The Hiking Through the Panamanian Jungle Backpack Bedtime Story

My brother and I were dropped off by a boat on one of the Bocas del Toro islands heading to a famed surf spot called Wizard Beach. Everything seemed fine as we started on the trail up a nice grassy knoll with my leather backpack on my back, fancy camera around my neck and leather suitcase in my hand. Jonathan was carrying our sole surfboard and a small leather satchel and we were good to go.

But in no time at all, the ankle high grass turned into dense underbrush and a double canopy overhead as we found ourselves in the middle of a dense Panamanian jungle. But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that muddy trail was up and down and slicker than snot. It felt like we were hiking in roller skates on wet ice even though I was wearing my hiking Tevas sandals. Seriously, never had I experienced any mud like that. It was all we could do to stay on our feet and it’s times like this you appreciate a solid leather backpack on your back to let your hands be free to grab trees and roots and walk with a stick in hand.

I’m not saying that we would have been forever lost in the jungle and eaten by monkeys there if it weren’t for my trusty leather backpack, but I’m just saying, it’s a really good idea to wear a backpack to keep both hands free when you’re out and about off the pavement.

We finally got to Wizard Beach, put my leather backpack down and learned why everybody had talked it up so much. It was no fable. The waves were monsters. Not like Zicatela Beach in Puerto Escondido, but they were huge. So Jonathan looked at me and I looked at him and we mutually decided that it wouldn’t be a good idea to go out that day. I had a runny nose and he had picked up a splinter in the jungle on his little finger and waves like that could only make our ailments worse. So we stayed on the beach for a few hours taking it all in and then made our way back to the little dock again. It’s not always the destination, but the journey to get there that makes a trip fun.