Week 11
Tuesday. We were sad to leave Finca Mystica. We had such a lovely stay there and we both agreed is was the nicest place we have stayed at so far. We took a Taxi at 7:00am to start our long journey to San Jose in Costa Rica.
The border crossing between Nicaragua and Costa Rica was the most disorganised arrangement we have come across. We were literally dumped in the middle of 'no mans' land and were instantly jumped on by numerous people trying to rip us off, offering services to change money and sell bus tickets that we didn't need. We managed to find our way to the Nicaraguan border office to get an exit stamp and then had to walk about 200 metres to the Costa Rican border office where we waited for almost an hour in the queue! There were no signs to tell you where to go so we just followed the crowd. When we finally got to the counter we were met by a miserable lady who asked how long we were going to stay in Costa Rica. I replied 2 days and with that she gave us a 2 day visa!! By 1pm we were finally on the bus to San Jose.
Now this is something you don't see everyday, a passenger with a parrot on the bus!
We were only staying in San José for 1 night. In hindsight we should have made it 2 so we could have explored the city. Instead we only explored the local Chinese restaurant and the hotel!
Wednesday. We were both a little worried that we did not have our bus tickets yet to get us to Panama, especially as we only had a 2 day visa! So we got up really early to make our way to the bus station - we got there just in time to purchase the last remaining tickets. Phew!!
Oh My God. The border crossing between Costa Rica and Panama was horrendous and by the time we got our entry stamp, I needed a bottle of wine! The main reason for this is that you have to prove the Panamanian authorities that you are going to exit the country and that you have $500 - all evidence of this needs to be on paper. We did not have this so, for 2 hours we:
- Tried to find an Internet cafe - the border town was a hectic mess of buildings
- Failed to login to all email accounts - Hotmail security!
- Befriended an English couple (Chris and Anthony) who we tried to email our documents to, using WiFi - also failed
- Completed fraudulent documents - there was no other choice! I used the English couple's confirmation boat ticket (boat from Panama to Colombia which we are also doing) and inserted our information and printed it off along with a bank statement.
The annoying thing was even when we handed over the printed documents the immigration officer didn't really look at them or keep them! Aghghghg!!
We finally got to Boquete in Panama at 6pm. Chris and Anthony had nowhere to stay so they tried to see if they could get a place at our hostel - fully booked. However they did manage to find a hostel near ours. We all met up in the evening for a well earned dinner and glass of pop - no booze available at our chosen restaurant.
Wednesday - Friday.
Boquete is a nice little town with an alpine feel. Its seems to be a place which is popular with the retiring North Americans. This was evident when we went to the cafe Sugar and Spice. The place was packed with 60 year old North Americans armed with massive cups of coffee and yoga mats - we were the youngest in there!
We spent our time here getting to know the very lovely Chris and Anthony. Strolling around town, drinking lots of coffee, eating at our favourite restaurant which was run by a lovely old couple in their house and generally having a nice relaxing time.
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| This was our little room at the hostel |
The highlight of our stay here was white water rafting!
We booked this trip through Boquete Outdoor Adventures. We were both nervous about this little adventure. Especially after the guide described what we should do when hearing different commands while rafting down the river. I was under the impression that we just floated down, admiring the view. The instruction on what to do when you fell into the rapids also didn't help with our nervousness - "OMG, people actually fall in!"
Well it was a good job we listened to the instructions because we had only rafted about 1 minute when we went through our first rapid and Roland fell in!
"ROLAND! Somebody get him!"
I can only describe the terror on Roland's face as matching that of a cat when it's in water.
Luckily he was lifted back into the raft safe and sound and had a smile on his face. This little incident put us all on edge for the next few minutes but soon we were all laughing and making various noises when going through the rapids - once we realised that the secret of not falling in was by wedging your feet under the seat in front of you.
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| The gang with a well earned beer |
We had a delicious lunch on the riverside where we attempted to catch fish with our hands and admired the view around us - beautiful! Shortly after we started rafting again, I fell in! Remembering the instruction to 'curl into a little ball' if you fall in, that is exactly what I did, still holding the paddle! I remained under the water long enough for Roland's laughter to turn into concern as he began to think that I was drowning! However once I realised that I should lift my head out of the water, I swam towards the boat to be lifted back in by the guide.
We both really loved this, and we can't wait to do it again - maybe we'll attempt a grade higher! To see all the photos of this little adventure, click here
Saturday - Tuesday. Feeling well rested, it was time to make another bus journey, this time to Boca's Del Toro. We booked our self's on a collective leaving Mamallana Hostel ($25) and 6 hours later we arrived at our home for the next 4 days Panama Paradice ($50 a night).
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| On the way to Bocas |
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| Sea side houses |
We booked this place mainly because the cabins had kitchens. We have been eating out for so long that we both really missed having something homemade to eat.
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| Thai curry made by me = Yummy!! |
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| We had a little friend for 2 nights |
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| Who liked to sleep on my bum! |
During our visit, we stayed in 2 different cabins. The first two nights, we stayed in a lovely apartment which sat on stilts over the sea's edge - you could hear the waves lapping on the shore when drifting off to sleep. The last two nights were spent in a little Cabana which had a kitchen and a TV!
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| Kitty kicked Roland off the bed |
We certainly enjoyed our stay here and even though it rained quite a lot, we were happy because we had TV! When it didn't rain we went out for little bike rides around Isla Colon. The first time we managed to get to Bluff beach before the rain started. However we completely missed timed our ride back home and got absolutely soaked! We ended up getting a taxi home!
The second time we went out on the bikes, we rode to the other side of the Island. This was a lovely bike ride - it almost felt like you were cycling through jungle area. We covered about 30km in total. However we were stationary for about 30 minutes when Roland's chain got wedged between the cog and the wheel. It took us ages to work out that they only way to release the chain was by using a stone and a padlock!
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| Cow birds |
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| Interesting Restaurant |
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| Needs some Emma loving! |
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| Roland´s own brand of food! |
