132km to Valle de Antón
Panama Travelog #8
El Valle, Panama - Mon, 23 Dec 2024. 3pm.
This afternoon we drove from Gamboa, Panama, the home of the Gamboa Rainforest Preserve, to Valley de Antón. It was a 132km trip. Along the way our only stop was a brief, foiled attempt to hike a waterfall.
Driving 132km, which is not quite 80 miles, can be quite an undertaking or can be a nothing-burger, depending on where those 80 miles are. In the wide open spaces of the western US, for example, you can drive 80 miles in many places without passing more than a one-blinking-stoplight town or two. Our route across a few states in Panama today wasn't that remote. We passed several towns, few of which were quite that small. We also had busy traffic a fair bit of the way, even on the 4- and 6- lane divided highways that made up about 2/3 of our route. It was seldom slow, but driving in traffic did require constant vigilance as drivers are much less predictable here than in the US. More on that below.
El Valle, Panama - Mon, 23 Dec 2024. 3pm.
This afternoon we drove from Gamboa, Panama, the home of the Gamboa Rainforest Preserve, to Valley de Antón. It was a 132km trip. Along the way our only stop was a brief, foiled attempt to hike a waterfall.
Driving 132km, which is not quite 80 miles, can be quite an undertaking or can be a nothing-burger, depending on where those 80 miles are. In the wide open spaces of the western US, for example, you can drive 80 miles in many places without passing more than a one-blinking-stoplight town or two. Our route across a few states in Panama today wasn't that remote. We passed several towns, few of which were quite that small. We also had busy traffic a fair bit of the way, even on the 4- and 6- lane divided highways that made up about 2/3 of our route. It was seldom slow, but driving in traffic did require constant vigilance as drivers are much less predictable here than in the US. More on that below.