Paradise Found: La Miel, Panama
As I arrive in the town of Sapzurro, Colombia after a relatively long hike over a steep mountain the Darien Jungle heat, my body begs me for a moment of reprieve from the heat, humidity and muscle aches. I pull up a chair at a tiny restaurant off the main sidewalk in town and ask for a water. The girl who serves me looks confused as to why someone would order water before telling me they only have soda. In need of something to cool me down I order a bottle of Postobon (apple flavoured soda) and a freshly squeezed glass of lemonade. When the sweat begins to dry on my skin a sense of tranquility sets in. Watching the kids playing marbles on the grass in front and enjoying the shade for the rest of the day would be the easy thing to do.
Against the wishes of my already battered body, I hand the young lady, tinted in Caribbean tanned skin, a couple thousand pesos and continue on to my destination: La Miel, Panama. I’ve been told this is the most beautiful beach in the region, and one that is well worth the hike. My feet scamper at a trotting pace up the steep steps towards the official border between Panama and Colombia. I reach the top of the footpath and, short of breath, hand my passport to the young military officers at the desk. They laugh at my pain, jot my digits down on a piece of scrap paper and tell me that I am free to proceed.
On my way down the hill I can already see the beauty has settled itself in the bay below. A Panamanian military officer races past me with a backpack attached and a rifle tightly gripped in his hands. It’s easy to forget that this place is still often frequented by both Guerrillas and narco-traffickers coming up from Colombia. This beautiful section of the rainforest is, essentially, a military zone. When I reach the village, I pass a wanted sign with a price searching for the head of a certain member of the Guerrilla and walk past an army outpost in the direction of where I’m told is the beach. As I cut past the palm tree wall that has blocked my view I get my first view of it: Paradise.
La Miel, Panama is about as secluded a spot as you’ll find in the Americas. Closer to Colombia than it is any other Panamanian town or village the real only way of arriving is from Colombia on a day trip. Some people, like me, arrive on foot. Others arrive on boat from the Colombian town of Capurgana. Regardless of how people arrive they are guaranteed to be wowed by the piece of heaven that lay calmly before them. Below I have included some photos of La Miel, I can only hope that they do this place justice.
First view of La Miel
La Miel
La Miel = Paradise Found
I definitely caught these guys smuggling something... They were not happy with me. But I told them I was photographing behind them, and escaped
The view behind the traffickers....
A boat leaves for Colombia
We're looking for you!
In town a cross in front of the Caribbean
This is one of the most amazing photo & post I have seen recently form my feed. Love it! Like how you caught they smuggling something.. that’s scary glad ur okay.
Thanks 4 picts indeed it’s paradise
@Sarah – Thanks! La Miel is an amazing place
@Dalille – if La Miel isn’t paradise I’d like to see it.
Again! I’m wowed by both your pictures and your writing! Reading your blog is making me increasingly impatient to get to central America
Wow, amazing place. The walk was worth it. Putting another pin of places to see on my map. Thanks for sharing the pictures are great.
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@Norm – definitely worth the effort to get there!
Hello Brendan! We are a a couple heading up to Sapzurro and La Miel and looks like we wont be regretting it. The days on my visa are running out and i was wondering if they stamped your passport when you crossed the border into panama, so i can renew the visa when i enter back again? And did they ask yellow fever card? Thanks!
Hi John, No they didn’t stamp it. You’ll need to go all the way to Puerto Obaldia for a day if you want a stamp. Alternatively, you can go to a DAS office in a city like Medellin, Baranquilla or Bogota to renew your visa. It will cost you a little bit of money but can usually be done in an hour or so.