Day 10 - Getting to know the way to San Jose

We were up at around 6 a.m., had breakfast, a final gathering of our things and out the door to meet our arranged taxi ride. We waited in the street for a good while and finally decided to fetch another ride for the water taxi instead. We were at the dock at 7:30 a.m. and the boat was supposed to leave at 8 a.m. as scheduled and we would be able to meet our 9 a.m. bus to Changuinola. We were still sitting on the dock waiting for the boat to begin boarding at 8:25 a.m.

I was getting anxious and finally we started boarding and quickly on our way. Once in Almirante we were again quickly into a taxi for a ride to the bus station. Good news, we made it as the bus hadn't left, but as soon as we boarded the packed bus we were off for the 30 minute ride.

In Changuinola, we only had to walk around the corner and the bus to San Jose was waiting. The bus was an older styled bus and we were asked to board the bus even though it wasn't running and the air conditioning not on. Didn't matter anyway as when the engine was running there still wasn't any air conditioning. The bus had to be near 40C inside and the windows I wasn't sure opened at first but shear persistence or life endangered panic I managed to dislodge the windows for some much needed moving air.

The boarding crossing in Sixaola was something else. First we had to get our exit stamps from Panama and then pay the exit fee before walking across a foot/rail bridge to reach Costa Rica. The day before I produced a fake itinerary and used it as proof of departure from Costa Rica at the customs office. A quick glance at the iPad and the customs officer stamped our passports for entry into Costa Rica. After another 30 minutes we were again boarding the bus.

The bus only started moving when the driver in his Spanish accent warned us to close the windows. I quickly jumped to my feet and closed mine, Correen's and the kid's windows along with one behind Correen just as the bus was sprayed with some kind of insecticide or herbicide. A few people on the bus didn't react like I did and ended up get sprayed through their open window. Glad I moved quickly.

The bus was hot and sticky with its vinyl seats. We drove down the highway passing by many banana tree farms and processing plants from the common producers Dole, Del Monte and Chiquita. Reaching Limon, the bus stopped and allowed us off for 15 minutes to grab some food and a drink before taking off again. I bought a bag of sliced mangos before we boarded the bus. The bag of greenish looking mangoes came with what looked like a slice of lime and what looked like a small plastic fold of sugar. We the sugar was salt and the lime, likely it was a lime and the mango was hard and now lime tasting and salty. I managed to eat 5-6 slices before calling it quits. The kids didn't like it at all. Felt really gringo with that purchase.

As the bus climbed the mountains the temperature dipped. At the highest elevations it was even too cool to have the windows open. We saw some pretty impressive waterfalls in the mountains and the terrain was stunning. Compared to Panama, Costa Rica had far more rivers, more mountainous terrain and it was superior in cleanliness. The environment is clearly more valued in Costa Rica. Loved Panama, but feel they should get their act together.

When the bus stopped in San Jose, we were asked no less than 5 times if we needed a taxi. We already had a driver picked or he picked us. We got our bags loaded and were off to our hotel. The ride through the city was interesting and the driver shared some knowledge of the city as well as warning us of the dangers as well. It sounds more like a sales pitch than a legitimate warning; alternative to the danger is to take the taxi.

There was nothing of interest around the hotel, it was just a gated hotel complex in some neighbourhood. Everyone seemed to like the hotel though. There was a restaurant, swimming pool, jacuzzi and our room had 2 rooms with beds.

We first went for some food in the restaurant. On the TV in the next room was a Red Bull street futball competition that looked quite interesting and I told the kids they should watch the cool tricks these guys were doing with a soccer ball. The waitress also gave us a remote to turn on the TV that was above us. We were hooked on the TV and when that program ended we switched the channels and stopped on Mexican wrestling, Nacho Libre style. I don't think Correen liked it, but the kids and I enjoyed watching the drama in the square ring.

After dinner we went and got changed into swimsuits for the jacuzzi. The kids loved swimming around in the jacuzzi. It was very nice with a small waterfall that flowed into the jacuzzi and it so much warmer than the outdoor pool beside the restaurant. After our family soak in the jacuzzi we went up to our room and the kids watched some TV before bed. I instead went to get some rest as I had to wake up early to pick up our car from the rental place.

Day 9 - Tour of Bocastown

We considered heading to the beach but with that state of the sandflies on the beaches we opted to head into Bocastown. Bocastown was about a 2 km walk down a road with rough patches of sidewalk. We passed by many houses of varying degree of repair and disrepair. We stopped into a restaurant once we made the turn onto the main street and Tegan and Elliot had an ice cream. I had a pepsi, that I shared with Tegan and poured some into her cup of ice cream to make a float. She really enjoyed that. Elliot didn't like the raisins in his ice cream; rum & raisin is what he ordered and he thought the raisins were chocolate chips initially.

We made are way through the many shops that lined the main street in search for a couple of t-shirts for the kids and a flag of Panama. Most of the shirts we saw had either Bocas del Toro or Cerveza Panama on them. We only found a Panama shirt for Tegan. Some of the handmade jewelry and crafts were quite nice and well crafted. There was a cute little woven sea turtle necklace that I was sure Tegan would love, but she passed it by. Picky kids.

On the way back we hopped into a place for some Pizza and fries for Elliot. The pizza was hand-tossed and looked promising, but it was somewhat of a let down in flavour. Instead of going to the beach I suggested to the kids that I could take across the street to Jenny's pool. The thought it a good compromise. Tegan and Elliot ended up playing with Kayla for a spell and then they reminded me of the pool and we invited Kayla to go as well. But in they end Kayla didn't come along with us. Tegan and Elliot did play with another girl in the pool and the had a great time. It also rained the whole time they were in the pool and I just stood under a palm tree watching over them while they played.

Tonight we made sandwiches in our cabana for dinner and watched some TV while we packing up for tomorrow's departure from Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro.

 

Day 8 - Sitting on the dock of the bay

Last night there was a crazy thunderstorm and it shook the cabana with every thunderous clap. I grabbed Tegan and moved her into the bed I was sleeping in. I thought she would wake from all the commotion. The rain was incredibly loud as it pelted the roof of the cabana for a good 2-3 hours. However, Tegan had no recollection of the storm when we woke up in the morning.

I spent a good portion of the day sitting out of the sun and in close proximity to the wifi router so I could update the blog. Correen sat in the hammock enjoying the shade while the kids played on the dock in front of the Cabana. Tegan was under the assumption that there were fishing rods included with the house, but checking with Jenny (the person we rented from), there were none. Jenny suggested to her to try a string and bottle as it is what the local kids use. Eventually I set up Tegan with some heavy thread and she found a stick to attach it to. When her friend Kayla returned from school at noon, she produced a rusty hook that excited Tegan to no end. She was sure to land many fish now; an opinion shared only by her.

She did manage to catch one little fish with a dough ball made from flour and water. She then used the little fish she caught as bait. She told me later that the bait had fallen off and that she also managed to snare her hook onto something and the whole fishing exhibition came to a halt.

There were now a half dozen or more local kids running around our dock fishing, playing tag and Elliot was introduced to the Panamanian version of Monopoly. Elliot played well with the 3-4 boys, however he chose a couple of Spanish words as his favorites and used these as a response to anything he was asked.

We used some of the groceries we picked up the day before for our dinner. We had pork chops, mashed potatoes with carrots and creamed corn. Elliot is all carnivore these days and is eating nothing but meat... and cereal.

The kids watched a little TV before bed; the typical kids shows found in Canada are all dubbed in Spanish here. I started popping some popcorn for Tegan and Elliot. We had no microwave so I had to pop it the old fashioned way with a medium sized aluminum pot and using a glass lid with a hole in the top where a handle was once fixed. This was creative popcorn popping. I even had to empty the cooking pot twice as the pot was of inadequate size for the amount of popcorn I was popping. In the end there were two full bowls of popcorn with melted butter and a sprinkle of salt to enjoy before bed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 7 - Bocas del Toro / Jon's Place

I woke up early this morning to find a troop of capuchin monkeys climbing in the trees outside of our room and the sunniest day in the rain forest. I had to grab my camera and quickly snapped off a pile of photos. With knowledge that there were some baby monkeys as well, I continued to photograph when they circled around. I found it really interesting how the monkeys would bend the canopy plants over, dumping the water that had been collected with the previous rains, searching for insects to eat. They picked oranges from the trees and then dropped them to the ground as well as breaking off many branches that fell with a large crash.

When Tegan and Elliot finally woke, they too got a taste of the wild monkeys as they jumped from tree to tree to tree. I left to go pack up our bags so we could get on our way, packing them took about an hour. We paid for our stay and were off to the bottom of the hill. Correen was ahead with Gabriel the caretaker of the hostel and I was with both kids urging them to careful as they and I navigated the decent with our bags. Tegan gave me her bag (now with 2 small bags and 1 x-large bag), Elliot ended up scraping his knee when he slipped on some concrete and I still was suggesting we hurry as the bus could arrive at anytime. And it did. I heard something gearing down on the road below and I said that could be the bus. It was just another 200m to the bottom and we just made it.

The bus was packed. We were in 3 different rows and separated for the trip. We saw waterfalls, crossed a large hydro dam, bought some sliced pineapple from one of the vendors that jump on the bus when it stops; until we finally stopped for 15 minutes at a comida for some Chinese food, which we only had enough time to eat half of. We continued our journey and arrived in Almirante, a dirty seaside town and our ferry to Bocas.

The taxi driver was suppose to charge us $2 but insisted on $3 and some boys jumped on our bags in the taxi to unload them and demand payment for a 10m walk. We waited a good 40 mins before the water taxi left the dock. The boat ride took about 20 minutes to reach Isla Colon and it wasn't too rough, Elliot even fell asleep in the boat.

We boarded a taxi for our hotel and we were shown to our cabana. Beautiful in contrast to streets of town we just drove through. The cabana was 2 rooms, 3 beds and the front-yard a large dock with which to string a hammock or two and watch the sunset. Stunning.

Tegan and I took two trips to the grocery store stocking up for our 3 day stay. We stopped in at a comida where there was an Afro-Carribean grandmother selling banana empanadas and coconut balls that were made with cane sugar. We tried the empanadas and loved them.

Tegan and Elliot introduced themselves and played with Kayla, the 8 year old girl from next door. They played exceptionally well together and we learned some new Spanish words from her, including; caracol for snail and maní for peanuts.

We walked down a side street on a hunt for some dinner. The place we settled on, only from default of no others being open, was Bocas del Dragon. The tacos were massive and delicious, Tegan had the fish and I had the chicken. Correen and Elliot had the lobster dinner and I think they were satisfied by the feed as well.

When we got back to the cabana we stayed up for a little bit longer, enjoying our hammocks and the dock.

Day 6 - Granja y Caldera autentico

Not raining anymore.

A quick breakfast and we are ready for the hot springs. We hiked down the hill to where our driver would meet us and take us to the hot springs. We drove for nearly 40 minutes just to reach our destination. As we drove the temperature continued to rise until we were above 30C instead of the 20C in the mountains.

We asked to be picked up in 2 1/2 hours and proceeded in waing about a 500m to where the farmer who owned the property met us and cautioned us of the dogs and the monkey. The monkey was climbing the tree just 10m from us and was a larger brown type of monkey. Elliot and Tegan didn't seem too interest with this monkey anyway. We were also cautioned to watch our mochilas as the monkeys were sure to follow or find us.

The hot springs were just a short walk through the farmyard and from what we discovered there were 2 pools, 1 large and 1 small one. The small one wasn't being used at the time of our arrival so it was ours. The water was pleasantly hot and the kids eventually were able to cope with the temperature and enjoy themselves. A spiky lizard showed up while we were soaking but no monkeys. After nearly a couple of hours of lazing around and when another family came to use the hot springs we then decided to leave.

Correen investigated the other pool with the kids and it turns out a couple of monkeys were there harassing the family that settled on using them. Our driver arrived just after we made it to the parking spot and we asked if he could stop at a comida for some lunch. We ordered a Meal of fish and of pork. Elliot and I shared the pork and Tegan and Mom had the fish. Elliot liked the pork so much that I only got to really have one bite of it and the remaining rice and beans. The kids also got to try a pop called Squirt which they really enjoyed.

Back at the hostel the water was running again and hot showers were available to us as well. The previous 2 days there was no water due to a crack in the water line. While we were sitting around the table we spotted an Emerald Toucanet as it flew into a nearby tree. We had an early supper of grilled cheese / tuna and while Correen and the kids watched a movie I was able to get in on a small stakes poker game. I initially lost half of my chips but ended up winning and take the $15 pot. The next game I lost, but I was still up $6 and and a great time playing and drinking $1.50 beers.

Tomorrow we leave the rainforest for the Carribean.

Day 4 - Arriving at Lost & Found

Tegan and Elliot were outside in the courtyard early checking out the parrot Coco and they both got to have the parrot perching on their arms. They really loved the parrots and the toucan, Tegan liked the 2 labradors that lived there as well. When I completed the latest blog entries we went on down the street to get some breakfast. The crepe place just a few doors down was closed so we opted for the bakery across the street.

Elliot and I each had a cinnamon bun for breakfast while Mom and Tegan had some local styled pastry, coffee and juices. Nearing our checkout time we quickly ran back to our hostel to get packed and grab a taxi to the David bus terminal. I paid $14 for the 4 of us to go about 100 kms in distance and to our next few nights of accommodations. I, Correen and the kids jumped on the bus and settled into the back seats.

We passed by many small farms where the family worked together working the land by hand and on horses. The drive up into the Fortuna Reserve was amazing with vistas of rolling hills and clouds blanketing the mountains at the higher altitudes. The roads were quite good considering the shear slope of the hills the mini-bus was tackling. Only about 1 1/2 hours into our ride and we were dropped off at the foot of the hill that our hostel resided. Correen's reaction to me reading that we had a 10-15 minute walk uphill to reach the hostel was priceless.

It was lucky for us and more for me that Patrick, one of the owners of the Lost & Found hostel, had also just arrived and was willing to assist me with getting our big black bag up the hill. I had to stop about 5-6 times on our ascension of the road that turned into some gnarly singletrack. Reaching the top and the hostel the kids encountered the capuchin monkey that they had rescued and was now leashed into an area on the property.

While we waited for our room to be organized for us, we got a tour of the place including where everything was and how everything operated. Tegan and Elliot liked the hammocks right from the start. Elliot really liked one of the girls staying there, her name was Diana and they swung on the hammock, played games or watched movies together. Tegan was always getting herself involved in card games with others as the hostel including learning Poker and an Israeli game called Yannif.

We suggested to the staff that we would like to do a couple of tours while we were there and the 2 we selected were the coffee plantation and the hot springs. Tegan upon learning that there was a treasure hunt immediately engaged her persuasive self to asking us if we could do this. Elliot was also keenly interested in the treasure hunt.

The pantry at the Lost & Found will keep you out of hunger, but the diversity of dishes you could create from the stocked ingredients is few. If you wanted to expand your mealtime choices you would surely need to resupply with some food from a super-mercado. I made spaghetti with meat sauce and fresh veggies including a native root vegetable that had the same consistency of an apple but with just a watery taste.

Not long after our supper we all went to bed and half-enjoyed the rain as it pelted the metal roof all night long.

Day 1 - Bound for Panama City

Elliot at 3:30 a.m.

Our day started early, really early. At 3:30 a.m. we woke up... well I and the kids woke up, Mom didn't get to sleep at all the night before, a little bit too much anxious energy.

Tegan is ready to jump in a taxi.

Our taxi arrived just after 4 a.m., we loaded up the trunk with our bags and off we headed for the airport. A quick run through the check-in counter and US customs onto some breakfast and a little break before boarding our flight for Houston.

In-flight entertainment was really poor, it kept Tegan and Elliot occupied at least. When we landed in Houston we went and got a bite to eat; I had some great tacos and Mom went and got Tegan and Elliot some Chinese food.

We actually weeded through 10 cookies for these.

There was an amusing moment when Tegan was opening her fortune cookie and it flew across our table. Our fortunes seemed to be finely tuned to us or an airport in general.















The flight to Panama started to board as soon as we arrived at the gate. Tegan was sitting in the window seat on this flight and I explained to her that we would be flying over the Gulf of Mexico on our route to Panama. I attempted to show her the oil rigs that dot the surface of the water off the coast of Texas, but she was just not that interested in sightseeing.

The final hour and a half of our flight was turbulently exciting if you know what I mean. The plane took a few dips that had the kids thinking this is more like Disneyland than coach travel. Upon our approach into Panama City we were facing the Pacific side of the Panama Canal and in the dark Tegan counted 38 large ships waiting their turn to proceed through the canal.







On the ground we went through customs quite quickly. All our bags arrived with us, so we were out the doors of the terminal to catch a taxi. A 1/2 hour ride in the taxi and we arrived at our hotel in Panama. We went for dinner downstairs in the hotel. We tried the local Panama beer and food and everyone seemed pleased.

We have yet to make plans for tomorrow, but the canal and old city district are of interest.