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Published: September 22nd 2008
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Tim version:
* heading out of Panama, met two fellow surfers heading to Pavones too, crossed the border, and stayed the night in David.
* Had an incredible ride down to Pavones.
The not so long as usual version, as I'll stick Pavones in the next one...
So Panama Im done with, although getting over the border isnt a dead quick run. I took my time heading out from Zulys as wheres the fun in rushing too much aye? Stefan was heading off a different direction to me but also needed the bus station so we hopped a taxi to it and went our seperate ways. In the line to get my tickets to David, Panama, a city near the border, the girl behind the counter was doing everything but selling tickets and taking her time about it. There isnt much of a rush to get things done here which is beautiful and relaxing except obviously when you are in a hurry! There was an 11:30 bus and it would have been around 11:15, but she just did her thing and counted some money and chatted to a colleague and stuff... anyway, another couple of guys rocked
Little blue house
opposite the big purple house up in the line with one surfboard and another empty board bag and I thought "hell yeh, I hope they're going to Pavones... whats the chances aye?" and so I asked and they were. Sweet! I didnt feel like running this part solo and was so freakin excited about Pavones that I needed other people to talk to. They were from Austria, Christoph and Clemens, an awesome couple of blokes. They had been surfing all around the place and Christoph had unfortunaly snapped his board, but they were wickwed to talk about the surf in Nicaragua with. Breaking a board sucks when your at home but I'm sure it hurts all the more when you're travelling and just needed it to last that one week longer! Hmph, I miss my board... Im still tryin to think of how to compress it into a backpack while keeping its shape, surely its possible! That can be my invention of the century that I'll make my fortune with, allowing me to keep on backpacking on the royalties from the idea, surfing my way around with nothing but a backpack to travel with. .... *dreaming*... OK, back to reality. The bus, well, we now
Golfito Bay 2
Near where you hire the boats to travel over the bay had to wait for the 1:30 bus. A little annoying wasting the day but thats cool, im not here to stress about... bus rocks up, on we get, and we make our way to David.
David is a city, not a person right? Think biblical. Cant say I saw much of it and we just stayed there to cross the border the next morning, but the place we stopped at was real comfortable: The Purple House. Run by a middle aged woman, with a very homely feel, its in no way an excitement plus place but its a good rest up before trekking on. The fellas watched some Batman movie but nahh, not for me, i needed to get some physical movement in... really psyched about the surfing and my body is itching to get out and get some use, so ended up trying to tire myself out out the back, doing whatever home workout stuff I could think of to make me settle down, and it kinda worked...
The next day we did a lazy late border run, maybe 11am or something, much later than we planned. It was surprisingly easy, this being my first border run
of this style. A stamp from the Panamanian side, a wander through the border area with a Costa Rican festival going on on one side, then a stamp from the Costa Rican side. No questions, no why are you here, no return ticket proof, just yeh sure come on in. The bikey gang "Soldiers for Christ" were at the Costa Rican side, and while I didn't feel like pulling out a camera grabbing a photo, having such a name just didnt bring in any tough images to me! Not that I told them that though heh. The bus we caught to Golfito (you need to go there to get to Pavones) was there and ready, and we were off again.
Golfito - its a funny place. The Lonely Planet guide was right on here, "Former a bustling banana port, GOlfito is now being slowly reclaimed by the jungle behind it." - its a bit of a dead spot! Beautiful views of the bay, priceless on the way in and I thought wow this place is great, but then once your off the town really has no feeling to it I think! It has a population of arond 14000 but
Big purple house outside
Nice and easy to find, it sticks out like dogs *&^% where they are hiding I have no idea as most of the main street is just a single line of shops on each side of the road, with the bay directly in front and unusable steep mountain directly behind. We only had like 2 hours to kill anyway, so some food and some photos of the bay later and we were on the bus to Pavones. This was the fun part =)
The bus to Pavones is 3 hours through bumpy as hell dirt roads (not helped by the rainy season), farming areas, mountaineous roads offering awesome views, and through some small local villages, all very green lush and overgrown, incredible. I got virtually no photos as the bus bumps so much (bouncing you off your seat kind of bouncing) that getting a non blurry photo just didn't happen, but it was a journey I'd reccomend to anyone as it was good fun. You also get a small river crossing where you leave the boat on one side and ferry across to the other where the driver comes with you and then drives the bus on the other side. Nothing too out there but it adds more personality to
the trip! It poured down with rain for the last part of the journey but we could see the ocean for much of it and I was beaming from ear to ear, leaning up against the window peering out like a little kid, ecstatic to be heading to such a legendary beautiful spot as Pavones.
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PRINCESA ZAPOTECA
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HEY HEY GUAPO¡¡¡
veo que tu viaje es muy divertido... que bien. =) Cuando llegues a Mexico ,,, i hope to see you ¡¡¡¡ and you should learn to dance ... me too.. i d like to speak with you in spanish.. TAKE CARE... LINZ SEE you soon