Mindful hanging in Panama City
Story of two backpackers treating travel fatigue
It was a sunny and blissful morning in Panama City. I was sitting in the backyard of my hostel and enjoying a coffee. I had just arrived the evening before and would only stay for two days. Suddenly I hear this ramble at the reception. A new girl had arrived. She was a complete mess. Crying, dropping things…
We quickly became friends as backpackers often do. She told me that she had had a tough couple of days with some unpleasant experiences. She had been on the road for months.
She only had one day in the city and was torn — how could she cram everything on her list in one day while all she wanted was rest? She was burned out. I could relate; we backpackers sometimes have to sightsee quickly. That’s when an idea came to me. We didn’t have to be tourists in a hurry, we could do it another way — pretend that we had all the time in the world.
I told her to go take a two-hour nap and then meet me out front. While she was taking a nap I made a little plan.
Mindful walking
After some well-needed rest, my friend felt better. She had decided to trust me and let go of control.
For the first two hours or so of our day, we just walked aimlessly along the Cinta Costera, the waterfront walkway where people love to walk, jog and cycle. We stopped and had a takeaway coffee, took some photos and sat on a bench chatting with some locals. We took in the air and observed our surroundings. It was a long walk; we explored the entire coastline, but It was a beautiful day and the skyline was gorgeous.
Mindful eating
I looked up the best restaurants in the city and I decided that we deserved something a bit fancy but traditional that day. We were both on a budget but this was a day we came out of our backpacker roles. I took us to a place called Fonda lo que hay for lunch. There we had a slow and delicious lunch and we didn’t touch our phones during the entire time. Instead, we had lovely conversations, and some banter with staff and other guests. I don’t usually take pictures of food, so I don’t have a photo of my lunch ;)
Mindful museum visit
There are of course a lot of museums in Panama City that are worth a visit, but I decided that we needed something more down-to-earth. My top pic is the Biomuseo — it’s legendary! It sure lived up to its reputation. Here we were immersed in the natural history, ecology and ecosystems of Panama. This is the first museum in the world dedicated to biodiversity, and it’s amazing on all counts. Here we learned among other things, that when Panama formed, it enabled South and North America to interact. The animals crossed and met each other for the first time. This changed the Americas forever and created the ecosystem and biodiversity we know today. We spent a long time in the Biomuseo and learned about Panama’s unique wildlife and biodiversity.
A drink to rap up
Casco Viejo is the place to be for nightlife. This is the old neighbourhood where all the fiesta is. There is so much happening in this part of the city. Nightlife is famously great in Panama and if you’re a beer aficionado there is a lot of good craft beer to explore. We were both beer lovers, (although I have quit drinking since then) so we decided to do some beer tasting. We had a good time at Rana Dorada (the best beerhouse according to me 😉). We did the same this as at lunch — muted the phones and just hung out mindfully but a little drunk.
We made a lot of friends that night, both locals and travellers. We ended up having the best day and were ready to take on life and travel with a fresh perspective. We called ourselves the mindful backpackers.
Oh yeah, and we skipped the Panama Canal…
Ironically travel fatigue hit me a couple of months later but that’s another story 🤣
