Panama

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. 

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.

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).

On the way to Bocas

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.  

Thai curry made by me = Yummy!!

We had a little friend for 2 nights

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!

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!

Cow birds

Interesting Restaurant

Needs some Emma loving!

Roland´s own brand of food!

Week 12

Wednesday to Saturday. Another early start to make our way to Santa Fe. Armed with a packed lunch of sandwiches and bellies full of papaya and freshly brewed coffee we got a:

• Taxi to the port
• Boat to Almirante
• Bus to David
• Bus to Santiago
• Bus to Santa Fe

Boat back to main land

We arrived at Santa Fe at 8pm - the bus dropped us off at the beginning of a dirt road and we hoped it led to our home for the next 4 days.

Walking in complete darkness, we were welcomed by the only lights in the area - it was our hotel, Anachoreo.  Once we dumped our bags in our very nice spacious room, wine was a priority, so we headed straight for the bar.

Anachoreo was a lovely place run by a Cambodian lady and her Dutch husband. The business had only opened in 2012. They had come to Panama to build a home and a business for themselves. Set in amongst the beautiful village of Santa Fe with mountains in the background everywhere you looked. Anachoreo was a great place to relax and explore the surrounding area by foot.

Eagle in the tree

The hostel grew a lot of fruit and vegetable - this is a baby pineapple!!

Santa Fe is a sleepy little village where horses are still the main mode of transport, even though there was a well maintained tarmac road (unusual).  We attempted a few adventures by hiking to a waterfall (couldn't find it after 3 hours of walking), climbing to the top of one of the surrounding mountains (didn't quite make it as the path vanished in amongst the vegetation), walking to a different waterfall (couldn't find it either) and exploring the area around the village.

Eating oranges which had fallen onto the floor - they were lovely!

Dead end on the way to the view point!

Roland checking for ants

Which way shall we go?

Sweaty Betty

House in the mountains

On the way up the mountain, I couldn't help but laugh when Roland had to take his trousers down to free a wasp which had somehow got trapped up his trouser leg and stung him a few times. And then about 20 minutes later he had to take them down again as he literally had ants in his pants after standing on an ants nest. Poor Roland!

Anachoreo boasts to have the only Cambodian restaurant in Panama. Roland and I certainly enjoyed the food - it was absolutely delicious. I especially enjoyed the fish curry - I had it everyday! Roland worked his way through the menu deciding that the chicken curry was his favourite. The breakfast here were also very good (included in the price of the room). I was addicted to the English style pancakes (sugar and lemon) while Roland enjoyed eggs and bacon everyday.

Admiring the view during breakfast

Sunday. 9am and it was time to leave Santa Fe and make our way to Panama City. Thank god this trip will only involve 2 buses! I am amazed at how many people they can fit on a 12 seat Collective bus - I counted 24 at one point! I was pleased we had a seat! Arriving at Santiago we were lucky with our connection to Panama City as there was a bus getting ready to leave as we arrived.

Monday. We stayed at Mediterranean  Dreams and we were very happy to have air conditioning for the first time this trip. After scoffing  breakfast we headed out to explore Panama.

This actually told the correct time!

Coca-Cola Xmas Tree

Merry Xmas!!!!

Week 13

Tuesday. Today we went to see one of the`Seven Wonders of the Industrial World - The Panama Canal. Luckily Roland had read the guide book and noted that the best time to see boats pass through was between 11am-12pm.  We left the hotel at 10:00am in a Taxi and we were lucky enough to see 2 large container ships pass through the Miraflores Locks.

Main routes of boats passing through the Canal

2 boats entering the Canal

Boats exiting the Canal

Locks preparing to receive more boats

Interesting fact

"Get those boats moving through, NOW!!!"

Sailing (or is it driving?) a container ship through the lock

As it was Christmas Eve, we decided to treat ourselves and dine at Tantalo Kitchen. The food was good and the cocktails even better!

Pre-dinner drinks at Havana - we were the only people in the bar!!

Drinks on the roof top

Much to our surprise the streets of Casco Viejo (old town) was completely empty except for a few families playing loud music outside their homes, sitting on plastic chairs. After a few drinks and a wander around we decided to go back to the Hotel. This was a mistake, because as soon as it was 12am (and we were tucked up in bed) the whole city seem to erupt with fireworks!!! Damn it!!

Wednesday. Merry Xmas!! To celebrate we decided to go for a walk around the Metropolitan National Park which seemed a good idea at the time. After an hour into the walk it started to pour down! We tried to avoid getting wet by sheltering under a rock which didn't work very well - we still got soaked from the neck down! We waited under there for about 30 minutes for the rain to stop and then went to the viewpoint to see Panama city from above.

Running for shelter

We had high hopes for a nice Christmas dinner but there was absolutely nothing open in the area we were staying! Everything was shut! Luckily we stumbled across an Italian restaurant which served the best Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil salad I have had so far! It was Yummy!

Note that we didn't bother to go back to the hotel to change after getting soaked!

I was meant to share this, but I managed to drink it all, Merry Xmas!

Yummy!!

Thursday To Monday - Travel from Panama City to Cartegena in Colombia.

Mamallena Hostel arranged all the transport from Panama City to Cartegenga ($650 per person for a cabin and $50 for Transport from Panama City to San Blas). This trip was booked 6 months ago while in the UK.

4:30am we had to make our way to Mamallena to catch a 4x4 to San Blas Islands. Once everyone had arrived we then caught a launcher to our home for the next 5 days - The Jacqueline catamaran.

There were 24 passengers on this catamaran (and a cat) from all over the world; UK, USA, Australia, Sweden, Germany and Italy. At first glance inside the catamaran I wondered where everyone were going to sleep!  I was very pleased that we had paid extra to have our own cabin with a private bathroom!

I can not recommend this boat enough!  The crew were great and food was plentiful and really nice!  

On the launcher to Jacqueline

Our home for the next 5 days

The first 2.5 days were spent sailing around the San Blas Islands where we swam in the crystal clear sea, snorkeled beautiful coral reefs and visited neighbouring islands.  The evenings was spent drinking copious amounts of rum and eating the most delicious food - including lobster on the first night.  We were taught how to play King Cup which was a great way to get to know everyone.

Tiny island!

The rest of the trip was spent trying our best not to `throw up´ over-board! As soon as we started sailing in the open sea, the big waves started coming in - it was really scary at some points!  Thank god that we brought sea sickness tablets in Panama City - they worked a treat!