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Here are some pictures from Santiago, Chitres and Panama City. We just arrived to Panama City yesterday, so no pictures yet of the canal:
http://picasaweb.google.com/102902177234791651515/Week13Panama#
Here is Quinn going down the water slide at the hotel in Santiago, Panama. Great waterpark right at the hotel!
Bocas del Toro is gorgeous: beautiful beaches, incredible snorkeling, crystalline water, friendly people and delicious food. Yet, paradise has a few hidden costs.
The most hidden element on the islands is sand flies. The longer we stayed, the more bites we accumulated. By the time we left, we are each covered with more than 100 bites. Fortunately, the bites don’t itch if we don’t scratch, but one scratch and that’s it – the scratching becomes relentless. The problem is that nothing works against those little hidden bastards. The locals make a special blend of coconut oil, citronella and lemon grass, but as far as I can tell, the stuff does not work.
Another hidden element is the unexpected accident. Here’s Paul take on a little adventure that led to unforeseen costs. “I was in the middle of a poker game with two Dutch guys, J.J. and Bart, and J.J. ran out of cigarettes so we decided to take a boat ride to Isla Colon for a pack of cigarettes. We arrived and hung out. J.J. met someone and stayed, and Bart and I got on a boat to come home. Halfway into our trip home, the captain tapped me on the shoulder and told me to move forward. All of a sudden, the boat flipped and the three of us were swimming with the sharks (note: no sharks were seen, but the channel is shark-infested). Another boat came and rescued us, and brought us back to Isla Colon. The boatmen were trying to get me to pay $300 for tipping the boat. Fifteen of the dock workers were threatening Bart and me in an alley. The police showed up and escorted Bart, the captain and me to the police station. I explained, all in Spanish, what happened. The policeman said that the accident was not our fault and arrested the captain for being drunk, not being licensed and not having life jackets. The police brought us back to the dock and we took another boat home. We had to pay another $20 for the ride home, plus an additional $40 to clean the boat’s engine.” Expensive 5 minute boat ride…
Islands are isolated, which makes everything more expensive, including medicine. While Paul was having his wet and wild ride, I was suffering from a migraine, which typically lasts two days. I had enough medicine for the first day, but the rest of the medicine was in the minivan on the mainland. I checked the island’s pharmacies for the medicine with no luck. On day 2 of the migraine, I woke up early to make the journey to the minivan and back: quick ride to Isla Colon, water taxi to Almirante on the mainland, quick walk to the minivan, water taxi back to Isla Colon, short shopping trip to buy pork buns and empanadas, and finally, boat ride back to our island. I don’t remember much about the trip over to the mainland, except the roar of the boat’s engine, smell of diesel fuel and holding my temple in misery. Total cost was only $10 for the boat rides and 3 hours of time. Worth it for a day’s relief of pain? Absolutely!
Now we are in Santiago, about 4 hours from Panama City. No bugs, no boats and lots of migraine medicine in my purse. Hopefully, no hidden costs for a few days!
Our entry into Panama is rather dramatic. We have a surprisingly smooth border crossing until we get to the last window (border crossings typically entail going to about 10 different offices/windows). The custom agent is almost ... [Continue reading this entry]
I have mixed feelings about travelling in Costa Rica. The countryside and beaches are amazingly beautiful, the roads are clean of trash, generally good and well marked, the people are friendly and often speak English. For ... [Continue reading this entry]
Bienvenidos Costa Rica! After a relatively painless border crossing, we drive into lush Costa Rica. We immediately notice the lack of trash along the side of the roads, good signage, nice houses without barbed wire or ... [Continue reading this entry]
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