The tribulations of traveling solo...

So I had to cut my trip to Santa Catalina short because of the harassment from the men. Yup, I must say it is was the worst in all of my travels anywhere in the world. They are nonstop with the harassment. And even the old decrepit men will harass you.

I can´t remember where I left off about Santa Catalina. It is a cool place, don´t get me wrong. But don´t stay in the town. If you go there (and are a female), reserve accomodations on the beach, and don´t leave it. It´s pretty safe at the beach (Playa Estero), since it´s mostly tourists there. Relaxed, nice. But if you go to town, that´ll make you want to leave...

I walked from town to the Playa Estero every day. And sometimes to the beach down my road (but it´s not as nice). And every day, I got hassled by the men. I´m normally a friendly person when I travel, but I just quit being friendly. But you can´t avoid it. The men will be in your face and won´t leave you alone. Perhaps it´s because I can pass as Panamanian. However, my last day, when I was looking for a last chance to go to Isla Coiba, I met a few blonde haired 'gringas' who had the same problems. But they were staying at the beach, so they were better off. They had just that venture to town to borrow snorkelling gear. So I came to the conclusion that it was any man to harass any woman in Santa Catalina.

My last night there, I was eating my roasted chicken and fried plantains at a streetside vendor. Talking to these 2 Panamanian guys I ran into before (they were actually nice). Then this other dude, Felix, comes by and talks. But won´t really leave me alone. Then he leaves. After dinner, I went down the road to Coiba Dive Center to see if they had any trips for the next day (today). Felix, who was in a hammock at a fruit stand, threw a rock at me and asked me where I was going. That was it. The whistles, I can handle. But when someone throws stuff at you...it was my signal that it would be my last night in Santa Catalina. There were no trips to Coiba going anyways. As I walked past Felix again (it was the only route through town), he harassed me again. He said I was good for him (um..yuck). And what really worried me was that he and his friend had slingshots in their hands. I was worried that as I walked away, I would get pelted. But I told him that he better not hit me with anything. Luckily, he didn´t.

I left Santa Catalina this morning, headed for the mountain town of El Valle, hoping for a bit more solitude here. After the Santa Catalina experience, I became super annoyed at the flirting. Here again, whistling. Nothing more, not like Santa Catalina. I just have to get used to the whistling.

I managed to pick a real shithole to stay in tonight. For $15 (my budget is supposedly $30-day for everything), it is disgusting. Dirty everything. I don´t even want to describe the huge stain on the bedsheet. I´m breaking out my sleepsheet tonight, that´s for sure. First time on my trip. I´m moving in the morning to a place for $30-night. Screw the budget...