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The border crossing between Panama and Costa Rica was surprisingly easy. We almost managed to miss both border controls. We understood this only when there were some confused questions at the Costa Rica side if we enter or leave the country. The whole place was a mess of arriving buses and trucks and stalls and merchandise everywhere. The area was a tax free zone which attracted a lot of people for all sorts of business. The Pan American highway was running through it with no obstacles and plenty of stalls and shops lined along it. We walked back over the border and found after some search the well hidden Panama departure counters. Two small windows were placed inside facing a concrete building. It was easy to miss. The lax control is very surprising since Costa Rica is one of the major hubs for drugs from Colombia. We had later on the road several checkpoints of the drug enforcement police. The newspapers reported just few days later the confiscation of more than 100 kg of high level drugs in nearby ? which were stored in the local police station. That is a lot and was a major event in the news. The
police team that fetched the drugs a day later disappeared and turned out to be fake. Why the drugs were not destroyed at site and how a fake police team can get access was still intensely discussed over several days.
We were traveling to the Southwestern Peninsula of Osa. It was famous for its Corcovado National Park and undisturbed wildlife. The government had purchased most of the coastal farmland 20 years ago and re located the farmers. Afterwards the area was in converted into a National Park within the efforts to develop the area for tourism. There are only few roads and most parts are only accessible by boat. We had reserved for 3 nights as the Punta Marenco Lodge in Drake Bay.
We could not make it in a day and stayed Friday night in Palmar de Norte. It is a small town surrounded by banana and rubber plantations. People were hanging out on the streets, children played in the parks, the bars played Salsa music and the atmosphere was relaxed. Most of the houses did not have the severe fences as seen in most of the bigger cities. It seemed neighbors know each other. Otherwise people in
the major towns are extremely sensitive to theft and almost encage themselves behind fences and barbed wire. Costa Rica has the nick name of the Switzerland of Central America, but there is still a wide income gap within the society.
We took next day the public bus to the harbor and boarded 2 hours later a small taxi boat to the bay. It was a very pleasant trip along thick mangrove jungle and later along the coastline. The lodge itself was located on a small tip into the ocean and our bungalow had pleasant views over the sea. We liked very much the evenings and sunsets on a beach below the lodge. The waves were strong and it was great fun to jump on them. To my regret I underestimated a big wave and it took me completely of guard. My feet were dragged away and within seconds I was washed on the sand. I grabbed to my face, but my glasses were gone despite a rubber strap tying them around my neck. Nothing is lost in the sea and one hour later Yuki shouted and held my glasses in her hand. It was amazing to see what one
hour pounding on a shore with rough sand and strong waves can do. The edges were splintered and covered with micro scratches. I had to fall back to my spare glasses.
We were amazed by the wildlife. Monkeys jumped along trees, raccoons strolled on the beaches and dolphins swam in the water. We could imagine how plenty wildlife must have been on Earth before it was taken over by urban development.
The three days were quickly over and we returned to San Jose. We stayed again at my friends place and had long discussions about the future of this country. Nothing is pure gold anywhere. The nature and the beautiful beaches are the main attraction of the country, but infrastructure in the cities is still in the stage of a developing country. San Jose has huge traffic jams, no mass transport system and the extension of the road network makes very slow progress. The taxi driver was cursing on the traffic and pushed his way ahead shouting on other cars “Pura Vida”! “Pura Vida” means pure life and expresses the life style attitude of the Ticos and Ticas- enjoy pure life and do not be offset by all the things
that do not work properly - Costa Rica is a small paradise, but there is still lot of this. I realized that high value added taxes and social forced insurances in Germany results in public services that are for granted, but not existing elsewhere. We said Good Bye the following morning good, agreed to stay closer in contact and left with two bags of Costa Rica’s excellent coffee to survive in the land of watery American coffee.
Practicalities:
Bus from Palmar de Norte to (9:30 am) less than 2 US$
Boat from to Drake Bay (11:30 am) 15 US$ one way
Accommodation at Drake Bay is of various quality and prices; the area is very remote and has to be booked ahead of arrival - best via Internet; Tripadvisor helps to get an idea what to expect; we met a Dutch couple that inquired and booked the same day at the harbor; be careful to check what is included in the price, it should be at least accommodation and food, day trips offered later can be very expensive with prices between 50-90 US$ per person. Buy your own water and drinks at Palmar de Norte before departing to the
bay, there are no shops.
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