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Central America (17 February 2000 - 20 March 2000) - part 2

Part 2 - Costa Rica and Panama


Costa Rica (Monteverde)

Monteverde - Flower For many the visit to Monteverde, near the Continental Divide with its many ecosystems including the cloud forests was the high point of the trip

 

5 March
(Sunday)

Most of the group wanted to spend as much time as possible in Monteverde and left with the 6.30 bus, I was quite happy to enjoy the bright lights and bustle of San José and stayed till the afternoon, ostensibly to help Carmen recover the lost luggage. But I was still up before 5 am to accompany everyone to the bus station and make sure they got away safely. In the dawn light the bus station was less menacing than the previous night, and a little more chaotic, but Carmen bought the tickets without any problem. The shops and small restaurants were still opening, but by 6 am it was possible to order breakfast, bread or eggs and rice and beans.

Carmen and I didn't eat but were busy looking after luggage, when the bus left we walked back to the city centre and ate breakfast 'a full Costa Rica breakfast' with eggs and beans and rice and fried bananas near the Avenida Central. Carmen then continued to the airport to fill out forms and negotiate with the staff to see if the missing bags had arrived. When I met her at 11 am six of the seven had in fact arrived, and only Arne's bag was still missing. It never turned up, and a recurrent feature of the rest of the trip was phoning TACA to see if anyone had found it. San José - downtown I enjoyed wandering around by myself, my impression of San José are mixed. It is not beautiful, and certainly not picturesque, there are few fine parks or stately buildings, but it has a certain vitality, the Central Market is bustling and offers a wide variety of fresh food, comedors, souvenirs and household goods. Carmen and I ate lunch opposite the hotel in a little comedor that offered beer, chicken and tamales, a very typical eating place. To indicate the price level, chicken cost 400 C a portion, and beer 200 C a bottle.

We followed the others to Monteverde by the 14.30 bus, we had six extra bags, those that were delayed at the airport. But the journey was ok, our first real public bus ride on the trip, the sun was setting as we left the Pacific coast and steered up into the hills leading up to the spine of the continent and Monteverde, so we weren't able to see the scenery change from tropical coastal plain to rain forest. We arrived at around 8 pm and installed ourselves in Cabinas El Bosque, the kitchen was just about open so we were able to have some dinner.

6 March
(Monday)

Monteverde - Skywalk There are a lot of attractions in Monteverde, it's a kind of naturalists Disneyland, and gives the opportunity for both the dedicated scientist and the casual visitor to see many different ecosystems. Arne was very interested in seeing as much as possible of the area, we decided to go to the Sky Walk where you can walk on a system of suspension bridges through the cloud forest of Santa Elena. Monteverde - Cloud forest Santa Elena is the village closest to Monteverde about 3 km away, we walked there first to visit the bank and post office, and then continued onwards from Santa Elena to the Sky Walk. This was also about 5 km and uphill all the way, we got a lift from a passing farmer to the entrance and we were by about 11 am. It was an exciting experience swinging there a hundred metres above the ground, and able to observe the vegetation in the tree canopies. My first impression was that there was a lack of colour and life, everything was in shades of green, and from our view-point we couls see no animals, and very few birds and butterflies.

Monteverde - leafcutter ants From the Skywalk it was of course downhill back to Santa Elena, nearly in the village we met Bror on his way upward, we wondered if he would make it to the Skywalk before it got dark. We had a bite to eat in Santa Elena and then called in to the Ecological Farm (Finca Ecológica) on the way back. This is run by a foundation and provides easy trails through the forest with some excellent views all the way down to the Pacific coast. Here we saw a lot of animals like coatimundi, agouti and the two-toed sloth - but the leaf-cutter ants were fascinating to watch, as they form a long line of leaf fragments each with a marching ant under it. Monteverde - coatimundi1 By this time the sun was starting to go down and we were tired, we had probably trekked over 20 km in the day so it was definitely time to return and rest. However we decided to walk halfway back to Santa Elena to try a restaurant that had been recommended, it was very pleasant to enjoy a good steak and a glass of wine after todays adventures.

7 March
(Tuesday)

The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is the primary sight - straddling the Continental Divide it provides a number of ecosystems in a very small area. About 1600 metres above sea level, it is always cool and is home to many species, particularly the bird life is spectacular, and the Quetzal may be seen, and certainly heard. Monteverde - flower We waited for the 6 am bus to take us there, however for some reason or other it didn't appear today, so walking and hitching were the means of taking us the 3-4 km up the hill to the reserve entrance. We were there by opening time and Carmen and Paloma, Christina and myself signed up for the guided tour. A slide show introduces the tour, and then one of the trained guides takes us for a 90 minute walk through the reserve pointing out and explaining things we would have overlooked by ourselves, and explaining the ecological significance of them.

After the tour on the reserve I looked at the Humming bird sanctuary just oiutside the gates, and then walked back to the lodge with Christina and then continued on to Santa Elena. I had lunch in one of the less westernized eating places in the village and then wandered around enjoying the views. But now I had had enough of Monteverde and was quite happy to be returning to San José and then continuing on to Panama.

 

8 March
(Wednesday)

Bror and I were the only ones to have tired of Monteverde so we were alone from the group to take the 6.30 bus to San Jose. Now we had the views out to the Pacific Ocean as we slowly wound downwards to the plains on the atrocious road that is Monteverdes only connection with the rest of the country. We arrived safely in San José although Bror managed to leave his jacket on the bus. We are staying now in the Hotel Centralamericano on Avenida 2, a slightly better address than before.

Again it was pleasant to be in the capital and I poked around the markets and small shops until the others arrived late in the evening. San José had a very good Internet café - 500 C per hour and a reasonably fast connection. This trip was the first time I have used - or even noticed - the existence of establishments where travellers and locals alike can surf and send e-mail. But they have been available everywhere in Central America, Antigua, Panajachel and Tela (possibly not in Copan), and have provided an excellent and cheap way to keep in touch with the outside world.

9 March
(Thursday)

Carmen had organised as our only excursion in San José a trip to a coffee plantation. Coffee Britt welcomes tourists to visit their premises in Herederia, we took a city bus there, and found ourselves in a pleasant suburban area, a short walk from Herederia town centre was the plantation. We were welcomed - with a cup of coffee and then treated to a show about coffee beans, the different types, how they are grown, how they are processed, and finally shown into a shop where we were invited to buy coffee, coffee liqueur, coffee beans, coffee picking equipment etc etc.

We made our way to the Ticabus terminal and the bus to David in Panama left exactly at 22.00. Unfortunately there was some petty theft at this terminal and some insufficiently watched bags disappeared. We arrived at the border at 4.30 am, and of course it was closed. The Costa Ricans opened at 6 am and we were efficiently processed out of the country. As long as we made a contribution of 200 colones to their Red Cross. Then we walked through a couple of hundred metres of nomansland to the Panama side, and here was a little more bureaucracy. In general you had to line up at an immigration office where after filling in a form you were given a piece of paper with which you went around the corner to buy a tourist card for US$ 5. This had to be filled in and one part returned to the first office who would then stamp your passport admitting you to Panama. Having a British passport I was excused the tourist card (and the 5 dollar fee). Of course no-one told you any of this and so it was perfectly possible to walk past the border controls and into Panama. Thus when we eventually started off into Panama there were three or possibly four stops where armed and uniformed men checked that every passenger in the bus had the necessary entry stamp. And wouldn't hesitate to send anyone back to the border.

By about 7:30 am we were ready to go - had all the stamps, had eaten gallo pinto, water-melon, biscuits, explored the rather tacky bazaars in the border zone, but the bus had not appeared. Enquiries back on the Costa Rican side showed that some of the other bus passengers had not been as lucky as us at getting the required paperwork done. Time passed, it was becoming hot and sticky. Eventually at around 10 am the bus started to move. We were in Panama.

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Panama

Main street - Bocas del Toro We only visited Bocas del Toro, a beautiful archipelago in North West Panama, plans to visit Panama City were thwarted by lack of plane seats .

 

10 March
(Friday)

Our first glimpses of Panama showed a flat, tidy and apparently well-off landscape. After about an hour on a straight and well-surfaced road the overnight bus dropped us at the outskirts of Panamas second city, David on the main road and we took a taxi to the bus station where a minibus for Chiriqui Grande was about to depart. It did depart about half an hour later, and drove with magnificent views behind us of the Pacific right up to the top of the Continental Divide. We stopped a few minutes to admire the views and buy some souvenirs, eat a ceviche, and then continued with magnificent views ahead of the Atlantic to Chiriqui Grande.

At this point our mini-bus driver told us that the water taxis for Bocas del Toro no longer left from Chiriqui Grande but from Almirante and offered to drive us there. Chiriqui Grande and Almirante are both scruffy, muddy, small villages but after a half-hour ride to Bocas del Toro we saw immediately that Bocas was different.

Hotel Bahia Our hotel, the Bahia, was next to the ferry terminal, and reasonably comfortable, with large rooms. We arrived shortly before dusk and after a quick shower we went out to see what Bocas del Toro had to offer. Immediately we found a charming small restaurant, the Buena Vista, built out over the sea, it was irresistible, so we sat there in the tropical night, sipping Margaritas, eating kingfish and jerk chicken and contemplating the night-black waters of the Caribbean.

11 March
(Saturday)

For breakfast we discovered an excellent place, Las Delicias, very close to the hotel, it was a pick and choose place where the offerings were displayed and the lady took as much as you wanted and then calculated the cost (which was low). Fried breads, vegetables, chicken and fish, sausages and eggs were usually available; coffee, watermelon and a fermented pineapple drink were all on the breakfast menu. And we could take it outside and enjoy while watching the Caribbean and the wakening life of Bocas del Toro.

Today I wanted to cycle, Arne and I, spent some time looking for something suitable to rent, eventually we got a ridable mountain bike each for US$ 10 each a day. We cycled out of town and tried to follow the beach. It was wonderful to feel the fresh tropical air and see the curve of the bay and the other islands of the archipelago. After a few kilometres we stopped for a swim, the water was clear and warm and refreshing, some girls were digging up some sea creatures to eat. Tourist police - Bocas del ToroWe continued for an hour or so and reached a very broad white sand beach; Playa  Bluff this was Playa Bluff, known as a nesting site for turtles. Of course, it wasn't turtle season just now, as two uniformed tourist police informed us. We had asked them for somewhere to get a drink, they said there is nowhere, but we will ask at this house - this house after some argument filled our water bottles with rain-water. A little further along we saw a coconut grove with an old man tending it; we started talking, he offered us each a coconut to drink, and it turned out that he could speak a little Swedish. He had been at sea and visited Gothenburg and Malmö and other Swedish and Finnish cities.

We had three days in Bocos del Toro and a possibility was to fly to Panama City to see the Canal. I wanted to do that, and I also wanted to stay in Bocos. The decision was made by by Aeroperla who had no seats to sell on the flight to Panama City. Whether there was a flight at all was uncertain, there were no traces of any aeroplane movements (or any movements at all) at the "Bococ del Toro International Airport" which lay conveniently just behind the main street.

For dinner today we ate octopus at "The Pirate", a near neighbour of Buena Vista and nearly as good; Bocos del Toro is on its way to becoming a tourist resort but still has a long way to go. Many of the restaurants and bars appear to be owned by ex-patriates, but they still offer mainly local dishes.

12 March
(Sunday)

Captain Again, Bocos del Toro was our base for exploring the surrounding area, today we rented a boat and sailed to the Parque Nacional Isla Bastimentos. The boat made a shaky start, and we were delayed a while for repairs, but we finally left the town and made our way towards Panamas first marine park. We followed a trail through pineapple plants to a white sandy beach known as Red Frog Beach; Mangrove swamp
not surprisingly we were able to see the tiny Red poison dart frogs. We also caught sight of a sloth and enjoyed swimming in the lagoon. The return journey passed many areas with mangrove swamp.

In the evening we found another area for dinner, and ate a Middle Eastern vegetarian plate at the "Ultimate Refuge"; the waitress there came from London.

13 March
(Monday)

Today Carmen organized a bird-watching expedition, I didn't go, preferring to wander around Bocos for the day - and spent a good deal of the day bathing. There is no beach in the town, but just outside past the cemetery is the town beach with golden sand and some palm trees, it's a nice spot. I bought some postcards, wrote them and posted them, the five postcards from Bocos del Toro are the only ones not to arrive.

Building style
At sunset the others returned and we celebrated the last evening in Bocos del Toro by returning to "Buena Vista" and eating pork chops. We continued to a pub owned by an Austrian, and enjoyed a cold beer - and watched a tropical storm turn the main street into a river.

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Costa Rica (Puerto Viejo de Talamanca)

Puerto Viejo boats Just a few miles up the Caribbean coast this is one of the least visited parts of Costa Rica, and one of the least typically Costa Rican. The people are mixed, both Caribbeans and Indians form a large part of the population, although a tiny minority in Costa Rica as a whole

 

14 March
(Tuesday)

Panama - Costa Rica border Early next morning, with some regret, we left Bocas del Toro on the boat to Almirante. From there we found a bus to Changuinola which continued to the Costa Rican border at Guabito. The border river is crossed by a railway bridge which is shared by all other traffic when there are no trains. There were no bureaucratic hurdles on either the Panamanian or the Costa Rican side. Sixaola on the Costa Rican side is a collection of small shops, and a bus stop. We squeezed onto the bus for an uncomfortable and not particularly scenic ride through mile after mile of banana plantations. The bus set us down about 10 kilometres from Puerto Vieja and we managed to grab a lift into town. Cabinas JacarandaTrip to the Keköldi Indian Reserve
Carmen guided us to our lodging - the Cabinas Jacaranda, about 100 meters from the beach, and a basic but adequate lodging.

Puerto Viejo is trying to attract tourists, there are plenty of Cabinas which appeal to back-packers, and there are plenty of young tourists drawn by the laid-back atmosphere, the beaches and surfing, and the easy availability of many kinds of drugs. On the bus from Sixaola we had seen a newspaper with headlines proclaiming "Two American tourists murdered" and this proved unfortunately to be true. The details were unclear but appparently the two girls had given a lift to some young men who had stolen their car and murdered them. Narcotics were involved, the whole story followed us from headlines for the remainder of our stay in Costa Rica.

It was time for lunch, there weren't many tourists or anyone else around, a combination of low-season and the violence in the area had scared most people away, and we were all somewhat uneasy over the situation. We found a friendly place for lunch and enjoyed rice and beans and some excellent fruit drinks. We walked along the beach, Puerto Viejo has one beach with white sand and one with black sand. Both types of sand are clean, but it felt strange walking on black sand. I walked with Christina a long way along the beach, we saw one or two people carrying surf boards but the best surfing beaches were further along the beach. We walked back just inland and here were a number of more up-market restaurants, catering presumably for rich San Joséans.

15 March
(Wednesday)

kekoldi children Today Carmen had arranged a trip to the Keköldi Indian Reserve. There are very few Indians in Costa Rica and the Keköldi in this area number only a few hundred, and appear to be losing their identity despite the efforts of a number of the elders. We walked up into the hills to visit the village meeting room, and learned that the school which used to be held here was no longer open, the children (including those in the picture) would be taught in Puerto Viejo and receive no formal education in their language and culure.
Puerto Viejo - cocoa We learned a lot about the jungle, and the many medicinal and food crops known to the Indians.

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Costa Rica (San Jose)

Downtown San Jose Back to the vibrant capital of Costa Rica, San José

 

16 March
(Thursday)

No-one was reluctant to leave Puerto Viejo and we caught the 7.00 am bus back across the Continental Divide and through the beautiful Braulio Carillo National Park to San José.

17 March
(Friday)

The Zoo in San José is supposed to be one of the better in Central America; considering the variety of species in the country only a fraction were on show, and those animals on show were not particularly lively specimens. Not recommended

18 March
(Saturday)

The last day in San José and Costa Rica was spent in searching for souvenirs. The Central Market was a good place for this, beside foodstuffs and flowers a large number of stalls sold hanscrafts and typical local textiles and articles. Some people tried to bargain but discounts were very hard to get, the hammock salesman gave his price as 5000 Colones and would not be budged. Coffee was a popular buy, especially after our tour, but it was not particularly cheap.

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The Journey Home

19 March
(Sunday)

Another early start, the mini-buses arrived as ordered at 5.30 and we joined the slowly moving queue to check-in for Continentals flight to Houston. After the formalities we were able to look around the duty-free shop, I bought a bottle of Nicaraguan rum, the closest to local produce that they had.

Complicated as usual to enter the USA; there was some fuss about whether luggage that was checked through to Stockholm needed to be handled by the owner, especially when we saw said luggage on the carousels. We said goodbye to Anneli who was staying in Houston for a week, and to Inger and Ulla who were flying via New Orleans to spend a couple of days there. Then it was nice to relax for an hour or so on the grass outside the terminal.

The London plane boarded on time, and then stood at the gate for an hour while an unspecified technical problem was fixed. The flight itself was as pleasant and comfortable as the outward flight, and a shortened night was passed.

20 March
(Monday)

Although only an hour late, we missed the connection at Gatwick, odd that the British Airways gate personnel who knew that a group of nine connecting passengers had just landed at Gatwick did not wait. We were transferred to the 12.15 and came to Stockholm at 15.50 - the sun was shining and it was +11ş.

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Bibliography

The following books were useful, entertaining (or even both)

Rough Guide to Central America:
Together with Lonely Planet covers the world. For Central America, Rough Guide was more up-to-date, and provided a lot of background information for the different countries I visited. Some of the facts in this travelogue are taken from this book.

Backpacking in Central America.

Travelling in Belize:
I found this in a second-hand bookshop. Good coverage of the country.

A Guide to Ancient Maya Ruins:
Also from a second-hand bookshop. Somewhat dry, but comprehensive guide to the ruins.

The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings by David Drew
An attempt to explain the Maya culture, and provide an insight to the people behind Copan, Tikal and the other Maya cities.

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