Next Country --> 4. Bolivia
Bocas del Tora
See all photos of Panama --> Panama Photos
I had heard that it could take some time to get across the border due to the large buses full of tourists occasionally passing through. Border crossings in Latin America aren’t always a model of efficiency. I must have gotten there before the big tour bus since it was just me and a couple other people crossing into Panama. I began to wonder if that was even Panama on the other side. The sign reassured me that it was in fact Panama. I continued on, got a stamp, and walked onto the bridge.
Let’s talk about this bridge for a second. The bridge seemed fairly normal on the approach. Ok…a bit old and maybe a tad narrow but nothing too out of the ordinary. As I got closer, my perspective on this changed. I realized that simply walking across and mindlessly watching the scenery would be a pretty bad idea. Perhaps a fatal mistake if I weren’t careful. There were actually holes in the walkway with a very large drop down to the river. And interestingly enough massive buses and trucks would pass through here constantly. I forced any bad thoughts ou
t of my head and thought of mainly nice things as I crossed. Concentrating on my every step, of course, so I wouldn’t fall through the bridge.
Once across the border (which was essentially the bridge), I caught an hour taxi to the coast of Panama. Well, almost to the coast. The taxi driver dropped me off a bit inland, first at a swampy area that served as a gateway to the ocean. I got their just in time to fill up the last seat on a speed boat and took a two hour boat ride to an island off of the coast of Panama called Bocas del Tora. I had heard that if there was one place to go in Panama, to go there.
We eventually arrived, and I was immediately swamped by the local island “guides” trying to get me to stay at their hostels or hotels. Not knowing a whole lot about this town, I followed a huge group of tourists who had also just arrived as well, and we walked about a mile down the road to check out a few hostels. This was the part of the trip where I really needed to follow my instincts since I had no travel books, recommendations on where to stay, or knew which island to go to.
We entered our first hostel. It was dirty, overcrowded, and everyone was about eighteen years old and right out of high school. Next! I checked out a few more places which were pretty much the same, and finally decided to head to one of the smaller islands. At this point it was getting late in the day, so it was either stay at the next stop or sleep on a fishing boat somewhere.
When I got off the boat again, I immediately felt at ease. Something about this island felt much better. After checking out three or four places, I settled on a big yellow hostel that looked like something out of Pippy Long stocking. It was clean and had an incredible view of the ocean. This was it. I wasn't sure why but it felt right. I ended up staying at this place the entire week.
I immediately met loads of people there from multiple countries. The usual suspects, of course, with the majority being from Europe (Germany, France and Holland), and others from Israel, Australia, Canada, the U.S. I always have so much respect for Europeans. They really know how to take it easy and find cool spots all over the world.
I learned later that I was on the island that most people come to in order to relax. Perfect. I was going to lay on the beach for the week. The rain gods didn't quite see it that way, though. It was the most rain the locals had ever seen in that area for quite some time. "Strange weather we’re having, eh?" That’s a phrase I’d keep hearing throughout the trip. On the positive side, all the people at the hostel got to know each other really well since we really couldn’t leave the hostel. Food, card games, darts, food. It’s amazing how quickly the day can go.
After the third day, the weather gods looked upon us favorably, and we finally started exploring the beaches around the island. To get to the sandy part of the beach, we'd have to walk up a few hills, into the forest, through to grandmother's house, and then eventually to the other side of the island. It was a lot of work to get to a beach but worth it in the end. I wish there was more to talk about at this point, but literally laying out on t
he beach all day for a few days doesn't lend itself to many interesting stories. It was very relaxing, though. And so it went for the next three days. Get up, walk through the forest, lie on beach. Not the best physical preparation for my upcoming trip to Bolivia and the mountains of Peru but...eh! Waddaya gonna do?
After Panama I took a bus back to Puerto Viejo and then another one back to San Jose. I stayed in San Jose, Costa Rica for about two to three more days to visit a friend of mine, Adriana, who was a fellow volunteer with Tropical Adventures. She graciously invited me to stay with her and her mother while I was in San Jose. It was a beautiful place and nice to spend some time with the locals of a big city. It was also nice to have hot water for a few days.
See next country --> 4. Bolivia
or
See all photos of Panama first --> Panama Photos
----------------------------------------------------------
I had heard that it could take some time to get across the border due to the large buses full of tourists occasionally passing through. Border crossings in Latin America aren’t always a model of efficiency. I must have gotten there before the big tour bus since it was just me and a couple other people crossing into Panama. I began to wonder if that was even Panama on the other side. The sign reassured me that it was in fact Panama. I continued on, got a stamp, and walked onto the bridge. Let’s talk about this bridge for a second. The bridge seemed fairly normal on the approach. Ok…a bit old and maybe a tad narrow but nothing too out of the ordinary. As I got closer, my perspective on this changed. I realized that simply walking across and mindlessly watching the scenery would be a pretty bad idea. Perhaps a fatal mistake if I weren’t careful. There were actually holes in the walkway with a very large drop down to the river. And interestingly enough massive buses and trucks would pass through here constantly. I forced any bad thoughts out of my head and thought of mainly nice things as I crossed. Concentrating on my every step, of course, so I wouldn’t fall through the bridge.Once across the border (which was essentially the bridge), I caught an hour taxi to the coast of Panama. Well, almost to the coast. The taxi driver dropped me off a bit inland, first at a swampy area that served as a gateway to the ocean. I got their just in time to fill up the last seat on a speed boat and took a two hour boat ride to an island off of the coast of Panama called Bocas del Tora. I had heard that if there was one place to go in Panama, to go there.
We eventually arrived, and I was immediately swamped by the local island “guides” trying to get me to stay at their hostels or hotels. Not knowing a whole lot about this town, I followed a huge group of tourists who had also just arrived as well, and we walked about a mile down the road to check out a few hostels. This was the part of the trip where I really needed to follow my instincts since I had no travel books, recommendations on where to stay, or knew which island to go to.
We entered our first hostel. It was dirty, overcrowded, and everyone was about eighteen years old and right out of high school. Next! I checked out a few more places which were pretty much the same, and finally decided to head to one of the smaller islands. At this point it was getting late in the day, so it was either stay at the next stop or sleep on a fishing boat somewhere.
When I got off the boat again, I immediately felt at ease. Something about this island felt much better. After checking out three or four places, I settled on a big yellow hostel that looked like something out of Pippy Long stocking. It was clean and had an incredible view of the ocean. This was it. I wasn't sure why but it felt right. I ended up staying at this place the entire week.I immediately met loads of people there from multiple countries. The usual suspects, of course, with the majority being from Europe (Germany, France and Holland), and others from Israel, Australia, Canada, the U.S. I always have so much respect for Europeans. They really know how to take it easy and find cool spots all over the world.
I learned later that I was on the island that most people come to in order to relax. Perfect. I was going to lay on the beach for the week. The rain gods didn't quite see it that way, though. It was the most rain the locals had ever seen in that area for quite some time. "Strange weather we’re having, eh?" That’s a phrase I’d keep hearing throughout the trip. On the positive side, all the people at the hostel got to know each other really well since we really couldn’t leave the hostel. Food, card games, darts, food. It’s amazing how quickly the day can go.After the third day, the weather gods looked upon us favorably, and we finally started exploring the beaches around the island. To get to the sandy part of the beach, we'd have to walk up a few hills, into the forest, through to grandmother's house, and then eventually to the other side of the island. It was a lot of work to get to a beach but worth it in the end. I wish there was more to talk about at this point, but literally laying out on the beach all day for a few days doesn't lend itself to many interesting stories. It was very relaxing, though. And so it went for the next three days. Get up, walk through the forest, lie on beach. Not the best physical preparation for my upcoming trip to Bolivia and the mountains of Peru but...eh! Waddaya gonna do?After Panama I took a bus back to Puerto Viejo and then another one back to San Jose. I stayed in San Jose, Costa Rica for about two to three more days to visit a friend of mine, Adriana, who was a fellow volunteer with Tropical Adventures. She graciously invited me to stay with her and her mother while I was in San Jose. It was a beautiful place and nice to spend some time with the locals of a big city. It was also nice to have hot water for a few days.See next country --> 4. Bolivia
or
See all photos of Panama first --> Panama Photos
----------------------------------------------------------
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