Paradise found in Panama

Panama has been on our list since my mother in law suggested it a few years ago. It was appealing for a lot of reasons - tons to do, beautiful... I could go on and on but let's face it, it was the climate. We've done a number of cold trips lately, Atlanta's winter has been one of the coldest in a while... I was ready for some sunshine! Panama is perfect for a long weekend, too. The flight is a little over four hours and they are on EST which means no jet lag! With us having President's Day off, we made it happen!

Sunset from up above

Our flight landed around 10:30pm and by the time we got through customs, got the rental car and got to the hotel it was pretty late so we didn't get into anything too much. If you do go to Panama, I'd try to stay away from renting a car. The initial prices are cheap but when you go to pick up the car, you get charged a mandatory liability charge of something like $18/day.

City View, Night Edition

After a very filling breakfast at the Hampton Inn, we decided it was time for an adventure. We drove over towards Old Panama City (a UNESCO site and has been around since 1519) and found a really cool trail along the water line. We walked along this for a while, there were some great views of the city skyline. One thing I didn't realize is the disparity between high and low tide. We were there during low tide and water was scarce. The trail led us up a hill to Old Panama City where there we tons of ruins and rebuilding taking place. It was incredible to see how well the city has been taken care of. Next time, we're staying in OPC... there's just so much to see and tons of places to eat.

We were so impressed by the skyline

Of course, our trusty companion was with us

Smiles for miles

Ruins can be found throughout OPC

Always finding the best street art

You can't tell from the photo but this tree looked albino

Better shot of the skyline

We didn't have a ton of time in OPC (which was a bummer) as our next stop was the Westin resort on Playa Bonita so we decided to stop at a local place for a tropical beverage. The place we chose was called Finca del Mar and it was awesome! They had swinging chairs and the best pina colada I've ever had! Afterwards, we made our way towards the Church of San Jose which has a golden altar! Well, technically it's wood with a golden flake overlay. It's intent was to protect the gold after a pirate attack in the 1500's. 

Best chairs ever!

I loved this statue outside Finca del Mar

More ruins, it was incredibly beautiful

Always love finding furry friends on our travels

Crucifix in the Church of San Jose

The Golden Altar

Tropical flowers are always so bright, it makes me happy

Since lunch time was quickly approaching, we decided to head back to the car and make our way to Playa Bonita. The Westin Resort  was incredible (and huge)! If you're a hard core adventurer who can't sit still, then this isn't the place for you. If you want a relaxing time at the pool/beach then bring it! Once we got settled in and changed into our swimsuits, we decided on a quick lunch at one of the hotel's restaurants. We didn't opt for the all inclusive since we were only there for two nights, but it is an option, if you're interested. 

We made it!

Resort views... 

Beach solitude is my favorite solitude

Hubs and I before dinner

Sunset over the Dreams Resort

View from the balcony at dinner

Fireworks for Chinese New Year

Exploring during low tide on our morning walk

Driftwood

Last of the sunrise 

Chillaxin'

I walked out during low tide, it's crazy how far the tide goes out

Another amazing sunset

I loved this light fixture in one of the bars

A fleeting glance on our way to the airport

 From there, it was chillax time. We sat by the beach, enjoyed some tropical beverages and/or beers from the swim up bar and ate great food. This post may be shorter and less adventurous than most, but fear not my friends! We have a really great trip coming up soon - we are taking a Mediterranean cruise with my family and we will be in seven different cities, not including our port city... Rome. Also, hubs and I are leaving a day earlier than my folks so we can get an extra day of adventure in. So stay tuned, LOTS of fun stuff in the works. Ta ta for now... 

More amazing flight views, taken on our way back to the states

Yonah Mountain

Me and bestie, she's my rock!

Yonah Mountain is near and dear to my heart for a lot of reasons. My husband proposed here, our dog is named after the mountain and the vineyard is excellent. For those interested, Yonah is actually the Cherokee word for bear. This hike is not for the faint of heart, it clocks in around 6 miles (closer to 5 if you take the steeper shortcut pathways) and is a steep grade. However, if you love hiking and you are up for a challenge, the end most certainly justifies the means.

My best friend and her fiance had never done the hike before so when they asked us to join in, we jumped at the chance! They actually live a ways north of the city and since we live on the south side, it can sometimes be hard to coordinate our schedules (especially during the week with all the horrendous traffic).

Yonah Mountain is actually located near Helen, GA which is about an hour and half maybe two hours from us. Honestly, once you're out of the city, it's actually a really scenic drive through north Georgia, too. The only bad part about this hike is the trails get really full, you'll see from the photos below. So we decided to man up and leave early to beat some of the rush and hopefully get the mountain to ourselves. What we didn't count on was all the ice! It made for some gorgeous photos but definitely was a bit difficult to navigate at time especially on the trails that were stone instead of dirt. We made it to the top in around 45 minutes, which honestly I was pretty happy with. And our dedication paid off, we were able to find a gorgeous view where we weren't bothered by anyone!

Another cool thing about Yonah- it's actually where the Army Rangers train in mountain climbing. A word of caution - there are some pretty steep drops, so if you make to the top but be very careful!

Anyway, by the time we were hitting the trails to head back to the car, there were a ton of people! I was really happy we were able to have so much solitude to enjoy the views. By the time we made it back to the car, we were all famished. So we hit up the local burger joint, appropriately named Yonah Burger. While we were waiting to place our orders, we noticed all the fresh pies and decided those were definitely happening! Sadly, we ate them before our burgers came out (if you're a fan of peaches... definitely try it!) The food was great, and by the time we were finished I think we were all ready for a nap! We said our goodbyes and headed back to the city for a lazy afternoon.

Yonah is a great day trip and we had a ton of fun just being in the great outdoors with great company. But I'm really excited because we have two trips coming up, one of which is going to have tons of different stops so be on the lookout for great stuff coming soon! Ta ta for now!

Hubs in deep thought

You can't tell from the photo, but the water was melting underneath the ice and flowing down, it was very cool

Bo wasn't thrilled with this situation, but it was a pretty steep drop from this side of the mountain

If you look closely you can see the ice on the side of the mountain

Me and bestie! Love :)

Bo, the adventure lab!

She's so photogenic

Yonah taking in the sights

If you look closely you can see all the ice on the side of the rock 

Ice crystals in the dirt