Nov 27, 2007 - Bocas del Toro

After a short layover in Panama City (which we will return to next week for a flight out), we took a freezing cold, old, slow, nearly broken down bus on an overnight trip to Changuinola, then by boat through the old banana canals on to Bocas del Toro, islands off the northern coast of Panama, near the Costa Rican border. Bocas Town on Isla Colon where we are staying is a tiny little laid back place with not much going on but restaurants and bars as its actually very touristy. It feels almost like a Caribbean Island instead of Central...

Nov 18, 2007 - Panama - Bocas del Toro Islands

Just as we were giving up on Panama we found a very cool little island called Bocas del Toro on the northern Caribbean coast. Originally established as the administration centre for the United Fruit Company (a USA banana company) around 100 years ago, the small town has an interesting mix of local and American cultures. It was a very chilled place to base ourselves while exploring the many islands in the region and we ended up staying longer than planned because we enjoyed it so much. Although the weather was patchy we still got in plenty...

Nov 15, 2007 - The rest of Panama

oopsy daisy, Getting a bit lazy now, haven't added anything for a while. So, anywho rest of panama was as follows; a few days in some of the country towns in Panama then a few days in Bocas del torrro - another group of islands, really cool - esp the hostel which was over the water, through the floorboards you could see the green ocean, had a diving board on top of the bar, and an inflatible trampoline in the water.

Nov 4, 2007 - Puerto Limón

Ugh, another early morning departure - this time at 7:30 a.m. Several of us began morning with a good breakfast at the soda next door to the cabinas. Another morning meal of rice and beans with egg and toast, and yummy fruit smoothies which are very popular around here. They are served either in a base of water (con agua) or in milk (con leche). The con leche ones are very refreshing - sort of like a milkshake but not as heavy. I'll have to make them when I come home. My favorite so far is Mango, though I've also had to resort to Piña...

Nov 2, 2007 - Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

Hola mi amigas y amigos, Today Mark, Karen and I took the road less traveled and enjoyed a comfortable private van ride to the rafting center in Siquerres. After picking up several more passengers in San Jose, we headed out of town, passing through a national forest en route. The rain forest/jungle is green green green, it being rainy season. The area has volcanic mountains, both dormant and slightly active, and the slopes of the rounded mountain were seas of green tropical plants and trees. As we left San Jose, the roadsides began to...

Oct 28, 2007 - Planning the trip.

It's official. We are sailing off into the sunset. Only, it's going to take some time to actually get to the water, let alone, be on the boat and sailing! Here are some maps to show you where we plan to go. Bocas Del Toro, Panama is located on the eastern coast of Panama in the lower part of Central America. It is an island just below the southern border of Costa Rica. It lies in a niche of Central America that is out of the path of hurricanes. That is why we want to go there. Our boat is powered by the wind, but too much wind is...

Oct 5, 2007 - Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

Hallo allemaal, Heb niet veel tijd maar zil gezoon laten zeten dat alles goed gaat: Puerto Viejo was SUPER! Mijn groepje bestaat uit 7 amerikanen, 4 Canadezen, 2 nederlanders en een Australier. Heb na deze paar dagen al veel te vertellen maar samegevat: prachtige stranden, aapjes, heet weer, warme zee, goed eten, ...en leuke dieren in de tuin. (Zie foto = luiaard) Vandaag hebben we 4 uur op een bootje gezeten in het regenwout en het was onbeschrijflijk ... ik werd er zelfs helemaal rustig van :) Geen zorgen meer! Dadelijk gaan we naar...

Sep 18, 2007 - Bocas del Toro

When we got off the ferry in Boca, we walked down the main street, vaguely following a group of Germans, and a girl biked up to us to hand us a flyer for a bar. Her name was Melody, and the bar was also a hostel. She gave us some advice on where to stay, and we decided on the bar/hostel, Mondo Taitu. We stayed three nights. The first night we stayed in the "Pimp Suite", as it was labeled on the room diagram, which was upstairs in the back annex, overlooking a courtyard with trees and Adirondack chairs. It was pretty pimp, with a view of the...

Sep 17, 2007 - Panama

Saturday we got up early and caught the bus for Sixaola, the border town with Panama. I had to run to catch the bus - after we got tickets, I'd stepped around the corner to get some breakfast and barely made it back. The ride took us up into the lowlands, through more banana plantations, and thankfully out of the worst humidity. This is going to be a long trip for me - I sweat a lot. And this day was no different. The bus was a local, which meant they played loud pop ballads and stopped often. When they stopped, the breeze stopped, and I...

Sep 14, 2007 - On to Cahuita...

After a day of walking around San Jose, we decided we needed some beach time. Cities all over the world are similar in one way or another - crowded, noisy, full of people with their heads down on their way to work. Parts of downtown San Jose felt like the Mission District in San Francisco - kind of dingy, packed with people and stores jammed to the rafters with little knick knacks, doo dads, flip flops and rice cookers. So we set out to the bus station the morning of the 14th, which was about a mile walk. A dred-locked guy with juggling...

Aug 27, 2007 - CR: Cahuita, Cerro de la Muerte

Der am Meer liegende Nationalpark Cahuita gibt uns die Gelegenheit, einzigartige Pflanzen und unzählige Echsen, Spinnen, Krebse, Schlangen, Faultiere und Waschbären zu sehen. Nach einem Bananenplantagebesuch nimmt unser Bus den Pan American Highway bis zum Cerro de la Muerte auf 3820 m ü. M., und danach nächtigen wir in der Quetzalfarm. Der berühmte farbige Vogel Quetzal beobachten wir dann am nächsten Morgen.

Aug 25, 2007 - PAN: Bocas del Toro

Wir fahren für zwei Nächte per Bus über die Grenze (Panama) und von dort per Schiff auf die Isla Colón (Stadt Bocas del Toro). Die Delfinerkundung, das Schnorcheln in Korallenriffen, das Sonnenbaden beim roten Froschstrand und das tanzen über Meereswasser bei Abendstimmung lassen wir uns nicht entgehen.