As I have a few days to spend in Panama I decide to get in touch with a journalist contact and see if he can advise me on places to visit. I already have my mind half set on travelling down the Sambu River in a remote part of the Darien jungle, something described as a 'Heart-Of-Darkness experience, passing through spectacular jungle inhabited by jaguars and mountain lions' by my guidebook.
Aside from being quite dangerous, it's one of the last remaining true wildernesses on the planet. It's not a place that's easy to reach and requires me flying to the small outposts of Garachine or La Palma, taking a local boat and then hiring someone to take me upriver in a dugout canoe. It's also Easter week when many things, including flights are put on hold.
The journalist is not happy about me going on my own and helps me to get in touch with a Director of the region. I decide to go if I can get his help.
While we're waiting to hear back from the Director, he takes me on a tour of Panama's glittering shopping centres and tells me Panama is the cheapest place in Central America to buy goods. While I'm not a big fan of shopping centres, it's good to see familiar shops in a clean, air-conditioned space.
Meanwhile on Good Friday Panama City is alight with several street processions.
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