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Published: April 1st 2010
OMG.....5am bus....we didnt get to Panama til nearly 4:00. We took the 5am bus to the bus station...took another 6am bus that would take us to Changuinola, Panama. It was a crowded bus ride, the entire time. The first several hours of the journey the bus driver blasted spanish music. And I mean BLASTED. Ok...listen to the radio, fine, but WHY BLAST IT???? Luckily, I somehow managed to fall asleep, nearly the entire journey.
Around 1pm or so....the bus breaks down. Carlos, a guy that is with I to I had ridden down from San Jose with us to make sure we got there ok. Well, Carlos tells us "the bus broke down, another one is coming" .... so we wait there....for an hour!!! I....fell asleep on the broke down bus....and finally, the new one gets there. Everyone who was on the bus transfered to the new one that was already filled w/ people. All the seats were taken and there were several other people standing in the aisles. I half expected a woman to get on the bus with a chicken in a cage.
We get to the Panama border where Carlos says his good-byes to us to
Shen and I
the location we are traveling too us only reachable by boat, no cars allowed! get back on ANOTHER bus BACK to San Jose! Poor guy!!! He just drove there to make sure we got there ok which was much appreciated. He handed us over to Erick, a staff member at the "camp" (I kept calling it a camp) We were staying on a stretch of an island called "San San Ponds Wetlands"
He helped walk us through the immigration process in Panama. We had to buy a bus ticket that shows when we'd be LEAVING panama. I had my yellowfever vaccine paperwork w/ me.....and, they didnt even ask to see it!!! That darned shot cost me $170!!! Oh well....if they HAD asked for it and I didnt have the shot, I would have been denied entrance into the country. And its good for ten years, and believe me, I will be traveling to many more countries!
After immigration we boarded a truck, that took us to the dock or "office" as they kept calling it, where we put on life jackets and boarded a boat which would take us to the island! it was a 45 min journey with some of the prettiest scenery around. I was so excited!
We get
brokedown palace
This is the location where our bus broke down....for an hour....in the heat.... to the island around 4 or so. I thought it was 3:00, but as it turns out, Panama is one hour ahead of CR. We met Evelyn, the woman in the kitchen, who had cooked us a very yummy meal! It had beef, vegetables, and of course, rice and beans. I gobbled it all up.
We met the other volunteer there....named Neil. There were only THREE volunteers there! We were there still pretty early in the season, I imagine around May/June when the turtle eggs begin hatching is when they see the most volunteers. Neil is from the UK also and was a very cool guy, He had been there going on his third week and his last day was Friday, same as me.
Erick gave us a tour of the area....showed us the...uh, shower "situation" which....wasnt bad. I did have to "rough it" for a few days, but I know alot of people wouldnt be able to handle it. There was NO electricity, except for a generator that was run 2 hours every night. There was NO AC. In the bathrooms, there were toilets, but in order to get it to flush, you had to take off
Boat
It was a beautiful, beautiful ride!!! the lid on the back of the toilet, fill it with a bucket of water....and....wa-la! Flushy, flushy!! It had rained a few days prior so rainwater had collected in these tank like things so we had water to shower with....never mind that it was barelly a trickle of water. NO pressure!!!
The building was made of wood, and Shen and I shared a room with bunk beds. Four to a room. Both of us opted to sleep on the bottom bunks. THe room was super tiny and I couldnt imagine what it would be like had it been fully occupied w/ four people and luggage everywhere and girl products all over.... (lol, us girls pack alot of stuff!)
Well since it was our first night that night....no turtle patrol. We would go through a turtle "training" the next day. Well.... there were two Spanish guys....locals....that did the patrols.... Rubelina and....I forgot the other guys name!! Well....they had started their patrol and were gone about 15 mins and we hear "Tortuga! Tortuga!" then Erick comes over to us, (we were chilling on hammocks in the dark) and asks us if we wanna see the turtle. Heck YES we want
crossing the border....
This is the Panama side of the border....you had to walk across that rickety old bridge!! to see it!
Now, I have seen pics of them and I know they are MASSIVE, but seeing them in person is something else! Wow, what a beautiful animal!
Now, I am not going to go on too much about the turtles cause I have another blog titles "Night Patrols" which I will explain more in. Plus, my hand is hurting from typing!
But thats how our first day in Panama went! Oh....by the way....mosquitos and sand mites are AWFUL !!! I hate them!
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