Bocas del Toro

Bocas del Toro is actually an entire Panamanian province. But what most people mean when they say it is the Carribean archipelago off the northwest coast of Panama. Most of the islands are ringed with mangroves, although there are some beaches. Houses, restaurants, and hotels are not built waterfront. Instead, they are built on stilts above the water. The buildings range from dingy white to bright turquoise and just about any other color.

The largest island is Isla Colon, but most of the surrounding islands also offer a bunch of accomodations and activities. The main area is called Bocas Town. There you can find every creature comfort and any diversion.

We spent our first three nights in Panama on Isla Colon. Robbie, Ele, Dave and I rented a two bedroom cottage in the Saigon neighborhood, a 5 to 10 minute bike ride from "downtown'' Bocastown. We rented the cottage instead of just showing up, our normal routine, because it was Semana Santa. While there were signs for vacancy here and there, it was pretty full. All of the Panamanians and Ticos were in full tilt party mode as well. Things were a little quieter on Friday, because Panamanian law prohibits the sale of liquor on Good Friday (but not any other day of Holy Week). Although some places would happily serve grapejuice, applejuice, etc if you asked nicely, and there was a giant ''private'' party on a neighboring island.

Thursday
After a bit of confusion trying to find the dock in Chinguanola, there is one but the boats are much less frequent and the ride is longer and more expensive, we drove another half hour to Almirante. There are three or four boat companies running 30 minute rides out to the islands for $4 a person each way. Bocas Water Tours was who we used, they showed Dave where the secure parking was, and the boat was comfortable with shade and lifejackets on the back of everyone's seat.

Once we were on the island, about 5, we met up with the woman who rented us the cottage and picked up the beach cruiser bikes that were included in the rental.

Dave and I went to an indian place for dinner, it was very good but not great, although the smokestack of a table next to us might have influenced how I felt about my food.

Friday
Our cottage came with bikes, without them it would have been a bummer of a location, but with the bikes it was fun to cruise around town, and on Friday Dave and I rode up the coast to a tiny smidge of sand that we had all to ourselves.

Picture thanks to the help of a friendly palm tree.

It was here we fell in love with the macro and supermacro settings on my camera.







We ate lunch at Lili's Cafe. DELICIOUS. If in Bocas, go there and try to Killin Me Man hot pepper sauce. DO IT. I had a fantastic burger, no not fantastic-for-central-america, just fantastic. Thick, juicy, flavorful. It came with the hot pepper sauce, and because I am crazy and my father's daughter, I added more. My lips burned for a good few minutes after we were done eating, and I liked it.

There were religious observances, and riding from a residential neighborhood into town allowed me to peek through many open church windows and doors where services ranging from a traditional mass to a foot stompin' hand wavin' sing-n-shout to something any methodist would feel at home attending. The services were going when we went to breakfast in the morning and they were going when we went home after dinner. That night we witnessed a procession through the streets of downtown. After the video was shot, they stopped and there was call and response and prayer.

As an alternative to the religious observances many Ticos and Panamanians were tearin' it up much like a college student at South Padre Island for spring break.

Policia
After dinner we searched for an icecream shop. Dave loves the icecream cones, and I make it a policy not to say no to icecream. We peddled all over town, and found nothing. Finally we stopped and asked some heavily armed policia who were standing around the square. They were sad to say there was no icecream shop on the island, but they were happy to talk to us, and we stood there for a good 15 minutes just chatting. This friendly attitude has been repeated by cops at highway check points and on the streets of Panama City. You get the feeling from talking to the police and looking at them that there are better trained, better equiped, and better paid than their counterparts in other countries we have visited. You are also keenly aware that people are excited you are visiting their country.

Saturday
We booked a snorkel trip with Bocas Water Sports for Saturday. We left at 930 and returned about 430. $25 was two snorkel stops, dolphin watching, and time on Red Frog Beach. We also went to a little over-the-water restaurant with the option of getting lunch. The lunch wasn't anything special, and was a bit overpriced. Dave and I figured that would be the case, so we packed a few sandwiches (made on bread from the German bakery in Bocas town, yum yum yum), but also ordered one plate to share. Obviously you can't sit in the restraunt and eat the food you brought with you, so it worked out we had a little food then, and then sandwiches once we got to Red Frog Beach. The best part about the trip was going around the islands getting to see uninterrupted coast of mangroves and the quieter side of things.

Snorkeling
It was fun to snorkel, but the conditions were suboptimal. Worth the money to snorkel, but
I'm glad I didn't spend the money on diving. After Roatan, it wouldn't have stacked up. The reef is much more damaged, the algea growth more pronounced, and worst of all, the visibility was much lower. That said, just from snorkelling I did see a decent assortment of coral at the first site and fish at the second, including a trumpet fish, angel fish, parrot fish, gobbies, etc.
I also enjoyed playing with the camera, since I hadn't gotten to in Roatan.



Red Frog Beach
What a great beach! Worth the price-gouged access fee (up by 2 or 3 bucks because of Semana Santa). If we would have had another day in Bocas, we would have spent most of it there.
It is beautiful and the water is great fun. I did feel a slight rip to the current as I waded in, but if aware of it, it didn't seem to be a big danger.

Wading out into the water is fun because there is sandbar after sandbar. One minute you are over your head, the next standing waist deep. The waves were strong enough to bodysurf, but weak enough to swim in comfortably.




Sunday
After a leisurely wake-up, Dave and I took the boat back to Almirante where we headed into the mountains of Bocas del Toro province towards CA1 and Panama City. Because of the 25lb per person baggage limit on Robbie and Ele's flight from Bocas to Panama City, they couldn't take all of their stuff, so we agreed to drive it to them and meet before Ele left on April 14.

Sherry was in good condition, and we drove from Almirante to Santiago. The drive through the mountains to the Pacific side and CA1 was one of the most beautiful we have done. The road was in good condition except for the places where it had been taken out by floods or landslides or a sink hole. The forest is dense on both sides of the road during the climb up on the Caribbean side, then after peaking on the continental divide, there is a drastic change to pine forest with dry grass.

Panama is beautiful and full of physical contrasts.

Turn Around...

Today is the halfway point. Who knows about actual number of days we will end up traveling, but today we left the furthest point away from home we will roam, on this trip.

That point was Isla Robinson and the surrounding islands, Comarca de Kuna Yala, Panama.

We arrived at the island the morning of the 15th and left this morning.


Dave enjoys a snorkel. This is the actual furthest point, about 30 minutes boat ride west from Isla Robinson.

On the boat ride to snorkel.

There is an entire lagoon full of starfish. It was like the tactile pool at an aquarium, only better.

After arriving back in Panama City we went to where we had left our car, on the street by the tourist police station where a guy promised to wash it and watch it. Sherry was still there and she was lookin' good.

Then we enjoyed much needed showers (no running water on the island), and I changed into the last clean clothes I had. That's right, it has been so long since we did laundry that I had one shirt, one pair of underwear, and my jeans. Everything else had be worn and reworn so many times I had to go to the laundry. Luckily there is a laundromat around the corner from the hospedaje we are staying at, and for 2.50 I washed two very large loads. No, not all mine, Dave was essentially out of clean clothes too, but he has more clothes than I do and lower standards. I had great time hanging out and doing laundry. I talked to 5 different people. It's no secret that I love chatting it up, but it is even more fun in Spanish in a laundrymat with the average joe of Panama city! Dave took a nap and missed out big time.

We enjoyed a great dinner at Ego, a restraunt here in the Casco Viejo neighborhood. We sat outside and I savoured homemade ravioli filled with a version of panamanian stewed chicken and served in a creamsauce of nuts, spice, and sage. Dave had gnocchi gorgonzola. Both were perfect.

In case anyone was wondering, today was the 80th day Dave and I have been traveling together. Dave entered Mexico about January 6. I flew into Guatemala January 9. We met in Xela January 28.

Tomorrow we'll visit the Miraflora locks then head up CA1 to see more of Panama.

More informative posting on Islas Robinson, and postings on Panama City and Bocas del Toro very very soon.

Pura Vida en Costa Rica

After leaving San Juan del Sur Nicaragua, we headed south on CA 1 and crossed into Costa Rica.

There is only one border crossing for vehicular traffic, which makes things pretty chaotic. The Nicaraguan side of the border was horrible. We had to pay a guy to help us, because we couldn't even find the people we needed. At every other border there is a line and a door or window or desk under an awning, but in this case you just walk around and look for a policeman and then walk around and look for a customs official. After you have found one helping someone else you have to get them to come with you when he is done. Then you go and stand in a line in a building with power that switches off every 5 minutes or so, for immigration. Finding the roaming officials required a seasoned pro. Additionally all the buses, trucks, and personal vehicles are in the same area, adding to the chaos.

The Costa Rica side was quiet and everyone was friendly and in a designated place.

Parque National Rinconcito Viejo
We headed up to Parque Nacional Rinconcito Viejo. We stayed at the Rinconcito lodge near the entrance, it was quiet and not dry or windy, a very nice change from Nicaragua.

The next day we drove the 10 minutes into the park. With the exception of the park ranger, no one else was there. We took a great hike through secondary growth forest to some oak forest where there were some aguas thermales. You could smell them way before you got there, up close the sulfur was so strong it made my nose itch. We decided to pass on taking those waters.

Instead we stopped at a small waterfall on the way back to the ranger station.

The water was pins and needles cold, but it felt great to drop the core temp. We enjoyed the cold water, clear air, and the sounds of a band of howler monkeys making their ways through the trees.

We liked the park so much, we decided to spend the night there and to pass the remainder of the afternoon reading and playing cards. After paying the camping fee, we were attacked by biting gnats. They were vicious little creatures. I'll take mosquitos any day, but please not these things. The bite was so forceful it created a tiny blood blister. And they itched! Boy-howdy did they itch and swell!

The good news was that they didn't bite through clothing, so we changed into loose-fitting long shirts and pants and put on socks. Then put deet based repellant on our hands, necks, ears, and edges of our faces. Of course we didn't think we needed to put repellant on our ears actually, wouldn't it be enough to put it on our necks? No. Dave and I both got bitten on the ears, then put on repellant. I also received four bites to the face, prompting the ONLY time I have ever put repellant on my face. The good news was at dusk they all disappeared, and the mosquitos were hardly noticeable.

What was noticeable was this guy, known to Ticos as a pizote, aka coatimundi.

He busted into a food bag we had set on the top of the car, eating the bread we had planned to use for sandwiches the next day! Then he stalked the campground hoping we would let down our guard again, but we knew his little tricks.

It was an uneventful night, minus the multiple ticks Dave had to pull. We each had two ticks attached and found more crawling on our clothes. I am pathetic when it comes to pulling ticks. Ticks gross me out, big time. Cockroaches are fine, snakes are fine, spiders are no worries, scorpions I don't want to be on close terms with but they don't give me the creeps. Ticks are another story. I can't hardly pull them off Louiedog, let alone pull one off of me! But that's why I travel with Dave. He takes it all in stride, sticks a hot lighter on its butt and gives it a tug. My hero.
**Just to give credit where credit is due, Mom and Liza are my heroines. Mom has helped me out more than once when I had a tick trying to make a meal of me or one of my pets, and without Liza, Louie would have had to stop going to Elk because he always picks up ticks there. Also, once Liza rushed home when I thought I had a tick between my toes. Ends up it was just a scab. But she still rushed home after I called her totally disgusted and freaking out just a little. **

In the morning we got up, my feet were attacked by more gnats when I walked to the bathroom without socks, Dave made his coffee and we were on the road fleeing from a lovely park and some horrid insects!

We spent the next afternoon and evening in Heredia. It is about 10 minutes from the airport. The San Jose airport isn't really in San Jose, but 30 minutes outside of it. We bought Acerito, hung out at the mall. I was reminded that malls are the same in Malaysia, Thailand, Costa Rica, Texas, California, Mexico... But the mall had free wifi and we had a new computer. Plus in Costa Rica where everything costs as much if not more than it does in the USA, sitting in the food court using free wifi is a very economical way to pass your time.

On the way to the mall, we saw a sign that might explain why some people like to visit Costa Rica.
I think the only worse name would be Esposas de Comprar.


Playa Guiones
The next day we picked up Robbie, Dave's friend from way back, and Ele, Robbie's girlfriend. Then drove 6 hours to Playa Guiones on the Nicoya Peninsula. You might look at a map and wonder why it took 6 hours, but if you were to look at what Ticos know to be CA1 you would understand. Most county roads in the states are better than CA1 is in Costa Rica. No shoulder, not even a gravel shoulder in most places and never a paved shoulder, no dividing line, no passing lanes, nothing. By far the worst condition for CA1 in all of Central America. Because Costa Rica is a more prosperous country than the other ones we have been through, there is a noticeable increase in the amount of cars on the road. Costa Rica is also very hilly, some might even say mountainous although I wouldn't. To top it off, even if they wanted to widen the ''highway'' to meet demand, politically it might be difficult because everything is built right up to the edge of it, meaning thousands of businesses would have to be moved to accommodate even the adding of a shoulder.

We arrived to Playa Guiones to spend a week relaxing and enjoying being in a house. We rented a great little house. New construction (everything around there is) and it even had a little pool!

Dave and I were so excited to get out of the car for more than a day or two. I was thrilled to have a kitchen. I made, and we ate, three big batches of cookies in the week we were there!

The first day we were there we got stuck. Shortly before getting stuck we saw this giant pissed-off bull.

Thankfully we were a few minutes delayed while Robbie and Ele took a picture, otherwise instead of meeting him, and the two cowboys wearily escorting him on long ropes, in a big riverbed crossing we would have had to share a small dirt road.

That evening Robbie had a little run-in with his surfboard. Not wanting to risk infection or a scar he sought medical attention. Being that it was after hours he had to go to the local redcross, they didn't quite appreciate his concerns and only did a little alcohol swab followed by a plain old bandaid. He made it out alright though, considering the medic traded services for a cocacola.


The Playa Guiones/ Nosara area is a total surf scene. Ticos, gringos, and other Central Americans flock there. It was dry, a little greener than Nicaragua, but not that windy.
We had a much needed rest, which included lots of pina coladas, reading, and cribbage. I tried surfing a little more. Ele taught us a new card game, Scopa Scientifico.

I wouldn't recommend Playa Guiones unless you a) like to surf and don't mind sharing the line up b) you are going to a yoga retreat at what appeared to be a first rate yoga center across the street from the house we rented or c) are taking a rest stop and want a nice quiet place to cook, sleep, read, and swim in a small but lovely pool. The beach was salt and pepper sand with no shade and poor swimming and the town is all new and a scene for wealthy Ticos and gringo surfers. The upside is that with the down economy and the off season coming up, you can get a good deal on rentals like the one we had.


Headed to Panama!
After a week of homecookin' and rest we were on the road again. This time we headed to the Caribbean coast. Unfortunately we had to go back through central Costa Rica, but the highway to Puerto Limon is much nicer than CA1. It was still a long drive with hours spent behind a few semitrucks that insisted on going under 20 coming down the mountains. It was a pretty drive through forested volcano peaks and dropping down to the antithisis of the Pacific coast. The Caribbean is green, lush, and humid.

We spent the night in the small town of Siquirres. Nothing remarkable, but a clean room only cost 15 usd, and that is something to smile about.

The next day we were at the Sixola/ Changuinola border ready to cross into Panama. The crossing is mainly used for bananas headed into Panama for export to Europe or the Pacific coast of North America. It is a one lane train trelis bridge high above the Sixola river.

Traffic crosses by taking turns in about half hour increments, or whoever gets there first. There was no one directing traffic when it was our turn to cross. We peered to the end of the bridge and proceeded cautiously. The main hazard was the pedestrians walking across. There is no seperate place for pedestrians for about 20 yards, so everyone is on the bridge together.

We had heard it is a quiet and easy crossing. I can see this being true on a normal day. But this was not a normal day. It was Maundy Thursday. In addition to the banana trucks and the normal trickle of tourist vans, there were lots of Ticos heading to Bocas del Toro for Semana Santa.

The paperwork on the car was the fastest and easiest yet, on both sides. The Costa Ricans issued us an extension/ re-entry pass and the Panamanians, were gracious and quick. Immigration was another issue. Neither side is equipped to handle mass amounts of people. We had the unfortunate luck of being behind TWO tourist busses on the Tico side. One group going in and the other heading out. On both sides of this border the incoming and outgoing are all lumped together. The Tico line seemed long, but it moved quickly because all they did was stamp your passport and take the form you had filled out. The Panama side was another story. We waited in line, in the sun, next to the fumugation station, which was used on every vehicle that came through it, for THREE HOURS! Well we waited for two and a half, Robbie and Ele were in the line the first half hour we were dealing with the car. Because of the waiting in the hot sun and being sprayed with a mix of chemicals the FDA and EPA most likely strictly limit human exposure to, this was the WORST border crossing.

Once across we headed 15 minutes down the road to Chinguanola to get the ferry to Islas Bocas del Toros...

Playa Popoyo

Just a quick note to say we are safe, sound, and happy in Playa Popoyo, Nicaragua. Nicaragua has been fun so far, minus the two speeding tickets. First time we saw someone using a radar gun, it was pointed straight at us!

Dave is surfing; I'm reading lots of books and magazines.

More updates/ catch-up soon...

La Mizata and the Costa de la Libertad

After leaving Antigua, we drove to the El Poy boarder crossing between Guatemala and El Salvador. It was about two hours from Antigua, on the best roads we saw in Guatemala. The drive was nice, a total change from the mountains I had gotten used to. We left the milpas and other steep fields and dropped down to the coastal plain. We drove past fields of sugarcane, and pastures grazed by sinewy cattle. The only peril on CA-2 was the sugarcane trucks. Semitrucks towing double trailers stacked precariously high with cane.

The crossing was uneventful and took about two hours. On the Guatemalan side I sat in the car. I noticed a calf wandering around right by the little office building. Gives you a sense of how laid-back it is, no one really minded or even noticed.

On the El Salvador side it was even quieter because the trucks parked separately. It was a lot of waiting, a little looking at paperwork, and not even a glimpse at our passports. There is a visa sharing agreement between E.S. Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras. I guess the Salvadorians just let the Guatemaltecos take care of things when given the option. As soon as we started waiting on paperwork people wanted to chat with us and were very helpful. In Guatemala, people are happy to help if you ask, in El Salvador, people volunteer help when you have a puzzled look on your face. They might not always give you the correct answer, but they sure do try.

El Salvador had grazing goats instead of a wondering calf.


The first town after the boarder is Cara Sucia. Dirty Face. I'm still laughing. I hope you join me in a chuckle. The only map we had was the Lonely Planet. But there is only one major coastal road, CA-2, so we figured we would drive til we found a good beach. We tried to get to Los Cobanos, but LP has a HORRIBLE lack of driving directions in general, and the Waverider surf guide had one marker for the turn-off and we missed it. Because I am obsessed with reading all available guides, I knew that La Mizata was without lodging and supposedly a great surf break. About 40 miles after crossing the border, I saw a little Pilsner Beer sponsored sign that said "Restaurante Playa Mizata" with an arrow pointing down towards the water. Dave braked forcefully and we turned down a very steep driveway. At the bottom was a boarded up restaurant and a few palm trees and the beach. To our right was a perfectly groomed coconut grove with a house at the back and a palapa on the side furthest from us. A cactus fence separated it from us. Just as we were wondering how to get to it, a woman walked across the grove. She said it was 5 dollars a night to camp and she could feed us for extra. After a tight three-point-turn we went back up the hill, turned around, and headed back down taking the right-hand fork by the hand-lettered sign "Se Vende Cocos"

We pulled into the spot closest to the beach. Esmeralda was very excited.

It was perfection. We had the place to ourselves, not even anyone else on the whole beach. We set up the hammock, said we would like dinner after sunset, and started relaxing. About two hours later we were joined by Paul and Zach, two surfers from San Diego who have been traveling in their truck with a camper for the past two months. They were great company and we spent the next three days hanging out with them. The guys surfed in the mornings. I slept in, read books, journaled, and just perfected lounging in the hammock. We also talked to the family that owned the grove. The guys had a fan club of locals, males ages 5 to 21, who were hanging around from 6am til we turned in for the night. Starting the second day, the locals would be there when the guys woke up. Paul and Zach loaned a couple of them boards, and a few had their own. Then in the evenings they would show back up and hang out. Throughout the day if they didn't have anything else going on, and on the weekend, there was always one Salvadorian in a folding chair.

One day they were doing coconut tree maintenance. Climbing the trees, cutting off dying fronds, bringing down coconuts.


Paul, Zach, and Dave enjoy fresh coconuts while talking with the Abuelo of the family.

Friday Justin, one of the Canucks, drove us into Sonsonate to restock on food and water. It was fun riding in the open-top jeep down the coast. Sonsonate was hot and busy, but had a good market and a good grocery. The highlights were 5 dollar a bottle wine and a cord for Dave's camera.

We enjoyed the weekend. No more gringos but some Salvadorians who came in and hung out for the day, and about 20 more Salvadorians on the beach, but not in our little coconut grove.

Monday morning we were brought back to reality when Dave and his surfboard had a collision.
Eric, one of the local kids who hung out with us daily, was around and told us their was a clinic in the puebla.
Dave put on his shades

Then we walked ten minutes down the road to the clinic. The nurses shaved off the hair around the cut, cleaned it, and closed it with butterfly bandages after the doctor said it wasn't deep enough for stitches. I bet if we were somewhere else he would have gotten staples, but I doubt this clinic had any.


The clinic was nonprofit, largely funded by USAid. There were lots of mothers, pregnant women, and children. Dave always receives stares because he is tall and blond, but with blood dripping down his face he got even more startled looks.

The board was also in bad shape. He hit the back-end so hard he left hair.

But Dave is resilient, and once he was bandaged up, went about getting the water out of his board.


After packing up camp, we drove the hour east down the coast to La Libertad so we could check essentials online and Dave could get his board to the Hospital de Tablas (surfboard hospital). Then because Dave had a broken head, we checked into a little hotel right on the beach in El Tunco. A real shower was greatly appreciated, as was a queen-sized bed and a ceiling fan.

Sunset on Playa Tunco


After a leisurely morning we headed inland to La Ruta de Las Flores and on a quest to refill our propane tank. The way propane works here is that central plants fill the bottles, which are then trucked to little stores and traded out with used ones. The only place to refill a bottle you don't want to trade is at the plant. We were told in La Libertad that there was a plant on the way to San Salvador before the turn off to Santa Anna, and we looked and looked but never saw it. Then we saw a sign for a different gas company, they couldn't do it either but we were told after the turn off there was one, but couldn't understand the description of where it was. We just gave up, and figured we would look around online and hopefully find some in Honduras. Then as we were nearing Sonsonate, the way to the Ruta de Las Flores, there it was right on the side of the highway. It only cost 1.50 and an hour of our time. Now we can again supply ourselves with light and a stove!