La Silampa – A Hidden Paradise
24th February. We’ve had so many incredible adventures I can hardly believe it! Our journey through Central America has been a constant stream of breathtaking landscapes and heartwarming encounters. And still, the magic continues…
Yesterday, we met Modesta and her family. Today, we found ourselves in an entirely different world—just 3 km away as the crow flies, but a few hours’ drive by road.
La Silampa is said to be one of the most beautiful natural swimming pools in all of Panama. After paying our $5 parking fee, we set off with our guide—a black dog with a name I couldn’t pronounce, let alone spell. But she was a beauty and stuck with us the entire afternoon.
The trail down was a little hairy. A steep rugged ridge descent with no shade and the sun beating down. Not a place you want to lose your footing with the strong winds pushing us around. I was dreading the climb back up before we even reached the bottom. But then—wow, the pools were absolutely Stunning! Crystal clear, turquoise and perfectly cool and again, we are the only people there. The second we dove in, the hike was forgotten. The kids climbed, dove and backflipped till we left.
Not keen on retracing our steps, we opted for another trail back—much nicer, same amount of time. We reached the top just as the sun was sinking, played in the wild gusts of wind, and then dropped down the other side to Bruce. Our four-legged guide happily accepted a small bag of dog food as payment.
That night, we free-camped just down the road. At 600m elevation, the slight breeze was cool enough to sleep.
Playa Venao – Visiting Friends in Paradise
24 – 6 March. It was a full day of driving to get down to Playa Venao on the Pacific side. This time the heat or distance didn’t bother Jaxon, he was just too excited to see his friends. Mark, Belinda and their boys, Alex & Austin, are friends from home, we live in the same neighbourhood in Whistler. They left Canada Just four months ago, after packing up their house and lives to move to Panama. Finding a perfect little corner to call home on this beautiful coast.
Their beachfront house is dreamy. A blend of indoor-outdoor living—only the bed & bathrooms have walls. The kitchen, dining, and living space are completely open-air and FABULOUS!
Life here is idyllic. Mark works remotely, taking meetings online in a surf tee and board shorts. Belinda works hard homeschooling the boys. Every day is an adventure, mornings typically start with a 6am wake up from the parrots calling ‘hola’ wanting their sunflower seed breakfast, followed by coffee and surf session that’s a pleasant 1km walk from their house along a shady dirt road. Home for a healthy breakfast and schoolwork in the A/C upstairs. Afternoons are back to the waves or snorkelling or fishing from their inflatable boat.
We soaked up every relaxing moment especially Jaxon who really enjoyed his time with Alex & Austin—surfing, fishing, swimming, exploring the low tide reef & nighttime crab hunting. It was like having a mini-holiday. We had our own room with a/c, bathroom & large balcony. A lovely treat to get out of the truck for a while.
The property is huge—maybe 8 acres and fully fenced. José Luis, the groundskeeper/security guard/ farmer now Spanish teacher, lives in the adjoining casita. Originally from Nicaragua, he moved to Panama 14 years ago when he could no longer survive on $5 a day. Don’t blame him. He also tends the vegetable garden and raises chickens—the boys’ daily job was taking the food scraps up to feed them. There is also a wild pet deer living on the property that Jose raised from a fawn. Can’t spell her name either. The kids call her Bambi & she’s quite the character.
Serge, Peachie, and Guacamole—the three parrot friends The two Amazon Green parrots must have been former pets—they spoke Spanish and a little Spanglish. “Hola!” they’d call from the handrails before swooping down to us. The red macaw also says “Hola” not sure if he learned from the others or if he, too, once belonged to someone.
For Carnival we piled into their car and spent the afternoon in the town of Pedasi, joining in on the water festival. Eating street food, watching the parade and taking in cultural Panama. But as always, time flew, before we knew it, nine days has passed and so it was time to keep moving. We are deeply grateful for the warmth, generosity extend by the Steffans family. Thanks for having us and we’d love to come and visit again if we pass by.
Leaving was tough for Jaxon, who was not interested in leaving Alex & Austin, but there was a few more places we want to visit before crossing to Colombia.
“Travel is not a reward for working….it’s an education for living”. Anthony Bourdain