Bocas del Toro & Puerto Viejo

From the islands we headed back to Panama City to catch an overnight bus to Bocas del Toro. Before leaving Panama City for the night we went and visited the canal. We arrived just in time to watch a massive freight ship go through the canal which was pretty cool to see.

 

Then came the ten hour overnight bus from hell….as we were standing in line to get onto the bus I started feeling super sick. Within 5 minutes of the bus departing I was in the tiny smelly bathroom on the bus puking my guts out….food poisoning. Not sure from what exactly but I knew it was going to be a long night. To make matters worse, the toilet wouldn’t flush. After asking a couple of Chilean girls on our bus to translate for us and notify the bus driver that the toilet wouldn’t flush, a lock was then put on the bathroom door and I was given a bunch of bags. I was getting sick every 20 minutes or so. It was horrible…thought I was going to die. Pretty sure everyone on the bus hated me for not only locking the one bathroom on the bus but for having to listen to me get sick in bags all night long!...i will be watching what I eat more closely from here on out….We did eventually make it to the beautiful beach town of Bocas del Toro. The streets were lined with colourful little cafes, bakeries and restaurants. Food carts in the streets sold grilled chicken and fresh fruit smoothies.  We took it easy our first day there as I was still super sick. I felt much better the second day there so we rented a couple of bikes and rode around the island to visit a few beaches. Surfing was pretty huge in this town so it was cool to sit on the beach and watch them. The waves are just massive! The next day we booked a day tour that took us to three places around the islands. We went to dolphin bay and got to see a few not far from the boat. We then went to a place called coral cay to do some snorkeling and then spent a couple of hours on Red frog beach. Although we were not lucky enough to see any of these red frogs (strawberrypoison-dart frogs), we were told they do still exist but will soon be extinct on the island. After the tour we enjoyed a delicious Thai dinner at this restaurant overlooking the ocean.

 

Sweet sweet paradise!

Dolphin Bay

Coolest little boat bar on the island!

 

We were lucky enough to find a couple of bars on the island that were playing superbowl which Ben was thrilled about… too bad the game was so brutal! The next morning we said farewell to Panama and crossed the border into Costa Rica. Because Ben had already been to Panama 5 years ago we didn’t want to spend a whole lot of time there. We both have also backpacked through Costa Rica 5 years ago so we only plan to spend about a week in Costa Rica.

Superbowl!!

 

Our journey through Panama was short but sweet. Only a week and a half through our journey it was very apparent that our Spanish sucks and we need to learn more. Note to self… don’t go to subway for lunch if you don’t speak the language (impossible)…If all else fails we rely on our charades to get us by.

First stop in Costa Rica was a small beach town called Puerto Viejo. A place where shoes are optional and dreadlocks are common. Street vendors line the streets selling bracelets, rings and other trinkets. The town was filled with red, green and yellow bars playing reggae music.  In this hippy town the smell of marijuana fills the air and you are commonly offered drugs as you walk up and down the streets. We stayed at a hostel called Rocking J’s also known as the “Hammock hotel"...also known for being a party hostel. Accommodations are very basic with tight rows of tents and hammocks you can sleep in for $6.00 a night. We stayed in a double room however it looked more like a jail cell with a steal door and a small bared window...but the hostel itself was fun! The bar had beer pong, pool tables and $1.00 vodka drinks they referred to as “Jungle Juice.”

Rocking J's Hostel

Yesterday morning we caught a bus from Puerto Viejo to San Jose where we caught another bus to Tamarindo. It ended up being about 9 or 10 hours of bus rides which made for another long day of travel. Tamarindo is where we started our journey through Costa Rica 5 years ago. This was one of my favorite little beach towns and I am looking forward to seeing how it has developed over the last 5 years.