What draws travelers to @bookedtrips?

The chance to see different parts of the world through a book, the opportunity to connect with others, and for women to get the chance to take time for themselves.

What do you enjoy about BOOKED Trips?

We asked our trip alum Donna what keeps her coming back for @bookedtrips experiences. She has attended our Mexico City, Ghana, and Panama trips (and is coming to South Africa!).

She talked about the ability to support a Black woman-owned business, the care and intentionality, the ability to live inside a book, and the friendships built with women who also love books.

What draws you to BOOKED Trips? Let us know in the comments!

Book people are the best people! 📚

We spent our last day in Panama on a catamaran going around the mangroves in Venas Azules and relaxing at Playa Drake near Portobello, Panama inspired by the following quote from our trip read The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez

“He could show her the mangrove swamps whose roots had spread through the silt for thousands of years...he just wanted to keep being around her, and for the the simplest reason: All his life he had been lonely, but when he was with her he felt less alone "

Big thanks to our partners @tripdejenny for helping to make the vision for this trip come alive!

@visitpanama #BookedTrips #readandtravel #ReadTheWorld

Our Travelers` Favorite Experience of The Panama Trip 🇵🇦

“I have heard them say that the work they are planning will bring things like progress and civilization and modernity to this place...as if the tools we have already created, the buildings we have already constructed, the land we have already cultivated, the society we have already organized is not, somehow, progress or civilization or modernity, but outside of those things.

As if we are nothing more than primitive people with a few primitive huts that can be so easily moved.” -The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez

A big focus of our trip book "The Great Divide" by Cristina Henríquez is highlighting the indigenous communities along the Charges River that were displaced because of the building of the canal.

We visited the Emberá people who have always lived in the Darien rainforest. Starting in the 1960s, some Emberás emigrated to the Panama Canal watershed and established villages along the Chagres river and on the shores of Lake Gatun.

Although they reside near the capital city, the Emberás in the Canal Watershed have kept their language, songs and dances, and above all, their reverence for the natural world.

During the visit we got a chance to learn about their culture through music, dance, and food.

The community is known for its handmade crafts such as carved baskets, statues, and temporary tattoos made with the black ink of the jagua fruit

Living in a national park the Emberá are not allowed to cultivate the land for commercial purposes, so tourism is an important part of building a sustainable economy.

Thank you to our partners @tripdejenny for helping us coordinate this experience!

@visitpanama #BOOKEDTrips

Colón, Panama Food Experience 🇵🇦

“La Boca was Francisco’s name for the canal, how he thought of it in his mind: a mouth, a gaping hole, ravenously consuming everything in its path.” -The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez

Each day of our @bookedtrips Panama experience is inspired by a quote from The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez. Colón is where The Great Divide opens and we meet Ada Bunting, John and Marian Oswald. We did a play on the quote above as inspiration for our food experience.

Colón is the capital of Colón Province, in Panama. It sits on the Caribbean coast, at the entrance to the Panama Canal. Our group went beyond the typical tourist path to learn about this Afro-Panamanian City right from Angelys, a local resident who is proud of her city.

We did various food tastings from roadside restaurants, to street food, a market, and a visit to a local traditional restaurant to learn more about Colon`s historical influence on the building of the Canal and Panamanian culture through food.

We tried chicheme, a cinnamon and corn breakfast porridge with Armando, had a picada spread at @oneonePTY with the owner Mateo, enjoyed shaved ice, seafood soup and rebanada de bon sin queso, a sweet bread that represents the cultural melting pot that Panama is.

Thank you to our partners @tripdejenny for this amazing experience! Trip de Jenny is a Panamanian woman-owned company. The Founder Jenny is proud to have been born in Colón.

#BOOKEDTrips @visitpanama