Have you ever traveled someplace, had a fabulous time, and no matter how long you stayed when it came time to go home it was just too short? As we prepared to leave Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge, I felt a pit in my stomach. We loaded up the dinghy with our luggage what felt like moments after we’d arrived. I remember thinking, “I don't want to go home. When are we going to come back?”

Despite my thirst for pre-trip knowledge, I always manage to be surprised by at least a few things. Below are ten things that I learned in Panama, despite my copious efforts to be prepared. This is not a spoiler alert per se, but rather a series of pleasant warnings that will help you enjoy your trip….and yes, you definitely want to go.

In the Gulf of Chiriquí where Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge is located, there are as many as fifty species of sportfish to be caught. If you read my blog about goals prior to the trip my five targets were as follows: yellowfin tuna, marlin, roosterfish, blue trevally and wahoo. The tuna were plentiful and the hardest-fighting fish I have ever caught.