Back to San Jose

Sunday and Monday revolved primarily around getting from Bocas back to San Jose but before describing those days in detail, I am compelled to detail one of the worst meals Alex and I have ever had. On Saturday evening, after a perfect day of sailing, we cleaned up and got ready to head out to dinner. It was so nice outside we figured we would just walk for a bit and find a cute spot for grabbing a bite, deciding for the first time to “live on the edge” and not consult Tripadvisor beforehand. All I can say is, what a mistake! (Link to my own Tripadvisor review). Each dish was a letdown – limp, tough ceviche that appeared to be from a can and fish that was described as salmon but certainly was not. I couldn’t bring myself to photograph this “meal” but If you find yourself in Bocas Del Toro, do NOT eat at El Limbo on the Sea. I am certain we won’t be checking reviews before every single meal but it’s going to be hard to do after this one.

Now that I have that out of my system…Sunday was a pretty gloomy day, almost like penance for the gorgeous weather we had on Saturday. Alex wasn’t feeling well (probably from our horrible meal the previous night) so we mostly spent the day reading and ran some errands before packing for the trip back to San Jose on Monday.

Scarred from our previous dinner, we went back to Fat Boy Treats for a reliably delicious meal of cheesesteaks. 

Delicious cheesesteaks in Panama - one chicken, one steak.

Not pictured is the $0.75 cherry cupcake I scarfed down immediately afterward. So delicious I almost forgot about Saturday’s dinner. After a late lunch, we headed back to our hotel to relax and get organized. Later on, we decided to take a walk and grab a drink to watch the sunset. We perched at La Buga and had a really nice time enjoying the scenery.

Last sunset in Bocas.

Street view from La Buga.

Afterward, we finally checked out the falafel stand run by the Jewish Chabad next door, which was cheap, tasty and satisfying. We’ve been really impressed by the different types of cuisine we’ve found throughout Costa Rica and Panama so far.

We woke up on Monday at 6am to get ready for our 13 hour day of travel back to San Jose. Having already done the Panama / Costa Rica border crossing, we felt much more prepared for what was to come. Unfortunately, I felt pretty sick the entire day and my stomach was really tested when we drove past a putrid garbage dump covered with vultures and pouring onto the main road out of Almirante. Having powered through that odor, I was tested once again when we had to walk the last half mile to the border - a protest had shut down the road! Once we finally reached Puerto Viejo and had lunch (plain cheese quesadilla for me please), I started to feel better so the journey back was a lot more pleasant.

Tired and hungry we arrived in San Jose just as the sun was setting. We checked back into the Costa Rica Guesthouse and shared a burger at our dependable local spot, Craic (funny enough, we found this place randomly without Tripadvisor and it has become a staple while in San Jose!) Tomorrow is our last day in Costa Rica but we are excited to be heading to Colombia after that.

Sailing Around Bocas

We woke up this morning to the sound of something we hadn’t heard in the past few days: silence. All our other mornings in Panama have begun with the steady drumbeat of rain falling on the roof, but not today - the weather was gorgeous. We packed our bags, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed to try and secure one of the remaining spots available on the Bocas Sailing catamaran. This turned out to be the first day they sailed in the last two weeks because the weather has been so rainy! Our sailing mates today included six interns from the US Consulate in Panama City, another couple that recently embarked on a six-month travel journey and an Italian woman traveling alone. The boat holds up to 21, but at only 11 it gave us plenty of room to spread out.

Our first stop was the Dolphin Cove, which, as the name would suggest, is where a bunch of dolphins hang out for tourists like us to look at. It took about two hours to slowly sail there, but we certainly weren’t complaining about the pace.

Taking in some sun and the beautiful views.

My very nautical bathing suit fit right in.

The entrance to The Cove.

We were fortunate to see a bunch of dolphins after only a few minutes. Sarah was very excited.

Only photo we got before the camera battery died - at least it's a pretty good one! (and good thing we also brought the GoPro!)

From here, we sailed for about an hour until we arrived at our first snorkel site - a coral reef. Our captain handed out the masks (who really needs safety instructions, anyway?) and we dove in to check it out. I wasn’t really sure what to expect - Panama isn’t exactly world-renowned for its reefs - but the sea life was pretty cool.

One of the many Starfish we saw.

Purple coral (or at least something that is purple).

While we were snorkeling, our captain prepared a “super sandwich” for everyone. Basically it was turkey, cheese, lettuce and tomato, but we’d all worked up quite an appetite in the water so anything would’ve qualified as “super.” While we ate, we cruised across Bocas to our second snorkeling site. The wind was strong, but not blowing in the direction we needed so it took a little longer to get there than our captain expected. Not to worry though, the views were great and a little siesta was just what everyone needed.

Not a bad place for a quick nap - looking up at the sails from my spot on deck.

Our second snorkeling site was really the highlight of the day. There wasn’t a nice reef to look at, but there were a ton of fish! Once I jumped in, our captain threw bread in the water right beside me to attract the fish…the video turned out pretty well but the in-person experience was amazing!

They knew it was feeding time - think the whole school came out.

Once we got tired of swimming around with the fish, we got back on board the boat and returned to Bocas Town. It was such a great day and we were so thankful that we got such nice weather for it!

Sailing home.

Isla Bastimentos

Friday morning began as a cloudy, wet day but later cleared up during the afternoon. Apparently the typical weather patterns for the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Panama and Costa Rica during rainy season are opposites: On the Pacific side, we had sunshine until around 4pm when the rain clouds rolled in whereas on the Caribbean side the day starts with rain and (usually) clears up later on.

We started with coffee and toast at our hotel and tried to map out the rest of the day as well as our remaining time in Bocas. We’d heard on good authority from our friends Blythe and Cody that we should check out Isla Bastimentos while in town (Bocas Del Toro actually comprises a number of different islands, with Bocas Town located on Isla Colon) so we packed our backpacks and set off for the afternoon.

Before leaving Bocas Town we grabbed a quick lunch of cheesesteaks at Fat Boy Treats. They serve breakfast all day and have a limited but great menu of affordable options, in addition to some local specialties and delicious baked goods. Feeling full and content, we made our way to the “taxi stand.”

Water taxis are the primary method for getting around in Bocas so we hailed a guy with a boat to take us across to Isla Bastimentos for the day. After reading about a great restaurant on the island, I thought it would be nice to stay for dinner and catch a ride back after sunset. Given that the boats have few, if any, lights and the ride between Isla Colon and Isla Bastimentos takes about 20 minutes, this is not a “standard fare” so I was quickly forced to abandon that idea.

View of nearby Isla Carenero from the water taxi.

Approaching Isla Bastimentos.

We arrived at Isla Bastimentos and arranged a 6pm return trip with Juan, our water taxi driver. He wanted payment upfront, which we were suspicious of but agreed to because: a) it was only $10, b) we weren’t sure how easy it would be to get a taxi coming back and c) Bocas town is small so we were pretty sure we could find him if he stiffed us. Once you get off the boat, you pay a $3 per person charge to access the island since it is a National Park and then cross through the jungle to the other side of the island to reach the beach.

Pathway across the island to the beach.

The path was pretty muddy from the rain but the small, secluded beach made up for the trek to get there. We spent a few hours relaxing, reading and hanging out in the shallow water before deciding to explore a bit more. As if on command, the sun started to come out around 4pm and really highlighted how beautiful the island is.

Red Frog Beach on Isla Bastimentos.

During our walk along the water we came across a restaurant called Punta Lava and stopped to grab a drink and take in the view.

I had a "coco loco" and they even chopped up for coconut for me to eat afterward!

Coco loco "after."

Right before sunset.

We started to head back to meet our taxi driver for our agreed upon pick up time, all the while wondering if he would actually show. When we got to the dock, there were two other guys who tried to shuffle us into a boat for the ride back. After some language barrier back and forth we were maybe 25% confident they were working with Juan and understood we had a ride arranged, but we were also unwilling to be left stranded without a way back in case Juan never showed. 5 minutes later during our ride back to Bocas Town, we saw Juan heading our way! It was immediately clear Juan and our new driver were not in fact working together and after a conversation we didn’t understand, we traded boats (in the middle of the Sea!) and headed back with Juan.  We felt silly for doubting him but were relieved that everything worked out.

Once we got back to town we got cleaned up and headed to a sushi restaurant we heard good things about. Raw Fusion was a great chance to try something new – we haven’t had sushi since we left NYC – and the food did not disappoint. We still have two more full days in Bocas and are hoping to do a sailing tour if the weather cooperates.

Escape from the Jungle

Sarah and I did not sleep well last night. At all. Though our cabin overlooking the ocean has a great view, it is not fully enclosed - which means that the very loud ocean waves don’t really lull you to sleep but keep you awake when they crash on the rocks by the shore. Also, because it isn’t closed off from the elements, the humidity in the cabin is unbearable. Sleeping with the sheet over my body felt like laying under a large Wet-Nap. The dampness (and more importantly, the accompanying mold that grows in structures that are continuously damp) really agitated my often mild asthma too.

Anyway, when we “woke up” in the morning (really it was just when we stopped trying to sleep), we both decided that we couldn’t stay here another night. We told our host at breakfast and she was very understanding - she didn’t even make us pay for the nights we cancelled at the last minute.

Before taking off, we explored the grounds a little more. There are spiders all over the place so you have to watch where you’re walking to make sure you don’t run right into one of their webs!

Apparently these are Banana Spiders? Either way, they are a little freaky.

Yep, we're in the jungle - this huge grasshopper gave Sarah quite a surprise when she was putting on her sandals.

Despite our residual anger from it's decibel level last night, the beach still looked pretty nice!

Ready to get to slightly dryer air, we didn’t wait too long to take a taxi into town. Because of all the rain over night, the “road” to town was pretty muddy and we were a little unnerved to see a van helping to pull another taxi out of the mud. Keep in mind that all the taxis here are pick-up trucks…so if one of them gets stuck you know it’s pretty bad.

Rainy ride into town. This also helps give some perspective on the "road" quality - we were essentially driving on the beach.

Fortunately, we did not get stuck too.

We were able to get a room at the Gran Hotel Bahia which is right in the middle of town and has a more typical hotel set-up. Certainly it’s less charming than a cabin overlooking the Caribbean, but it is much more functional (and luckily the AC has already helped my breathing).

After we got settled into the room, we set out to explore Bocas Town a bit. It’s not very big so we were able to see it all in only a few hours, but given the heat and humidity, that was enough to require us to head home for a shower before doing anything else. Once we were cleaned up we went to grab a Balboa, one of the three main Panamanian beers, at a bar across from our hotel. Then it was off to dinner at Taco Surf, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a surf shop and taco restaurant in one. It was good, but not compared to some of the great Mexican food we’re used to back home.

Great sunset on our walk home.

Hopefully the weather cooperates with us over the next few days so we can do the tours we’ve been planning: a snorkeling trip, an ATV exploration of Isla Colon and a boat trip to the beach on Isla Bastimentos.

Getting to Panama

Having made it safely to our destination in Bocas Del Toro, Panama after nearly 12 hours of (sometimes sketchy) travel we are ready to relax! Thankfully our host at Tesoro Escondido immediately made us feel at home and offered a 7pm dinner of homemade plantain lasagna – completely unlike anything I've ever had; Alex and I agreed the sweetness of the plantains almost gave it a similar taste to french onion soup. The “Dolphin Cabina” we are staying in overlooks the ocean so I am looking forward to being put to sleep by sounds of waves crashing on the beach.

View from the Dolphin Cabina.

Caribbean Sea.

We woke up at 5:30am in order to catch our first shuttle bus of the day to travel from San Jose to Puerto Viejo. Around 11am we arrived at a nice local hotel to eat lunch and wait for the next shuttle transfer. While the food was pretty mediocre, we had time to check out the beach and local wildlife. 

View of the hotel grounds during our lunch stop.

Beach in Puerto Viejo.

Turtles just hanging out.

It’s sea turtle season in both Costa Rica and Panama on the Caribbean coast so we are hopeful we will get a chance to see them heading out to the ocean during our stay.

Around 12:30pm our next shuttle bus arrived and we headed to Sixaola on the Costa Rican / Panamanian border. We had been warned that we needed all kinds of travel documents to prove we would be leaving Panama eventually (bus tickets insufficient) plus USD$500 to prove “financial solvency” so we were a little nervous about the border crossing. Our shuttle bus driver was extremely helpful in getting us through the various border stations and made a potentially uncomfortable situation go very smoothly.

Having said that, walking across the footbridge from Costa Rica into Panama was definitely an experience. Looking down I was worried I’d make one wrong step and fall through the many gaps and broken wood or lose my balance due to all of the weight in my backpack. During this journey, we actually passed a mother breastfeeding as she walked from Panama to Costa Rica; I was instantly inspired that if she could multitask across the bridge, I could at least walk without falling over.

Me and the other backpackers ready to cross into Panama.

Don't look down.

Once we made it into Panama, sweaty and exhausted from the high-noon trek, we boarded the next shuttle to Almirante. The drive was scenic but we were losing energy pretty fast as we headed down the mountains. Immediately upon arriving in Almirante we were shuttled into a “ferry boat” which looked more like a dinghy that could sink at basically any moment. Hearing “put on those lifejackets!” en Espanol before starting the engine did not really allay our concerns but it was definitely too late for second guessing.

The boat ride into Bocas Town was about 20 minutes and actually the most enjoyable leg of our trip today. We were able to see some of the other islands near Bocas get some much needed fresh air.

View from the ferry boat.

Bocas Town is a small beachy town with colorful shacks and restaurants all lined up along the docks on the water. Since we are staying about 20 minutes outside of town, we got a cab for the final journey of the day. The two cab drivers were very friendly but after listening to them blast island music, yell obscenities to random friends on the street and offer us “the ganja and the cocaine” we were ready to arrive at our destination.  In addition to a very lively cab ride, the road that connects Bocas Town to Bocas Bluffs (where we are staying) literally hugs the ocean and is often washed out during high swells - I am very glad we didn’t have to “ford the water” on our own! Tesoro Escondito already seems like the perfect place to unwind and we are really looking forward to exploring more of Bocas Del Toro over the next few days.