Sapzurro and La Miel

Sapzurro is a very quiet village, it takes 10min by boat or 1h30 on foot (steep little paths nicely developed through the jungle and by beautiful mirador) from Capurgana to get there (both options will cost you 10000 pesos, except that return is included in the price if you choose walking). This quiet bay and its numerous sailing boats are the last “village” of South America; after that you are in Panama, so Central America! When we arrive on foot from Capurgana, there is a little path right at the beginning of the bay that takes you to a gorgeous waterfall (Diana waterfall); in dry season (March/April) it nearly totally dries out, the rest of the year there is plenty enough water to go for a swim. After Sapzurro’s main beach, the path heads towards Cabo Tiburon (be careful, this is not the path to go to Miel), and there is no more track after Cabo Tiburon. On the way, you pass by a very nice beach that is an excellent snorkelling spot, lots of corals and fish, not too many waves; it is a bit nicer than what we can see back at the main beach.

Inland on the other side of the village, you can head to Miel beach in Panama if you are brave enough to climb up the +/- 300 stairs. At the top you will have an amazing view over the bay, and the customs office (where they will just right down your full name and passport number). Lately, in the new influx of migrants, Panama got stricter and closes its borders at 6pm…but anyone still crosses quite easily. Then you go down to find yourself on this beautiful white sand beach with coconut trees and an infinite pallet of blue colours as a sea. If you come over during a weekend or school holidays (mid-December to mid-January, Easter, mid-June to mid-July) and you stay in Sapzurro or Capurgana…then try to get there early in the morning or middle of the afternoon to avoid the crowd coming just for the day from Capurganan or the other side of the gulf. The rest of the year, don’t hesitate to have lunch there, you can get delicious lobsters cooked with coconut milk for a very cheap price compared to Europe (during dry season, lobsters are a bit harder to find because of the choppy and blurry waters). Like everywhere else around, this is an excellent snorkelling spot with lots of corals and multi coloured fish a few metres away from the beach, we could just spend hours observing marine life.