Bocas Del Toro, Panama

Hola, Panama.

I was looking forward to Panama for many reasons, but also because their currency is the US Dollar, even though the call it the Balboa. Calculating the exchange rate of dollars into Costa Rican colones sometimes got me confused.

You usually have to show proof of an onward ticket from Panama to be allowed entrance through the border. It's generally known that if you do not have onward travel, the boarder patrol requires you to purchase a $15 bus ticket back to San Jose, Costa Rica. Though this is what most people do, it is rarely used in the end. I believe we were not even asked for this because we were with a large group and the crossing was organized by a travel group. From Puerto Viejo, you take a shuttle that drives you to the border, then you walk across a bridge, get your stamps then take another shuttle to a water taxi for a 30 minute ride to get to Bocas Del Toro. Literal translation is Mouth of the Bull.

The Sixaola Bridge:

We found a very simple place to stay called Hotel Cayo Zapatilla. Everything in Bocas is within walking distance and this was right beside the park. Double occupancy, private room and private bath with hot water for a total of $15 ($25 if you wanted a/c) is a pretty good deal.

We took a stroll around town to check things out. Bocas is a very small island and it's easy to walk from one end of town to the other.
This house looks like it was built with quality...

Public transportation options in other countries always amazes me

Fire Station:

We were quickly approached with flyers and advertisements for ladies night at a local bar called Barco Hundido, which basically translates to Sunken Ship. This had to be good.

We rallied the troops and went out for a night on the town and a Welcome to Panama drink. We also met some other people staying in our hotel and convinced them to come with us. 

When we got there, we knew it was going to be trouble for some as drinks were $1 each and good music was playing loud. While checking out the place, we walked to the back deck, right on the water. The moon was full and bright white. Then we noticed something beautiful, a white ring around the moon. I couldn't even get the entire ring in the photo, but you get the idea. *After researching it at a later time, I learned this is called a Lunar Halo and is caused by a reflection of light from the moon on particles in space, suspected to be ice crystals.* 

Everyone that was on the shuttle from Costa Rica was out and we were all having a great time.

First tastes of typical Panamanian food weren't really that different from typical Costa Rican food.

Since I posted on the message boards on CouchSurfing for the different countries I intended on visiting, I had been in touch with quite a few people who were locals to these areas as well as travelers who might be crossing my path along the way. One of those people was David and we finally met up in Bocas. He is from the US but is half Panamanian and has been living in London for a few years.

Across the way from the main island was a hostel/bar called Aqua Lounge. It is right on the water and has a deck for lounging and dancing, bar for drinking, part of the deck is cut out for swimming in the ocean water and to top it off, there's a diving board above it. Am I the only one who sees pending danger in this combination?? While I was there, I only saw one person get pushed in and their body subsequently slammed into the side of the swimming area. That'll hurt in the morning. We did see some pretty amazing stunts and I was able to catch a few at the right time on camera.

And we can't forget about Toby, The Elbow Licker. He thinks that if he walks up behind someone when they're dancing and licks their elbow, they won't feel it. Umm... what?? That has got to be the weirdest thing I've heard in a very long time. None the less, a photo with him was necessary.

After chatting with David about his plans for Bocas, we agreed that we both wanted to get SCUBA certified. I checked into it before I left the US and it was about $700 and took five days to do Open Water. Here, it was only $225 and three days. That was a pretty easy sell for me. There are quite a few places on the island that offer diving certification, but we were referred to La Buga. Irving was our dive instructor and was informative as well as entertaining. The whole course was so much fun and the feeling of being under the water without having to hold your breath was amazing. I knew then that I was hooked.

Most of our party got split up after Bocas. Trine and I were going to Boquete. Katey and Shawn were headed back to Costa Rica. David had to go to Panama City but I would see him again soon.

Ciao, Panama!!

Puerto Viejo

I didn't expect to spend as much time as I did in Costa Rica as I did but I did have a fantastic time. Met and spent time with some wonderful people, saw amazing landscapes, gained a new appreciation on travel, cold showers and life in general. Now it was time to move on. Puerto Viejo was one of the top places I wanted to visit in Costa Rica. It is a very common place to visit when crossing over to Panama.
I knew it would be more expensive to go on a shuttle but I was willing to pay for the convenience and security since it was really my first long distance travel on really on my own. I went online and requested a seat on a shuttle from Alajuela to the hostel in Puerto Viejo. The cost was $35 and it was a seven hour ride. Its still difficult for me to wrap my head around taking seven hours to drive 80km but that's the terrain of Costa Rica for you. I got an email back from the transportation company requesting that I pay with a credit card with the agreement that I would be refunded on the card in a week or so, since the bank transfer via PayPal would take a few days. I ended up coming down with a bad cold and was unable to make the bus the next morning and slept right through my deadline to call and cancel. Great. Now I have lost my $35 and will have to pay it again when I am ready to go. Fortunately I was only sick for a day and was ready to go the next day. When I emailed the transportation company and asked if the previous payment could be credited towards this trip, I was not surprised when I was denied. *I WAS surprised when I received an email from them about a week later explaining the PayPal transaction was completed and my credit card would be refunded. No complaints here.*
I normally do not prefer to stay in party hostels but I knew I would meet fellow travelers who were going to my next intended destination if I stayed at Rockin J's. Not to mention I received a raving review from Kelly about this place.

Rockin J's is a 'hammock hotel' right on the beach.

They are most known for the hammock rentals, which is basically a large open covered area with nothing but rows and rows of hammocks with lockers for your personal belongings.

If you don't want to sleep in a hammock, you can pitch your own tent, rent one of their tents or sleep in a bed in a proper room. I opted for the bed since I had been sick the day before but I could definitely sleep in a hammock on a regular basis. My bunk mates were Trine from Norway, Katey from UK and Shaun from California. Turns out we were all planning on Bocas del Toro for our next stop and we all had the same idea on transportation to get there.
Laying on the beach, soaking in the sun and salty air.

A different definition of beach front property.

The coconut man, Andres, who kept telling me how beautiful I was.

William, a really cool guy I met from San Jose that plays guitar, sings, loves Metallica and is in a band called Eternal.

Incredible decor.

Amazing sunsets over the Caribbean Sea.

Winding trails through the woods that ran parallel to the beach and the main street through town.

Sloths in the trees.

We sat on the beach late at night and listen to the guys sing, play guitar with the ever soothing background of the crashing waves. Only bad thing is I got probably 200 sand flea bites and my legs looked horrible for the next two weeks.

There were all ages of travelers staying at Rockin J's including an 79 year old man who was riding a home made bicycle around and writing a book about it, a family with their two small children and all ages in between.

PURA VIDA!! Hasta luego Costa Rica!!

Playa Nosara

Kelly is a writer for the Tico Times and the Voice of Nosara and was asked to cover the making of a film. Tico film director, Miguel Gomez, was filming his newest work, El Fin. She invited Max and I to go with her for a weekend of work and fun in Playa Nosara. The three of us piled in the front seat of Max's single cab, stick shift Ford Ranger and we were on our way.

It's about a seven hour driveand about half way through, I decided we would all be more comfortable if I made a bed in the shell of the truck and laid down and watched a movie. We stopped at a convenice store and before we even walked in, we stopped this guy and asked him for a photo because we thought his shirt was so funny. Even more funny was that there was a good chance he didn't know what it meant.

Josh and Marcia welcomed us at Hostel Refugio Sol in Playa Pelada. They are friends of Kelly and Max who moved down to Costa Rica from Savannah, GA to open this hostel. There's a calming garden, a bar, furniture made of wood and hammocks that line the front of the hostel and it's only a ten minute walk to the beach.

We had breakfast the next morning at Olga's, walked down the beach and went over to Playa Nosara through a shortcut in the woods:

The beaches aren't crowded. They're perfect.

There are sand dollars everywhere.

Costa Rica seems to have horses everywhere, especially on the beaches.

Monkeys.

That afternoon, Max and I went with Kelly and Marcia to the filming. Since the girls wanted ot take the golf cart, Max thought it would be a good idea to follow them in the truck just in case he wanted to leave early.

This part of the filming was set in an abandoned resort called Hotel Villaggio on Playa Pavones.

It was obviously vacant for some time but when I saw it, my mind went running wild with images of how incredible this place was when it was active and how amazing it would be if someone wanted to put some time and effort into reviving it.

There were multiple buildings that used to be sleeping quarters.

A pool.

What used to be an outside bar.

It was right on the water and I was mesmerized.

Kelly was interviewing the cast and crew between scenes and we were all getting a really good inside scoop on the movie and the ideas behind it.

There is so much that goes into filming, especially when it is taking place outside. It started raining a few times and they had to start over each time.

After a few hours of watching and interacting with everyone involved in the filming, we all headed back to the hostel.

Apparently, the golf cart was not fully charged before they took it out and it died about half way back. Luckily, Max had some tow straps in the truck and hooked them up so we could all get home.

Max explained that they needed to make sure they stayed behind the truck far enough so that the straps remain tight...

aaannnddd the straps broke when Marcia got too close to the truck and the strap went under the tire of the golf cart and SNAP!!

We had to tie it back together to get it back to the hostel.

That night, a group of us got together at the hostel for dinner, drinks, video games on the projector and to go out on the town.

Kelly and I got all purtied up to go out after she had me buy a dress and some heels, seeing as how I didn't have any going out clothes.

Good times at Tropicana where everyone got to shake a lil some'

Our last day was filled with morning pool time at the Green Iguana with some poolside jugo and lunch, the final filming pieces, photos and interviews of El Fin with a beautiful sunset...

Too bad Kelly has to get back to work... I could waste a lot of time just relaxing here.