worth the long bus ride.