Much Moving

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Yeah, I´m already in Panama. The flight in was good- the girl next to me on the plane was a local and she gave me a ride to a hotel that night, sparing me the trauma of trying to find one in the huge city at 1 am. It was a strange introduction to the country to be sitting in the back of a huge old Mercedes watching a Duran Duran DVD on a little LCD screen barely hanging from the roof of the car.

The next morning I took a taxi to the bus station in the center of San Jose. It is a city of several million people, and I did not see one traffic light anywhere, so you can imagine the chaos. I found my way onto a bus and was at a town on the southern Carribbean coast by 5 pm. I stayed in a town called Puerto Viejo- it´s a strange mix of nice hostels and dirty streets and and Rastas and young tourists. For whatever reason, I didn´t take a liking to the town, and took a bus the the border with Panama the next morning. The border crossing on the Carribbean coast is rarely used by foreigners, and was an interesting experience. The ´no man´s land´ between the two countries was a rotting old railroad bridge over a massive river that everyone had to walk over. One misstep would send a clumsy individual (like myself) straight into the water.
I had absolutely no plan on where to go, and once across, I found myself in the back of a truck with the two other travelers in the area, headed for some town I cannot pronounce or spell.
We were dropped off at a small boat terminal in an area of mangrove swamp. A small speed boat finally showed up... way too small to transport all 20 people on the dock, but we all sat on eachother and made friends. The boat ride was a wild 30 minutes of slaloming (spelling) through the reeds and logs in the water. It was like cruising through a mini-amazon.
We arrived at the Boca Del Toro islands and a group of us wandered to the same hostel and got a large dorm to share. Yesterday was independence day here, so it was a night of loud music and drinks. We´ve got a fun group assembled, and will most likely do some snorkeling today. I have no idea when I´m leaving here or where I´m going to!!

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Photos

No Man´s Land
Stretch between Costa Rica and Panama

Boating Friends
We all got to know eachother a little too well on the boat

Independence Day Celebration
This is on the island in Panama

Comments

[Your dad]

great to here from you
Thanks for keeping in touch. Sounds like a great trip so far. Be safe and have fun.

[shawna]

Love the Bridge
I knew The bridge to No Man's Land had to be near Costa Rica...we would cross bridges like that many times. Love the pics Steve!!!