Tales of a Tour Guide

Tales of a Tour Guide
Central America Adventure Part 2

Granada, Nicaragua to Panama City, Panama

by Kevin O' Brien - Tour Guide

I pick up this half of the tour in Granada, Nicaragua. The city was founded in 1524 on the shore of Lake Nicaragua and it still maintains its colonial character. A walking tour will take you through the main square, Parque Colon, to see the cathedral and other beautiful colonial building that surround the park. Also worth a visit are the Convento y Iglesia de San Francisco and the Inglesia de La Merced (one of Granada’s most beautiful churches). A stroll down the recently renovated Calle La Calzada takes you past many different restaurants with outdoor dining areas down to the lake for views of the volcanic island Ometepe and Las Isletas (365 islands formed be the nearby erupting Volcan Mombacho). Tours to the top of Mombacho and around the Isletas are available by boat or kayak.

Xalteva Cathedral in Granada by Kevin O'Brien

The next day we head to San Juan del Sur, a wine glass shaped bay with cliffs marking both ends of the beach. Once a quiet fishing village, San Juan is becoming more and more popular. It is a gateway to beautiful, nearly deserted beaches to the north and south where turtles lay eggs and surfers catch the best waves in Nicaragua.

San Juan del Sur by Kevin O'Brien

After a few days in the mountains we head to the beach and the most visited of Costa Rica’s national parks, Manuel Antonio. It is the most visited for a reason, it is stunning! Beautiful beaches, abundant wildlife and the best of the many canopy tours fill our days before we head up to the capital, San Jose, for a night before we go back down the other side to the east coast.

Kissing Parrots by Gustavo Bueso Padgett

Costa Rica’s lowlands remind me of the Amazon! We take a little boat (lancha) 85 kilometers from a little marina near Limon all the way up to Tortugero. It is one of the best wildlife tours you will ever do!

Curious George by Dave Hiebert

We can spot 3 different types of monkeys, 2 types of sloth, turtles, iguanas, giant crocs, little caiman, maybe a river otter or snake and up to 500 species of bird!!! The trip takes about 4 hours to get to Tortugero and here we stay at a lodge nestled between the river and sea on the 250 meter wide spit of land. At night you can try your luck and venture out to the beach to go turtle watching, 4 of 8 species of sea turtle nest here! PS. It is one of the wettest places in the world, it rains a lot

View of Panama City by Carlos Ventura

We make our way back to the van the next day and head to Panama, only about a 2 hour drive to the border. We cross on an old banana bridge into the province Bocas del Toro, then out to the Archipelago of the same name. The nights are spent on Isla Colon but our days are spent sailing on a catamaran, snorkeling, visiting Dolphin Bay and Red Frog Beach. Isla Colon is 2nd in Panama for nightlife only to Panama City, but it has a much more laid back attitude and even made Discovery Channel’s Wild on Panama. Not big on nightlife, enjoy sea side dinning or a hammock on out hotels deck.


Crossing the continental divide brings us into the Chiriqui Provence and I know just the spot to pass a few hours on the Chiriqui River near some hot springs before we cruise up to Boquete. Boquete is nestled in a little valley at the base of Volcan Baru, the highest mountain in Panama (3478 meters). The cool climate makes it perfect for coffee growing, and some of Panama’s finest is grown here. Take a coffee plantation tour, hike the famous Quetzal Trail in Volcan Baru National Park and try spotting the splendid Quetzal or climb to the top of Panama for sunrise.

by hbarkan

The last day of the tour brings us into Panama City and to the Miraflores Locks to see boats transit the canal, learn about the history and watch a video about what the future holds for this industrial wonder of the world. After some time to freshen up I will take you to one of my favorite places to have dinner and see the city skyline at night. My tours run both ways and I also have tours of Panama, just Panama, that give us better insight to this wonderful country.

Visit http://www.barefootpanama.com/ for more information or email me at mailto:Kevin@barefootpanama.com.