Costa Rica, Panama & Sailing to Columbia

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Attack of the bed bugs at last! Ash had some unexplained, extremely itchy, tiny bites after the last few days in Havana. Luckily we had enough antihistamine tablets to save the day. We landed in San Jose, Costa Rica at night and waited for over an hour for our hostel pick up to arrive. Apparently there was bad traffic. Hostel Pangea our home for two days came complete with a pool and a rooftop bar and due to booking capacity we got upgraded to the ‘honeymoon suite’ for one night for free. It wasn’t as nice as it sounded but we did have a private bathroom. We were advised not to leave the hostel at night because it’s in a dodgy area. The food was excellent in house though so we weren’t tempted. We spent the time researching our route and chilling out.



To get from San Jose to Puerto Viejo, on the northeast coast by the border with Panama, we signed on to a rafting trip on the grade IV Pacuare River. One company picks up in three or four locations around the country and drives to the river which is roughly in the middle. We then ate delicious food, rafted a great river and spotted wildlife in the jungle for a few hours all under the excellent instruction and guidance of the experts from Exploradores Outdoors, including two safety kayakers and a photographer, before dividing up onto the buses bound for our onward destination. The company gave the best briefing we’d ever seen. Once in Puerto Viejo we even all got dropped off at our hostels.



We’d chosen Rocking J’s on advice from our hostel in San Jose but it wasn’t quite what we usually go for. Rows of tents on two floors, a shed packed with hammock beds, filled with young backpackers and old crusty surfers. It was right on the beach though and our room was an experience. Ash walked in first and thought she was in a storage closet but Ade had spotted the wooden ladder behind the door leading to the ‘loft’ (i.e. the bed) 3 metres above. The space was so tight and narrow and all the walls tiled in a mosaic (which in the nearly 100% humidity were always slippy) we dared not drink the first night in fear for our lives! It did get easier although midnight toilet visits were best kept to a minimum.



Puerto Viejo is a cute beachside town cram packed with restaurants and bars entertained by roaming street performers throwing knives and juggling fire. Two that stood out for us were Chili Rojo serving up fantastic Asian food (first time we’d had sushi in months) and Bread and Chocolate Cafe which had the best breakfasts ever and scrumptious muffins for takeaway. Friends we’d met in Guatemala and Honduras were in town too so we got together a couple times swapping travel stories.



We hired some bikes and visited the Botanical Gardens spotting plenty of red poison dart frogs, trees, plants and one sloth way up high and only really seen properly using full zoom on the camera lens. Our mission to find the Jaguar Rescue Centre was thwarted as it was closed and we think they must have taken the signs down as we missed it in both directions. We did enjoy our 12km cycle to and from Uvo along the coast with monkeys swaying in the trees above.



Cahuita National Park 20 mins in the other direction treated us to a brilliant day out. The park is on a peninsula covered in jungle and surrounded by patchy secluded beaches and is one of the best places to spot wildlife for practically free (there is a voluntary contribution to enter). Tonnes of animals came out to greet us, among them: racoons, howler monkeys, sloths (again high up), yellow vipers (tiny), red viper, 2 vine snakes (impossible to spot without a guide), white face capuchin monkeys, large iguanas, millions of speedy lizards and all under a constant net of spider webs filled with big scary spiders. Plenty of families were out for the day with their coolers and picnic blankets enjoying the many beaches. It is truly a magical place.



The bus to Sixaola on the border with Panama winds through lush green jungle valleys with panoramic views of the hills around. Crossing the border itself involved walking over an old narrow metal bridge with no sidewalks and trucks passing. The wait on each side felt longer because we were standing in the full glare of the sun and it was very hot! To get into Panama we had to show Ash’s iTouch with the email confirmation of our boat trip to Columbia. Luckily, they accepted this though not without pocketing Ash’s iTouch as a joke. A guy at the border running a bus company was trying to herd all the tourists onto his bus to the islands of Bocas del Toro telling all sorts of lies to secure his fares. We were told the road was closed to Changuinola so we couldn’t get to our destination. When we said we’d try our luck he tried to tell us the taxi would cost $10US each (In Panama there is a dual currency $US and the Balboa, worth exactly 1 $US), we said fine and he tried to come ‘help us’ talk to the taxi. We asked him to clear off and sure enough the fare was $3 for us both! Apart from him, everybody we met in Panama was really friendly and helpful. Even the immigration and customs guys were cracking jokes and asking about where we were from, not the usual stamp it and throw your passport back at you type. From there it took 15 mins in the cab to get to Changuinola, 5 hours on a wedged minibus to David and a further hour approx on an old American yellow school bus to Boquete, in the mountains north of David. The scenery throughout was spectacular and the time flew.



Our hostel was quaint and overlooked a noisy river with the lush, green mountains climbing fast on the other side. We had a little private balcony overlooking this scene. Boquete is extremely popular these days with retiring folk mainly from the US and also from Europe. Because of this the restaurant choices are fantastic and most people speak English. The dual currency makes the transition very easy too. Our six year anniversary and Valentine’s Day fell while in town and Ade chose the lovely Panamonte Restaurant for dinner. For a bargain $25 each we had three wonderful courses, dining on a white picket fenced porch complete with pink champagne and chocolate roses. Afterwards as a treat, we booked our flights home in June.



A luxury bus transported us the 6/7 hours from David to Panama City and we glimpsed the Panama Canal crossing it once as we neared the city. Getting our bags from the bus and a taxi from the station was chaotic but we arrived at our hotel fine eventually. It was really conveniently located for the old town (Casco Viejo) and the main waterfront drag and we even had a tv in our room. We took a walk around to get our bearings and found the city far more modern than we’d expected. The skyline is extremely impressive, rows of skyscrapers hugging the coast with huge ocean liners filling the sea behind.



The Red “Hop On-Hop Off” Bus Tour had just started in the city so we hopped on board and visited the Miraflores locks first where we watched little boats go through the locks. Bored of this we toured the visitors centre then watched the video clip. At the end the screen cuts to a live shot of the locks and we saw two huge ships approaching the locks so the theatre emptied and we all scuttled to the viewing deck to watch the monstrosities navigate the locks. It was amazing. Next stop was Isla Flamenco, the last island on the chain of the causeway. The views back on the city from here were spectacular. The UNESCO World Heritage site of Casco Viejo was last on our tour and close to our hotel in La Exposicion. The area has a similar sort of feel to Havana but on a much smaller scale and with the stunning skyline behind it. Many of the waterfront buildings have been or are in the middle of renovations and look quite beautiful. The streets in the middle however are lined with crumbling building and scaffolding. There was clearly a lot of money being spent on rejuvenation.



While in the area we discovered the microbrewery La Rana Dorado serving up great beer and pizza. The bar looked on to the brewing equipment and the workers toiling away. All the staff were really friendly. While we were enjoying their waterfront views a mob of kids came by banging drums and demanding change on their way to Carnival. On our way home we passed through the stalls all getting set up for the 4 day festival starting the next day. The entire waterfront highway was closed to traffic and hundreds of stalls were setting up selling beer, food and merchandise including the foam and confetti we would become all too acquainted with in the coming days. Music was pumping and the many stages were being assembled. The atmosphere was already keying up. The next day we came through again during the day and the Coca Cola sponsored water cannons were in full flow with thousands of people soaked and dancing in front of them.



By nightfall the party was in full swing, the fences were now up all around the area and the lines to get in were getting longer by the minute. People were being searched and ID had to be shown. We chose a line whose function we didn’t fully understand but was shorter than the men and women lines. Several times security came to purge people from it but we were never asked to leave and so it got shorter all the time. Ash had no ID but the security guard waved her through regardless. Gringo = VIP! The parade was a little disappointing with only three floats but the queens smiled their faces off and the marching bands and dancers were giving it their best. Little kids constantly sprayed us with foam and threw confetti in our faces. If they weren’t having so much fun it could be quite annoying. We left after awhile and the lines were over a block long and hardly moving. Apparently the party goes on to 5am! We took a cab to the Marriot Casino and drank for free and won $75 for our troubles before calling it a night.



We got up early to catch the glass dome train to Colon along the Panama Canal but it was closed due to Carnival. So disappointed! At the station we ran into another guy who was on the same boat so we shared a cab to the bus station and travelled the less scenic route. We’d booked our sailing trip through Wunderbar Hostel in Puerto Lindo and stayed there two nights in advance of the trip. This turned out to be somewhat of a mistake as the place is in the middle of nowhere, has only one restaurant that is extremely slow in service (drinks are self service, get them from the fridge in kitchen yourself), no wifi and limited water in the hostel, see through walls in our bedroom (uneven twigs tied together) and a door that had no latch (we kept it closed by propping our bags behind it, one morning we woke up and it was wide open!). Turns out when we met the rest of our group, who had stayed in the nearby town of Portobello, their hostel had no running water at all for 3 days meaning no showers or toilet and no kitchen the last day as the chef had been fired for being a psycho. At least they had each other and a bar.



We couldn’t set off right away on our 5 day sailing trip because the autopilot for the boat was broken and somebody had to drive to Colon to get it. We killed time in Captain Jack’s drinking and playing cards and generally getting into the spirit. Two motorbikes were strapped to the deck of the yacht first, then bags and people were loaded. Only two out of the three couples got cabins and we were lucky enough to be one of them. The boat was a 65ft yacht called the Wildcard and captained by a Kiwi named John. There were 16 guests on board and 2 crew in addition to Captain John. Once loaded we had another few hours chatting and drinking on deck before we set sail at sunset for the idyllic San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama. It wasn’t long before the waves changed the mood severely and many passengers retreated to the side to spew or lie in bean bags down the back staring at the stars desperately trying to keep it all down. Few people ate dinner that night. At 4am we anchored at the San Blas and people finally got to sleep.



The two full days we spent at the San Blas were magnificent. The whole area is littered with tiny specs of sand patches each with a palm or two poking up. We visited the Kuna Yala indigenous people where we handed out biscuits and bought souvenirs, snorkelled a shallow wreck at Dog Island, swam in crystal clear turquoise waters and partied on deck at night. Locals came by in their dug-out canoes selling lobsters and once a turtle which thankfully we did not buy. The food on the trip was mostly excellent. The first night we anchored at West Colonies to the dismay of the yacht already there. He asked John to clear off non to politely but his request was denied. The deck was covered with shade and lights were strung up. The second night was spent at Coco Banderas where the group went ashore in the dingy and lit a bonfire. The area is so stunning it’s surprising it’s not more crowded. It probably won’t stay this pristine for long.



Ade had an encounter with a sea animal and lost suffering a sharp puncture wound, excessive pain, swelling and a strange climbing blue mark on his foot. Nothing that a few hours of emersion in boiling water torture didn’t eventually sort out. Ash even had a dig around in the wound with a needle to make sure no sting was left in it on advice from Captain John.



The last two days at open sea were hell. We lay down for most of it religiously taking our sea medication and listening to music. It was hard to walk around because of the lean and the constant crashing of the waves. There was no table area so all 16 of us had to eat sitting on people’s beds which was unpleasant. Three people had to sleep in the actual kitchen and 5 in the bow. They said this was extremely hot and did not have a good experience. One of the two toilets on board blocked the first night so for the remaining 4 days all 19 of us used the one. No showers were permitted during the entire period so we were all crusty with salt by the end. When we sailed into Cartagena harbour, in Columbia, there were sighs of relief all round. It was at night so we slept one final peaceful night on the boat and disembarked early the next morning. Ash really appreciated the calm waters and not having Ade randomly land on her in the middle of the night. It was certainly a trip to remember but if we were to consider it all again we’d visit the islands on a separate trip and fly to Columbia. Two days of paradise isn’t worth three days of hell! After the trip we heard one yacht sank during the same period and another ran out of fuel. Seems we picked a bad time weather wise to make the crossing. On to Columbia...





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Photos

Cahuita National Park
beach meets rainforest

A Sloth
honestly!

Border To Panama
shortly before a huge truck also travelled across

Comments

[Amy Wroblewski]

Happy Easter!
Hey guys!! Such excitement. Sounds like you are having a wonderful time and seeing many gorgeous sites. Excluding the spiders and bed bugs! All is good here. Just had a fun Easter w/ the kids. Lots of egg hunts and sweets. Happy Easter! stay safe and I look forward to hearing about your next adventure. Love, Amy

[Best places to go in Costa Rica]

Best places to go in Costa Rica ? Places of interest in Costa Rica
It seem that you had great fun at Costa Rica. Awesome clicks.