Blogs from Isla Colon, Bocas Del Toro, Panama, Central America Caribbean - page 9

I'm writing to you today from a breathtaking location in the Andes Mountains. I left Panama on June 29th and have been eager to get my Panama story up for you since leaving but have had a difficult time getting proper internet and I quite literally have been trying to catch my breath. Since leaving Nicaragua Devon and I continued on to a very brief stay in Costa Rica en route to our destination country of Panama (we had both been to Costa Rica before and know our Pura Vida). In getting to Panama, we stayed a couple nights in the rastafarian Caribbean town of Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. Our time spent there went well enough but the weather and first hand accounts of machete laden banditos put a bit of a damper on our time ... read more

THE ISLANDS OF BOCAS DEL TORO We crossed the border at Sixaiola. This was the first border crossing we attempted on our own so given the chaotic nature of the last border we were a bit anxious at the prospect of getting into Panama on our todd with about 10 words of Spanish between us.. However, it turned out to be easy really. This crossing is for pedestrians only so you must walk across a rickety old railway bridge over a river and into Panama. Once your on the other side there are plenty of locals eager to guide you through the process; hoping you’ll use their taxi to get where you going when you’re finished. If you fly out of Costa Rica there is a $26 departure tax, but it cost us nothing to leave ... read more

After a long year of wait, we are again at the international airport Tocumen of Panama City. The choice for our accommodation in the capital, wasn’t that of our first journey in Panama, not in the “Casco Viejo”, but "Casa De Carmen", a very pleasant hostel with a big private garden situated in the zone of “Via España”, one of the commercial arteries of the Panamanian capital, very close to the modern bank zone of the city, enough expensive, but with an excellent breakfast included in the price every morning. In this green oasis in the middle of the big city we have had two days of excellent relax and adaptation to the tropical hot in February! This time we did a short trip to Taboga Island. Taboga is an Island not far from the coast ... read more

Ah slept in! My alarm was set an hour late because of the time change in Panama. Banging on our dorm door woke us up at 6:55am as Morris was waiting for the three of us. We quickly jumped out of bed grabbed our bags and went quickly to the docks. It was important we didn't miss the boat because we had to be near the border at ten to catch a bus we had payed for. One of he first times on this trip that I can remember sleeping in. It ended up working out though when we jumped on a later boat but still made it with time to spare. We bartered for a cab and then jumped on the bus for the long trip back up to San Jose. The border crossing went ... read more

Awesome pure blue sky this morning when we awoke. Wizard beach had been very nice and we wanted some photos because last time we had forgot our cameras. Matt, Justin, and I decided to boat back there while Morris checked out a different beach, Bocas del Drago. We ate breakfast, bought lunch at the supermarket, then headed out in a little boat. It wasn't nearly as wavy this time so we made it without a hitch and jumped off in the shallows. We picked a similar spot to last time to leave our stuff. Matt wandered off for some photos while Justin and I decided to crack some coconuts first. We spent the day swimming, taking photos, and lying in the sun. It was a great day and eventually the boat came back to get us. ... read more