Welcome to the Travel Diaries! My name is Britt. I'll be popping onto the Riyoko blog every once in a while to share stories about the places myself, and some of my friends have been off to with our favourite Riyoko pieces. First stop: Panama!

WHO: My boyfriend and I
WHAT: Vacation for a friends destination wedding
WHERE: Panama -- Panama City, Contadora Island, Playa Blanca
WHEN: January 2016 
WHY: A friend's wedding. The wedding was at a resort in Playa Blanca that most of the wedding guests stayed the full week at. We were after a little more adventure, so we did some traveling around the country first and ended our trip at the resort.

Playa Blanca Resort

Our first stop was Panama City. We stayed in Casco Viejo -- the old part of the city with a colonial feel that has been restored in recent years. 

In the city, we were on the move, usually on foot, everyday soaking up the 30+ degree sunshine -- we were melting. We escaped the heat at night, wandering town in search of some tasty food and drink. One of our favourite places to eat was at Tantalo Rooftop Bar.  Here, they offered a modern take on traditional Panamanian dishes and had some really unique decor. Rooftop bars seemed to be the theme along the main streets of Casco Viejo. Another of our favourites was the American Trade Hotel. While not as traditional as Tanatalo, it was located in the heart of Casco Viejo and had such an elegant and at the same time retro feel to it. Perhaps somewhere you would go for a really fancy meal in the 50's -- a Don Draper vibe.

Dinner at the American Trade Hotel in the black cami

I had a couple of Riyoko pieces with me the saw me through my travels. The black Cami was great to throw on with any skirt because it was breathable enough to help me survive the heat and stickiness of the day time and very easy to dress up in the evenings. 

Beating the heat in the shade, Panama City

Next stop was Contadora Island, part of the Pearl Islands just a 20 minute flight (in the tiniest plane) away. Our hotel was right on Playa Cicque beach -- the sand was white, the ocean was crystal clear and there was an umbrella with just enough shade that was calling our names. As you can imagine, we clocked some serious R &R here.

When we were touring around the island during the day and out for dinner at night, the black shirtband was my secret weapon! I wore it under my sheer dresses and skirts that I'd typically wear a full length camisole under. Paired with a black bra and a flowy dress, it eliminated the extra layer and made while keeping me covered up.

I would recommend the islands to anyone traveling this way -- only 300 people live on the island with a handful of hotels and restaurants. We visited almost every beach on the island and fell off the grid for a few days. It was very serene and I world highly recommend Perla Real By The Sea if your travels ever take you to the island. 

Last stop was the resort in Playa Blanca for the wedding. Back on the mainland, we ended up finding Woody's, a Canadian bar on the beach. Woody's helped us avoid homesickness right around the time we started longing for our own bed. 

Here, I loved that I had the shirtband with me -- even though the only bike I was on was the one I pretended to ride while trying to tread water in the ocean! The shirtband, the cami and some shades had me looking like one of the coolest cats on the beach! 

Cover-Me-Cami, Shirtband, and my other beach essentials

As I write this, I see it snowing out for the first time in weeks -- it's been nice reminiscing about the sun(burn!) and the sand. If you have brought any of your Riyoko pieces on an adventure, let's chat!

Bye for now, 
Britt