Sunday, May 3, 2009

Scootin and raftin around Boquete, Panama

After escaping starvation in Santa Catalina, Ash and I decided to head up to Boquete, Panama, to check out the hot springs and do a little whitewater rafting.

Boquete's a really small quiet town, (population 5,000) but surprisingly filled with American retirees. I was really excited to go whitewater rafting after trying it for the first time in Mendoza, Argentina. Unfortunately, the river level was fairly low, and we got stuck a few times on some rocks so the thrill factor (despite a couple of Class IV rapids) was a bit disappointing. Sadly, in about a few years, the river will be gone due to the fact there will be a dam built to generate electricity only for export purposes. It has caused quite a bit of controversy, but apparently the investors behind it include Carlos Slim, one of, if not the richest man in the world. According to the local guide who took us whitewater rafting, the environmental impact to the area will be incalculable. However, most of the locals affected were paid off a meager amount for their votes and the project was approved with very little local interference.

Ash and I met two couples the following day at Hostel Boquete (highly recommend) Tony/Tanya and Scott/Amanda and decided to rent some scooters to run around town. It was the first time I had ever been on a scooter, and it was a pretty thrilling ride, going up to 100km/hour (around 60 mph) on the highway heading to the hot springs.

Given my political science background and general interest in all things politics, it was interesting to be in Panama during its general elections. One rather odd law actually makes it illegal to sell alcohol from Saturday 12pm through the entire weekend until Monday 12pm. Apparently, this is to prevent people from getting drunk and forming angry mobs and civil disobedience, but little did they know about a rather sneaky guy named Daniel, who figured out how to buy alcohol BEFORE the ban. Unfortunately though, I was not able to lead any alcohol-fueled riots around Boquete!

1 Comments:

At May 29, 2009 at 6:07 PM , Blogger crassy boy said...

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