Coasting Back To Costa

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So following on from my last entry i had to wait for the America CSer (couchsurfer) pete and is Argentina friend to come back from getting lunch and they did not get back till nearly 3pm which kinda wasted my day, but i had to stay in and let them back in.

Pete had got me a bottle of water which was much needed as i was sweating like a'pig in the Panama city heat, Panama is a very big and dirty city and has a very close heat, when i got to Panama Ken had taken me for breakfast which he treated me too and he then took me to the top of his building and i saw a view of the Old and New city, the old city was too far to get a good pic of but i could see it with the naked eye.

Pete had been to the Panama canal the day before and advised me which bus´s to get to get to the Panama canal, the best place to go is Miarflores lock and so i had to manage the bus system there, Ken earlier had advised that a 100 dollar bill would not be acceptable by anywhere but i could exchange it for smaller bills at the bank for no charge as Panama tends to use dollars but only from one dollar upto 20 dollars they do not accept 50 or 100 dollar bills, although some places give change in the local currency?

Ken gave me some small bills to get by till i got to a bank and also a spare cell phobe if i got stuck, kens place was on Israel ave in San Fransico bay and i headed out the apartment and Pete advised he would do some work on his laptop and would be in to let me in.

So i got on a minibus at the local stop and i managed in my bad spanish to communicate to a passenger that i was heading to mayo plaza 5 and to the sacha terminal and the old guy advised he was getting off there, although im no expert at spanish i got the gist of it.

40 mins later and many stops later i narrived at the plaza, all bus´s here have a conductor as such normally a teenager who shouts the direction and drums up trade each stop, i paid as i exited i quickly looked around the square and then tried to get to the HSBC to get the 100 changed and it was closed it had closed at 3pm dohhh, i walked across to the sacha terminal and manged to find the bus i needed and then sat on for 30 mins and this bus had no aircon and eventually the driver turned up and so me and the other passnegers finally got respite as air came through the windows, this was a slow bus that stopped everywhere and went past the local uni and everywhere and i explained to the woman sat next to i needed Miaraflores locks and as she got off she advised the driver which was nice of her😉

Eventually the bus got to Miraflores locks and the driver indicated to me and i got off and looked at the time and was aware from the Lonely Planet guide and Pete´s advices that the Musuem was a 15 min walk from the road and closed at 5pm, it was 4.50pm and so i legged it to the locks and it was just turning 5pm and the security guard was not for letting me in and i said can i have just have 5 mins and so i ended up dodging the 8 dollar entry fee which was cool, i missed the musuem but i do not mind and i managed to get to see the locks and some boats going through which was my main aim.

I then walked back to the bus stop and took in the views and met an Israeli backpacker walking back to the bus and his name was raymond and we chatted while waiting for the bus and on the bus and he had spent 5 months in central america and was spending his last day in Panama before heading home and he had some years ago also been to south america.

He was stopping in a hostel in the buisness district and so when the bus stopped we said our goodbyes, the bus stopped before Sacha as the was a parade and this clogged the streets, i watched the parade and headed for the costal road as i knew i could orintate myself from there. I walked along took pictures and toom pictures and i took pictures of the parade which was for saints day.

The is no infrastructre as such in Panama and the are potholes everywhere and it is really dirty but they keep building condos for the US and European investors, these condos are too expensive for Locals.

Panama city is also clogged in traffic so its like permanet rush hour, i got up to the Hard Rock cafe and manged to get a mini bus back to Kens and i got let back in by Pete, his argetina friend had left to fly back to Buenos aires and soon an American couple dan and Jen turned up as ken was hosting them too, also ken has dogs that kept trying to hump me and pissed on the floor which was pleasant, while at kens i washed some stuff and made use of the shower.

Ken eventually got back from work and took us all to the roof top and we looked at the city at night, we chatted for a while and then decided to grab something to eat, we got a taxi to downtown and went to a greek place and i had a morzella pizza and we had 3 local and 1 greek beer and passed them roound to try, one was baloboa beer, soberana beer, atlas beer mysthos beer and we all had a taste of each and was not impressed with any of them, Jen and Dan are from LA and are down in Panama for a week and Pete is working while traveling, he has a sticker buisnees and takes his latop were ever he goes and he speaks fluent spanish and italian.

We then headed along the strip of bars and went to the Londoner which is suppose to be an english bar....lol, i had a stella and the others had newcastle brown ale and then we played pool and headed back to ken´s, he had stayed in as he had felt ill and tired, by the way all the way through this i still had a bad stomach and i put this down to the malaria tablets.

We headed back and chatted a little and they were planning to go with Ken to Las tablas for Carnival, i was not as it meant a 4 hour journey there and back and then having to get a bus back to costa rica on saturday, i opted to go to David for carinval and the next day i headed out at 9am and said goodbye to Pette and thanked ken, i managed to get a bus to the Altbrook terminal which is the main terminal and when i got there the where hundreds of people lined up for david tickets. i then decided that id never get there till late on and then more than likely it would be booked out and as i have only a month in central america i decided to get the Tica Bus back to San Jose and forgo Carnival.

I got the Tica bus and no room like the Panama express as it was alocated seats and i fat guy in front crushing my knees and a kid behind that ocaisonally knocked my head and kicked my back and made lots of noise.

I sat next to guy Cesar from Nica and he tried to talk and we used my spaish phrase book and in between i tried to sleep, i had a few drinks on the bus and some food, which i did not get on the panama express so tica bus had its benefits, the meals came with meat but it was in a seprate area of the stryofaom food box and so i had food at no charge, we got to the border and had to wait ages to be stamped out and then quickly stamped in Costa border and then after this we had to wait and get our bags serched yawnnn....i was dog tired.

We eventual got to san Jose at 1.30 am and i headed one block round for a hostel as per the Lonely planet guide. i did not find the hostel, but it was a rough area and i did not want to get a taxi and so i went to a hostel that i came across, it was dark and dingy and it was 10 dollars, i got to my room and got ready to sleep, the door did not lock but the was a dead bolt, i heard strange noises during the night so not a restful sleep and at some stage it sounded like someone was trying to get in to my room....that aint good, trying to pilfer the rich europeans stuff perhaps?

Next morning i got up got ready and showered and got out of there as soon as possible, nothing is close by in San Jose, everything is spread out and its dirty and i was not keen on the place and so i looked over the main square and a piccy of the main church and then i tried to find the bus to Libera, i went blocks the wrong way as most streets seem to be unmarked which is dead helpful.

I eventually asked a police man and he advised to follow him, he was on a bike and i was on foot with two bags, so i got there eventaully and thanked him and was tired and sweaty and then i noticed the bus went to Playa Chocos up on the coats and near to Libera.

I decided i would go there and then eventually realised the bus did not leave till 2pm but i belived it was a direct bus and the Lonely planet advised i could get a room for 20 dollars ( i shouldnt belive the lonely planet), the Libera bus´s leave every hour and in hindsight i would have been better going there and staying in Libera and just going to the beach for a few hours.

Anyway i get some cheese enpandes and a muffin as brunch and sit there and read my lonely 'planet to kill time and then a candian girl comes into the terminal and her name is Kate we chat and she works for a coupke months and then travels and has been in south and central america and goes to portgual next, she eventually goes as she is going to meet a friend in Libera. its just my luck that im alone, i either so far do not meet travelers or they are going another way, well i suppose thats traveling and its going out of your comfort zone.

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