So the last
trip update I made was Indonesia (Bali & Gili Islands) and our one day in
Toyko, it’s been so long since then that I can barely remember the order we did
things let alone anything that happened…it’s all just a big blur now. Luckily
Brit kept a daily journal of the trip so I can use that to jog my memory a bit.
After a
looooong journey we finally touched down in Panama. We were exhausted a
jetlagged so we crashed at our hostel and didn’t wake up till like 6pm the next
day…Well looks like the first day in Panama was a wash. On our first actual day
we got a driver and checked out the famous canal which actually wasn’t so
exciting. Our driver then took us up to the top of a mountain to take pictures
of the city. He took us all over the place including outlying little marina
islands and the old town. In the end he scammed us though and charged us way
more than we agreed. We spent a lot of time in Panama City trying to send
packages home full of souvenirs and gifts. The language barrier was very
difficult and getting things sent was exhausting. After a few days we’d had
enough of the big city and caught a bus out to Boquete which was a more laid
back mountain town known for its hikes, hot springs and coffee.
We had a
stopover in a city called David which was uneventful. In Boquete we met a
couple from the US (Amber & Johnny) who took us out to some natural hot
springs which we spent the day lounging in. The following day we went on a long
hike into the mountains to find a waterfall that you can apparently swim in. No
swimming when we found it but we had a shower under the falls. On the way back
we hitched a ride with a couple who was driving the mountains. The following
day we caught another bus which was going to take us to Bocas Del Toro.
Bocas is a
small archipelago with a few small towns spread out
across different islands. You need to take water-taxis to get from place to
place which was equally fun and annoying. Brit and I opted to stay on Red Frog
Beach which was much quieter and out of the way than some of the other
islands/beaches. Our hostel was super nice and we pretty much had the beach all
to ourselves but we were away from the party and restaurants of the other
islands. We spent most of the days lounging on the beach and met up again with
Amber & Johnny to hang out jumping in the waves, playing pool & games
at our resort/hostel place and finding crazy bugs (beetles the size of kittens).
Brit and I accidentally flooded our shower somehow and totally fucked the room
we were in. Hostel people weren’t too happy about that…We went to the main
island a couple nights to party with Amber & Johnny and met another couple
who were on our flight and were wondering why we were already so tanned before
we even landed in Panama.
That was it for Panama and we headed across
the border (literally walked across from Bocas) into Costa Rica. We caught a ride
into Puerto Viejo and went to a place called Rockin J’s that was a hammock
hotel a bit outside of town. It was a long walk with all the bags and some
local guy accosting us trying to get us to go to his hotel instead. Rockin J’s
was…weird. Just a large covered area with tons of hammocks hanging in it. You
didn’t get a room just a hammock and a locker. Brit wasn’t feeling that so we
opted for one of the few private rooms instead. Puerto Viejo was super nice and
we rented bikes to ride around to all the super nice beaches. We found some
sloths and went to a chocolate plantation where we sampled some brownies (not
that kind). Brit refused to go in the water and I was upset cause I was also
solo while she read on the beach. I told her we were on some of the nicest
beaches she’ll ever see and needed to at least come in so I dragged her in once
which was a bad idea as we got smashed by a huge wave that knocked Brits top
off and washed her up on shore, much to the enjoyment and laughter of an old US
couple nearby.
From Puerto we grabbed a bus into San Jose
for the night. San Jose was a pretty grubby place, we went out for the night
with a couple who was staying at our hostel but the girl pulled a Dan and
randomly got sick, puked all over. We had to get her back so that ended the
night pretty quick. Next day we headed out to Quepos so we could check out
Manuel Antonio National Park. Quepos was quiet with not much to do so we played
with the dogs at our hostel, went in the pool and enjoyed the theatre room they
had. In the morning we went to Manuel Antonio and realized we should have
stayed in that town as it was much cooler with nicer beaches and more to do. In
the park we saw tons of animals, sloths, raccoons, lizards, bugs, monkeys, etc.
The beaches were also super nice but we mostly hiked around looking for
wildlife. We spent another day in Quepos before heading out to Monteverde.
The bus ride up to Monteverde was quite
eventful as it started off with a local guy getting on the bus with us and then
threatening to shoot us in the face and kill everyone on the bus (including
babies) if we didn’t give him money. We said no and the whole bus turned on him
eventually kicking him off. The ride was a rough one up bumpy dirt roads but we
made it. We stayed just a few days in Monteverde and the main highlight was the
zip-lines. We went up on a cloudy day and it was only Brit and I on the tour.
The guides seemed bummed they had to go out in the rain to do it just for us.
Zip-lines were fun but not nearly as intense, high or long as the ones we did
in Laos. Plus, the guides rushed us through like crazy the whole thing only
took about an hour or maybe even less! At the end though there is a huge Tarzan
swing (like bungee jumping but with a swing), Brit and I both did it and the
guys said we could go again if we wanted for free since no one else was there.
I opted for it but Brit said once was enough.
We also went on a night walk through the
jungle to see some wildlife. It was pretty fun but more organized than I
expected (walking paths, lights, etc.) I thought it was going to be some real
bush-wacker shit. We saw lots of snakes, frogs, owls, and sloths so it was
worth it. Another day we went into the national park and hiked around all day.
Brit didn’t like that…but it was cool to see the forest on our own.
From Monteverde we made our way to Montezuma.
Another beach town but this time on the Pacific side of the country. The trip
involved a long bus ride, a ferry ride followed by another bus ride. Our hostel
had no kitchen and Brit freaked out so to calm her down we went to a restaurant
in town that plays movies and watched some chick-flick. Next day we headed to
the beach and some dog wouldn’t leave me alone all day. Followed me around
making me play fetch and even came in the water when I went swimming. We grabbed
lunch at a pizza place and I clogged their toilet…no plunger so I had to tell
them what I had done, very embarrassing. The following day we went to waterfall
with a swimming hole. A storm the night before had stirred up the water so it
was all murky when it is supposed to be crystal clear. Some local dude jumped
the waterfall from the top which was probably around 80-90 feet.
Our last stop in Costa Rica was Tamarindo (or
Tamagringo as the locals called it). It’s pretty much the resorty, tourtisty
town that the Americans come to Costa Rica for. Our hostel was cool, painted
like a cow and had a nice pool. We met a guy from South Carolina who lived here
and he showed us around. We spent pretty much all the days cruising the beaches
and going in the pool. We went out to watch the Stanley Cup at a big bar with
tons of other North Americans. After a few days of hanging here we were ready
to hit the road again and got a cab that would take us to the Costa
Rica/Nicaragua border!
This is getting way to long even for me haha
so I’ll end it there. Panama and Costa Rica were both really good but we had
been spoiled in Asia and Africa when it came to beaches and found ourselves
comparing too often “it’s nice but not as nice as…” For what it was though it
was really nice and fun. The most enjoyable part of being in those places were
the people we met who instantly invited us out to what they were doing for the
day or for drinks & dinner, without meeting all those people the trip
wouldn’t have been nearly as fun as it was.
