We recently went with our friends to jump in to Gualaca Canyon here in Panama. It was a beautiful place with crystal clear water. The kids (and adults) had a great time! This is the first view we had of it. So beautiful!!
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This is normally a pretty crowded place on the weekends, but it was really not bad last week when we went. We are supposed to be in Dry Season, but there is still some rain. This is probably the cause for there not being too many people there. The kids were so brave and jumped in as soon as they got the "okay" to go! The water was deep and refreshing. Please check out the videos posted by my son of him and his dad jumping in.
Some were only willing to jump in while holding another person's hand. They would even occasionally turn around and wave after they landed. They said there were little fish in the water who would bite on them as they swam down the way.
After the kids swam for a little while, we headed upstream to to let the kids swim in the shallow area. There was a really big log jam and a ton of rocks. The kids loved playing in this area although there was quite a strong current.
Completely beautiful!
There were even some beautiful natural waterfalls. The area in front of them was sort of deep and had a strong current.
While we were over here playing, we suddenly heard a loud siren and we saw a police officer telling us to hurry and get out. Apparently there was a large "cabeza de agua" coming that way and we must leave! They were pretty serious about it and the park cleared out quickly!!
We got permission to sit on the grass outside and have our picnic lunch. After a little while, we noticed some other people were headed back into the park. We asked the lifeguard and he said that was okay, so we let the kids get back in.
We let the kids play in the shallow area and then do a jump in the deeper part. I was just about to jump in for the first time when, all the sudden, the siren started again and some very angry police officers had us leave again...after taking a picture of our license plates. Hopefully we will not get a ticket!
It was a great day with friends and we had so much fun getting to play, and it was beautiful there! Next time, I am going to be the first one to jump in so I do not miss out!! (I did get to get in the water up to my waist while pulling my youngest son in his life jacket out of the fast current in the shallow end, so I did not totally miss out!)
Click here for videos of two jumps.
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Very nice place, but deadly if it rains hard up the river so glad the police are looking after that. I saw a heartbreaking video of 4 people that didn't get out in time and were washed over a 100 foot falls holding on to each other. It happend in less than a minute.
Have fun but take care.
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Yikes, that sounds really horrible!! The poor people who were taking the video of it as well... Yeah we were glad the police were there making people get out as we were kind of wondering about the "rainy season" being over. If we go back, we will make sure it really is dry!
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I didn't mean to scare you off the rivers. they can rise fast and people do die every year but mostly in the rainy season. Looks you were swimming in some fast current areas too. It's fun and challenging, just be aware of whats down the river a ways. these people were less than 20 feet from the top of a really high waterfalls, most made it to shore but these 4 people stuck together and ended up just 6-8 feet from shore holding a big bolder until overcome by the pressure.
I can't imagine the people there watching and not being able to help just a few feet away. I only saw the video and will never forget.
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Yikes, that's so crazy. I have heard stories of people dying pretty much at every water place we've been to...every beach, river, etc. So crazy and sad.
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Yea!!! Gracias
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Looks oks such a beautiful spot I can see why it would be pretty popular there
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Yes, while we were there, this van full of guys got out and had a HUGE tub of beer. It took 6 of the men to carry it. Shortly after, we were told to leave. Sadly I don't think they had time to jump in, much less get drunk. They say that place is normally packed with people!
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That’s a pity you had to leave but must have been fun till then
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Looks really beautiful. Weather looks nice as well!
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Yes, the weather was great. Apparently it was raining up the mountain and that's why we had to get out. Could cause a flash flood. Yikes.
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Yes, that could be quite dangerous, often happens with rivers. We once had our camp flooded because of the rain upstream. All of a sudden all our bags were floating. Was a fun experience though.
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Yikes! That sounds pretty bad.
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Yeah, probably not my most favorite trip either. But it was the trip that my wife fell in love with my country :).
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I live in Panama and I haven't been in the Cangilones de Gualaca yet, but after seeing your post, definitely have to go :)
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Yes, where in Panama? The canyons were nice. Just make sure you don't go when there is a "red flag" warning to stay away from all rivers and oceans. Apparently that's what happened when we went last Saturday.
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I live in Panama City and Chiriqui is going to be of my next destinations for tourism. Thank you very much for the advice! See you in your next posts :)
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Panama City has a lot of fun stuff! :)
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Yes, indeed! I'm going to write about some of them in my blog. You can visit it whenever you want ;)
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Awesome, I will check it out.
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Oh, that does look like a beautiful place and looks like lots of fun!
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It was really beautiful and fun! I am looking forward to going back! Hopefully soon so I can really experience it by jumping in!
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That's truly said, its beautiful. I too went for an outing but I was in a beach :)
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The beach sounds nice as well! :)
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No habla espanol. Cabeza de agua, "head of water"? Like maybe a flash flood coming? Looked like a lot of fun though. Reminded me of tubing on the Guadalupe River.
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Yes, head of water. My husband said it is an English word too but I've never heard it. Apparently they release the water from the dam when it gets too full so there is a big rush of water. Some of the kids had boogie boards. Next time we will take ours too!
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Looks so beautiful and refreshing! Hopefully you'll get to go again when the red flag's not flying... your kiddos are pretty brave... ours would love to do that!
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Yes, all but the youngest one jumped in. He was going to and I was so surprised and then he backed out. We did find him floating down the river though (that's when I had to jump in and save him). He was playing in the shallow and just stepped into the current. Was glad he had on a life jacket.
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You're kidding! That's somewhat frightening to say the least and yes, thank goodness he had on a life jacket!
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Lol - yes, it was kind of a crazy moment, but he was all good, thankfully. He is the one I don't let out of my sight, but we were trying to figure out what was going on with the sirens.
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We have one like that... not surprisingly the one covered in blue paint lol... 😉 He has no fear either, now that he's older, sometimes I can't watch what he does or else it gives me a heart attack!
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Lol - too funny!! I can understand!
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Seeing this, I might just want to visit Panama. Nice view of nature
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Yes, there is a lot of nature around. Some of it is even nice to look at. ;)
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amazing place and the water seem so clear. i have to know what that "cabeza de agua" is that the police made you go out of the water?
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Yes, the water was really clear! Cabeza de agua was a big "head" of water coming down. Apparently they had released some water at the dam and it was coming in a gush. That's why the police made us leave. Like a little flash flood.
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ahh now i get it thanks! i thought it was a fish or water snake :P
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Really great place for relaxing and experience the peaceful nature :)
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Yes, it was great. People were bringing blankets, chairs, picnics, everything out there to just spend the day. Thankfully we were there about 2 hours before we had to leave. It only took 1.5 hours to get there. Ha.
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Nice! I forget how many beautiful natural places there are outside of Panama City. One day I'll leave and go exploring!
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You really should! There is a lot of interesting stuff to do in Chiriqui, but it's quite far from Panama City. I love coming there to go to the American restaurants and the malls! We are getting a big mall in David...someday. They are building it now, but who knows when it will be finished!!
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Oh yes, I'm quite familiar with mañana, mañana.
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Sounds like fun...minus biting fish and a potential ticket. Hopefully all will be well!
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Exactly!! I could see the fish and no one complained about them. They were saying last time they would nibble on you as you swam around after you jumped in. Like if you had a mole or something, they would nibble on it. Lol - not cool in my book!!
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That looks like fun! It's also geologically interesting. You'd need an ice auger to do that here!
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Yes, it was a really nice place. I hope to go back again soon!
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Very beautiful place..... I have to admit though, I had to look up “cabeza de aqua”...😂.
Thanks for sharing @apanamamama
@jeejee
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Lol - Yeah, head of water isn't a normal phrase in English and I thought it sounded funny in Spanish. Apparently a big gush of water was coming!
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I understand that is a normal thing in those areas? We had friends who use to live in Costa Rica, and a step sister who lived in Hawaii. Each place has their own little nuances that set them apart. Very interesting 😊
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Yes, if it rains up in the mountains, it all runs downhill and these canyons were down hill. So it's better to go when there is no rain in the mountains. :)
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Thanks! :)
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