Yes yes I know it’s been over a month since I’ve posted! Sorry Mom, Dad and everyone else! It’s hard to get all the pix downloaded and then write captions on top of that…hell I live in a 3rd world country, give me a break…lol. So, beginning of April I decided to use my birthday and xmas money to spend my Semana Santa (aka Spring Break) in Costa Rica and Panama with my friends Michele and Kristin. Remember Kristin was nice enough to come visit me in Nicaragua and we succeeded in meeting up a month later for some more fun! Both Michele and Kristin studied with me in Chile from June 2006 til December 2006, to this day it still amazes me that I was able to meet up with them. Michele currently teaches English in Costa Rica and the last time I talked to her she really enjoyed her job because she only had to teach intermediate level and not beginning or advanced. In addition, the Costa Rican gov’t has invested a lot of money in English programs so their population can serve the needs and interests of tourists and foreign investors. Maybe one day Nicaragua will have a little extra money to start a program like that, however in the near future that probably won’t be possible.
I left Managua on TicaBus (a “luxury” bus…I put it in quotations because the air conditioner didn’t work and there was a hole for a toilet) around 12 noon and made it to San Jose, Costa Rica around 10pm. 10 hours seems really long, but it wasn’t that bad at all and went by quite fast. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m so used to 2-6 hour bus rides as it is, so another 4 hours didn’t seem like anything. The border crossing on the Nica side took forever (surprise surprise!), but it’s nice to take a company like TicaBus across the border because an immigration agent comes to the bus and does everyone’s at once instead of standing in a line. If you cross the border without a bus or vehicle, I think one might be in for a 30 min. dusty and janky walk. Suggestion, spend $24 bucks for the trip to San Jose (one way, so in actuality it was $48 round-trip), it’s worth it! Also on the border you’ll find a ton of people exchanging money, venders, beggars and thieves of course. I met a girl who was living in CR and working as a counselor at a retreat-type rehabilitation clinic for messed up youth. Also a Chechnyan family from Germany, and the daughter was doing her internship at the German embassy in San Jose, CR. We had some laughs at the border about Nica quirks and the differences in between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. I shared my chocolate chips cookies with all of them and they shared a ton of fruit and crackers with me. The best reason ever to make friends on the bus: food sharing!
I didn’t know how far away Michele’s house was from the bus station, so I got off early at the airport and got ripped off for a taxi ride…but I made it safe and sound. Note: take TicaBus all the way to terminal then ask taxi if they have a “maria” (or meter) on…if yes then take that one! Her apartment ended up being closer to the bus station than the airport, but I made it there ok and that was all that mattered. Michele and Kristin met me, we went to the apartment and Michele was so nice to make me some quesadillas. Then of course we decided we had to go enjoy our Saturday night! Disfrutéla yah! We went to a mall-style strip of bars and clubs called “El Pueblo” (The Town), did some tequila shots, went dancing…including playing the role of the “crazy gringas” and danced on the stage with the MC. It was good times to say the least and reminded us of our many nights of debauchery in Chile. Tear…
The next day we (included in the group was Michele’s awesome roomie Layne) took a bus at 10am (we kind of sprinted there), to get to Puerto Viejo, a 4 hour ride to the southeast coast of CR. Along the way with the Semana Santa traffic we were stopped by a mudslide for an hour or so. While waiting for them to clean it up, I explored the side of the road which presented the edge of the beautiful green and lush rainforest. Even in the “dry” season it is beautiful! Blue butterflies were all over the place, small streams flowed…and guess what…there was no trash on the side of the road to be seen! Unlike it’s neighbor to the north, Costa Rica does a great job of preserving the beauty of the country and educating its citizens. I hate scolding Nicas all the time for throwing trash on the ground, maybe they won’t do it again after I yell at them, but there still needs to be a national campaign. Even when I went to Corn Island there was so much trash lying around! And the sad thing is, it’s not the tourists that leave trash, it’s the locales! Drives me nuts…anyways, props to CR for stepping it up! The mudslide was cleaned up and off we went!
Puerto Viejo is one of the few spots on the east coast of Costa Rica that is developed for tourism. The Pacific side of CR is much more developed, aka more expensive too, but we wanted to do the east side for vacation. We stayed at this enormous hostel called Rocking J’s which is right on the beach and looks like a refugee camp. One can rent a hammock for $5 a night, a dorm for $8, pitch a tent for $4, or rent one of the suites. We had made a reservation for a suite, and we ended up getting “The PIMP Suite”…think we were excited, you betcha! I think the hostel can hold up to 250 people or something! We took it easy on the beach and had a simple dinner at a soda (equivalent to a diner)…I had amazing fish for less than $4. Also you will see pictures of the death of a crab we tried so desperately to save…I am an evil person and laughed when it was crushed by the car. If I can get the video on YouTube you will hear my evil witch cackle, sorry I couldn’t help it. The next morning we headed for Bocas del Toro, Panama.
The bus for the border left before 7am, which put us at the border around 8:30ish. Getting out of CR is easy, getting into Panama was a headache! I was told I had to have a return ticket from CR to Nicaragua, not a ticket showing I was leaving Panama! Basically at the border they can rip off backpackers because usually they can’t prove that they are “leaving” Panama…lame I tell you. So, if you go to Panama, print off a fake plane ticket showing you are flying out of Panama City within the 90 day limit you have in the country. If you don’t, then you buy their rip-off crappy bus ticket for $11 bucks, plus if you are a U.S. or Canadian Citizen you have to buy another lame “Tourist Card”…because “well, the U.S. charges $100 to Panameños”, oh good job, so you get $5 off us (way to stick it to us!). Yes I am still bitter about it, especially after explaining I technically have a Nica citizen card. Since I was traveling on a U.S. Passport, I was still subject to the Card fee…Peace Corps Panama does not have to pay that fee and they are on U.S. Passports, sadly I gave up arguing and just paid it. I did manage quite a few Spanish swear words in there though…my Spanish is awesome when I’m pissed!
Anyways, did I mention the eastern border is a creepy bridge and we all thought we would fall through the cracks of the boards!? We all made it in one piece though! On the other side are guys hustling tourists into mini-vans charging ridiculous gringo prices like $14 a person for a 40 min. ride to the port. The cheapest way to get to the port is to take a bus from the border, then another one to the port, which would equal about $2. We negotiated $6 per person to the port, and then it’s a set price of $4 for the boat one way. Bocas del Toro (Mouths of the Bull) is a clump of islands in Panama and is the first tourist destination one hits when crossing from the eastern side of CR. After waiting forever for the boat to fill up, we were finally on our way to Isla Colon, the main island of Bocas del Toro. We were lucky to get to the hostel Mondo Taitu and find that they had 4 beds available! No one was accepting reservations when we had tried the week before because it was a holiday week, and thank goodness we found spots so easily. It ended up being cheaper than we were anticipating, only $10 a night…not bad for Semana Santa. We dumped our packs in our room and headed out to Aqua Lounge, a bar/hostel right on the water. One takes a $1 water taxi ride to get out there and it is definitely well worth it! We sunned and had Cristal, one of Panama’s national beers, we jumped into the warm and very clear ocean. I picked up the spiky star fish, as you see here Layne had me pose with it on my face…hee hee.
The next couple days we caught up with Michele and Layne’s coworkers (Mark, Andrew and Casey) and went to various beaches, went dancing where there was Ladies’ Night (aka free liquid courage) and had ourselves a damn good time! Bocas del Toro is best known for its beautiful beaches and nightlife…warning to travelers who don’t like gringolandia (Foreigner Land), don’t come to Bocas if you don’t want to be surrounded by a ton of them. There are always a ton of Israelis and they always have hookah…hence I always bum some off them…good times and apple flavor is yum. The 2nd night at Bocas we had 80s Night Power Hour, so we put our side pony tails on and had our shot glasses in hand. For those of you who don’t know, Power Hour is when you take 1 shot of beer for every minute of one hour. Sorry Mom, I know I’m talking about partying, but that is what Spring Break is about and I never get to party in my site. If you haven’t experienced Power Hour or Century Club (100 shots in 100 minutes), make a fiesta out of it!
Driving through the parts of CR and Panama that I saw, one can definitely see the difference in the level of poverty that is present in these countries in comparison to Nicaragua. Granted, I work in Cusmapa the 2nd poorest part of Nica…so I really see the worse of the worse. But most houses appeared to be constructed of concrete and have tin roofs, even in the poorest parts, instead of adobe huts with thatched roofs.
I had a great time with the girls and I can’t wait to go visit Michele again! I have a feeling Kristin will be back down to visit me soon…maybe as soon as September!!! Eso espero! Thank you so much to Michele and Layne for hosting me, to the boys for the amazing despedida dinner, and to Kristin for helping organize another successful adventura (desde 2006).
Waiting for the rock slide to get cleaned up...
Buses are nicer in Costa Rica!
I told ya it was called the Pimp Suite!
I love swimming in the Atlantic!
Save the crab!
Still alive...
But not for long! Poor guy...oh well it's called natural selection...
Crossing the janky Costa Rican border into Panama
The boat ride was 40 min
Just a cool old ship I took a picture of
Bocas del Toro!
Aqua Lounge, the bar/hostel right on the water!
A starfish tried to digest my face!
You can have a beer and jump off the dock into the ocean...it was heaven.
Layne demonstrates the ridiculous size of the bugs
After trying to get a sandwich from the truck without chicken, Layne had to settle for chips the first night.
First full day we went to Isla Bastimento
Pose, pose pose!
Clear waters and the beaches didn't have a single piece of trash! Very different from Nica!
Harvesting coconuts...it never gets old
Kristin is a veteran coconut-opener
The feet come in handy when pulling the fibers off
Layne models how to drink coconut milk...
A turtle I made in the sand
That is as artistic as I get
Spring Break 2009!
The moon up high on Isla Colon
"Panama...ah ah ah": we all kept singing that Van Halen song!
Before Power Hour! The dude in the black shirt (Tanner) is from Truckee and went to H.S. with Dick Hess, small world!
Me, Michele, Katie, Alyssa
The beginning of Power Hour!
Some people got really into dressing up
Side ponies!
Kristin, did you drink all of that!?
These types of boats are the ones that take you to different islands
We saw dolphins!
A nurse shark that was enclosed in a cage at the restaurant we were at...poor guy!
A wrapper was blown into the water so Andrew was the epitome of socially responsible and got it out using a large piece of bamboo that was lying around
Mission accomplished! Good work Layne and Andrew!
Red Frog beach, sadly we didn't see any Poison Dart Frogs
Ladies Night at Aqua Lounge!
Some girl was doing sit-ups during the party, so some of us joined her by showing off our favorite exercises: Alyssa with jumping jacks, Layne with lunges, and Andrew with push-ups. The girl stopped after we sort of made fun of her...heehee
Blondes have more fun!
Playa Drago, very still water on the north shore of Isla Colon
Casey proves the fact that "Americans always carry small, obscure instruments with them when they travel"...the ukelali added to the beach mood
There is one spot on the beach that is covered with starfish
Great pic of the 4 of us
Last day in Panama!
Casey, Mark, Michele, Me
Good call on bringing the frisbee Layne! Cheap and free entertainment!
Even the dog from Rocking J's wanted to play
The night before Easter, we were waiting for the clubs to open up at midnight. On Good Friday and the Saturday before Easter Sunday, one cannot buy alcohol anywhere...it's against the law.
Like I said, it looks like a refugee camp
Punta de Uva (Grape Point) in Puerto Viejo
A homage to our Chile girls were weren't able to make it this time: Tracy, Nishma, Mack Dawg, and Arielle
Message to my family and friends!
Always have to have at least 1 jumping picture!
Casey showed us up!
We rode around on beach cruisers the last day, it was great exercise
The last night of our vacation in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica it rained...Casey and Mark pose with some crazy kid from Sac Town who went to Suck State
The Costa Rican national slogan: "Pura Vida" (Just Life! Like a reminder to just go with the flow)
On the bus ride back we entertained ourselves by doing the
Night at the Roxbury head bob to "What is Love"
Waiting for the rock slide to get cleaned up...
Buses are nicer in Costa Rica!
I told ya it was called the Pimp Suite!
I love swimming in the Atlantic!
Save the crab!
Still alive...
But not for long! Poor guy...oh well it's called natural selection...
Crossing the janky Costa Rican border into Panama
The boat ride was 40 min
Just a cool old ship I took a picture of
Bocas del Toro!
Aqua Lounge, the bar/hostel right on the water!
A starfish tried to digest my face!
You can have a beer and jump off the dock into the ocean...it was heaven.
Layne demonstrates the ridiculous size of the bugs
After trying to get a sandwich from the truck without chicken, Layne had to settle for chips the first night.
First full day we went to Isla Bastimento
Pose, pose pose!
Clear waters and the beaches didn't have a single piece of trash! Very different from Nica!
Harvesting coconuts...it never gets old
Kristin is a veteran coconut-opener
The feet come in handy when pulling the fibers off
Layne models how to drink coconut milk...
A turtle I made in the sand
That is as artistic as I get
Spring Break 2009!
The moon up high on Isla Colon
"Panama...ah ah ah": we all kept singing that Van Halen song!
Before Power Hour! The dude in the black shirt (Tanner) is from Truckee and went to H.S. with Dick Hess, small world!
Me, Michele, Katie, Alyssa
The beginning of Power Hour!
Some people got really into dressing up
Side ponies!
Kristin, did you drink all of that!?
These types of boats are the ones that take you to different islands
We saw dolphins!
A nurse shark that was enclosed in a cage at the restaurant we were at...poor guy!
A wrapper was blown into the water so Andrew was the epitome of socially responsible and got it out using a large piece of bamboo that was lying around
Mission accomplished! Good work Layne and Andrew!
Red Frog beach, sadly we didn't see any Poison Dart Frogs
Ladies Night at Aqua Lounge!
Some girl was doing sit-ups during the party, so some of us joined her by showing off our favorite exercises: Alyssa with jumping jacks, Layne with lunges, and Andrew with push-ups. The girl stopped after we sort of made fun of her...heehee
Blondes have more fun!
Playa Drago, very still water on the north shore of Isla Colon
Casey proves the fact that "Americans always carry small, obscure instruments with them when they travel"...the ukelali added to the beach mood
There is one spot on the beach that is covered with starfish
Great pic of the 4 of us
Last day in Panama!
Casey, Mark, Michele, Me
Good call on bringing the frisbee Layne! Cheap and free entertainment!
Even the dog from Rocking J's wanted to play
The night before Easter, we were waiting for the clubs to open up at midnight. On Good Friday and the Saturday before Easter Sunday, one cannot buy alcohol anywhere...it's against the law.
Like I said, it looks like a refugee camp
Punta de Uva (Grape Point) in Puerto Viejo
A homage to our Chile girls were weren't able to make it this time: Tracy, Nishma, Mack Dawg, and Arielle
Message to my family and friends!
Always have to have at least 1 jumping picture!
Casey showed us up!
We rode around on beach cruisers the last day, it was great exercise
The last night of our vacation in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica it rained...Casey and Mark pose with some crazy kid from Sac Town who went to Suck State
The Costa Rican national slogan: "Pura Vida" (Just Life! Like a reminder to just go with the flow)
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