A Broad Abroad

Like I said, I had become quite attached to my binoculars (or, for you debbi-doodle, binocs) so I was a bit distracted during my travels to Puerto Jimenez. My journey from san vito to Puerto Jimenez required a long bus ride down to the coastal plain at Neilly, a switch to the bus to Golfito, then a boat ride across the golfo dulce to Puerto Jimenez. Btw – I’m sola again and feeling pretty good but I had no idea how long this would take, since it completely depends on how many stops the bus makes on the way.

That reminds me, at some point I need feedback on why people in Central America stand 15 yards away from each other waiting for the bus and don’t come together so that the bus only needs to stop once. Or if they are getting off the bus and the bus stops 15 yards before their stop to let someone else off, they still pull the cord 15 yards later to stop the bus again. To someone used to bus systems in the US, this is perplexing – an official bus stop is all you get and if you are not near it when the bus arrives, tough. The nice guys who manage all this getting on and off will also walk your large packages to the door of your house! I think that is lovely – but making the bus stop umpteen times in a single mile, I don’t know. Thoughts?

I thought if I got to golfito before 1:30 pm (for the last ferry) I might shop for binoculars (prismaticos en espanol ☺) before I headed to Puerto Jimenez. Apparently golfito is a tax-free shopping zone that is popular with the ticos. This zone was created after the pull-out of united banana co, an action that financially devastated various communities in central America and left behind an environmental legacy of DDT poisoning. Alas, I was so exhausted when I got to golfito at noon (only NOON!) that I grabbed a water taxi to PJ instead. This was $6 as opposed to $2 for the ferry and the water taxis take about 45 minutes as opposed to 1.5 hrs. I justified this by telling myself that the time without my binoculars would be a chance to see the forest, not the trees (where my beloved birds are perched). Yes, justification because after only 2 travel days I wanted nothing more than to find a cozy spot in puerto Jimenez and stay for several days.

So I landed in “the palms”, a hotel (really? hotel? I can’t think of a better word) between the public pier and town (really? town? ), and lonely planet is correct in this case. Puerto Jimenez is a dusty frontier town. A frontier town with a respectable soccer field that hosted a spirited game on Sunday, but I digress. I suggest if you stay here you choose a place near the water like the palms, cabinas Jimenez or agua luna. town doesn’t really have much appeal but it IS cheaper. Plus, the palms has wi-fi. Why try to break both my binocular and internet habit?

I will have spent 3 days here and tomorrow I move into the real jungle – a tent camp on the edge of corcovado national park. I had a lovely few days here exploring the edges of town, doing a mangrove and sunset kayak tour and a day (today) touring the gulfo dulce, including a visit to the osa wildlife rescue center that is only accessible via boat. I decided to move closer to the park, however, since I can’t possibly come here and not explore the heart of the jungle. Oh, to have access to the hongos that Margie did ☺.

I arranged many of my activities thru chris at cabinas Jimenez. He’s a certified captian who’s come here via Chicago/key west, he’s very knowledgeable and plugged into the local guide scene. This allows him to find out where the schools of dolphin are, etc, and he’s generally a helpful guy.

I found the palms acceptable and enjoyed their wi-fi (where many locals, including chris, come to do their internet business) but my shower was weak. The palms has great food, tho. You get breakfast-to-order here (included) and you don’t at cabinas Jimenez.

And just as if the birds were tailor-made for a girl with no binoculars, there are scarlet macaws and parrots who need no binoculars to announce their presence. Sure, I may not know what sub-species of parrot (and that’s ok, peggy) but the sheer number of parrots is what should be appreciated. Hundreds of them flock to a near-by tree at around 5:30 pm. It’s really impressive!

Into the jungle I go tomorrow. I head to carate on the 6am collectivo, where upon my arrival my bags are loaded onto a burro while I walk along the beach for a few kms to reach the tent lodge near la sireno ranger station. All my meals are included in the $65 per night price since we are literally in the middle of the jungle. Yay! I won’t need my binocs to spot frogs and spiders and snakes!!

here is a video of the kayaking

Turns out this is a super laid-back border crossing. Officials on both sides were friendly, helpful and knowledgeable about how to deal with non-locals. I only say this because I’d heard rumblings to the contrary. we caught a bus from Guadalupe/cerra punta to volcan. We told the bus driver we intended to travel to rio sereno, so when he saw that bus near volcan he stopped and made sure we got on it. Otherwise the stop in volcan is at the 3-road cut-off.

The drive to rio sereno is windy and pretty and takes over an hour. All the locals (which is everyone) will get off at the town but the bus driver can continue a little ways to the “frontera” to get you closer. From there walk up the little hill where you will find the Panamanian immigration office: stamp, stamp. Then pass the costa Rican police building and next you will see the costa Rican office: stamp, stamp. Viola!
Now here is the challenge: there does not appear to be any public transport on the CR side since there is no town there. The closest is sabalito, about 5k away. But we were able to catch a ride in the back of a “transport de carga” truck to sabalito where we caught a bus to san vito. No problemo.

Now, lonely planet calls san vito a town settled by Italian with good Italian eateries and wine, etc. I don’t know if or when that was true, but it isn’t true now. There was nothing bad about the town and it was an OK place to spend the night since the only alternative from rio sereno is possibly to catch the bus to neilly, on the inter-american, and stay there. We did make it there in time to take a taxi to Wilson botanical garden ($4 taxi, $8 entrance fee) and this was pretty. Worth the $12? Yes if you are there and have a free afternoon but unless you did what I did – just crossed the border – I wouldn’t go out of my way.

But maybe my judgment is clouded because it was sometime on that afternoon that I lost my binoculars. I did track down the taxi driver to see if it was is his truck that I left him, but no luck. Now was my time to learn just how attached to them I was!! Bad timing, too: just before I head to the osa peninsula – costa rica’s rain forest gem. D’oh!

here is a quick video of the border

After a relaxing final day in Cerra Punta, i’m thinking about my crossing back into Costa Rica to start my northward journey. since i started planning this route i’ve had my eye on a little-used border crossing in Rio Sereno. It’s not used by foreigners much (according to lonely planet) but most accounts i’ve read indicate there is little hassle. this is appealing given that the biggest (and 2nd closest) border crossing at paso canoas is notoriously mobbed since it’s on the interamericana highway. Jake, another traveler staying at Los Quetzales was thinking the same thing so we may make a run for the border together tomorrow.

My next “big” destination is Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, near Corcovado Park. apparently it’s the best place on the Osa to get budget accommodation on the fly – as Drake’s Bay (the other side of Corcovado) has more all-inclusive lodges and fewer options all-together. hope this works out :).

because the trip from here to there has a complete handful of bus transfers and a ferry that needs to be caught by 1:30 pm, i will need to stay overnight somewhere in between. i think that “somewhere” will be san vito, a town settled by italians that reportedly has the best italian food in CR. good wine and cheese? say no more.

so if all goes as planned this is my last post from panama. I keep thinking my internet access will be spotty in “the next town” but it’s proving to be pretty ubiquitous. I’ve got new photos uploaded so remember that use can use the links under “my links” to the right to get to my slideshows and FLICKR page. also – i updated my map so you can get a visual of the journey so far. cheers! from the amazing highlands of panama.

Cerra Punta, Panama

Originally uploaded by peggydaly

and i thought i liked boquete! the area around cerra punta is really, really stunning. green, green fields and lovely farms that creep up the sides of mountains that are covered in amazing forests at the top. there are wonderful hikes in both amistad and volcan baru parks.

I am staying at Los Quetzales Lodge in Guadalupe. the place is swarming with birds (hence my previous photo posts) and within an hour of being here i’d ticked off a handful of new birds in my book. while the lodge website doesn’t advertise it, they have dorms here for around $12 and this includes a great breakfast and a TOUR in the morning up to amistad park. WITH a guide. that is unheard of. the beds are the best i’ve had here in central america.

i think i’ll stay a few days – but this 4.5 months is looking shorter and shorter since i haven’t even made it out of panama yet and it’s been just over a month!! i need to get all the way to the yucatan but don’t have much left to do in costa rica other than the osa peninsula. i happen to get a little too comfy when i find a place that i like. on the other hand – who cares!!!

Cerra Punta, Panama

Originally uploaded by peggydaly

This little guy in the garden at Los Quetzales had such a funny face! i don’t have my bird book with me now, but i can add names later. this place has an ASTOUNDING number of birds. altho i liked boquete, this place absolutely blows it away for natural beauty.

Cerra Punta, Panama

Originally uploaded by peggydaly

For some reason it’s OK to call the local indigenous people indians, right? Anyway – he was excited to get his pic taken but like nearly all males in these parts we was reluctant to smile (and i wanted to see those teeth!). i had to catch him off guard :).

Cerra Punta, Panama

Originally uploaded by peggydaly

Taken in the garden of Los Quetzales Lodge, Guadalupe/Cerra Punta, Panama

I slept late, wandered into town, and ran into nomba-pals at boquete bistro where I listened to tales of a hunt of the elusive quetzal. A young American (sing that chorus david b) had arrived at nomba. For several years he’s attempted to spot that elusive bird: the resplendent quetzal. He’d dragged the Israelis from their beds at 5 am in an attempt to find this shy creature along a trail noted for it’s presence this time of year – to no avail.

I myself had hoped to find this creature soon, but now I wonder. I can only hope for good bird-karma. Personally, I think this is a quest best attempted alone or at most, with a guide. I detest bird-watching with non-bird-watchers. I purposefully discourage any non-bird-watcher-friends from joining me when I undertake this endeavor. It’s hard to ignore the stares that ask “are you ready to start walking again now?” after I’ve paused to follow my eyes or ears.

But what I did most today was read the book that debbi-doodle left me before she departed panama: “eat, pray, love” by Elizabeth Gilbert. Freed from rushdie’s children I’m sharing another (albeit more emotional) woman’s journey across the globe. I am thoroughly enjoying her story despite the fact that I’m only really good at one of the subjects she tackles as she moves from italy to India to Indonesia.

I did get a chance to walk south of town and document at least a handful of new species on my bird list. A little while later, after finding a source for cheap, whole roast chicken to keep in the community fridge (an addiction that has followed me to central America), I settled on the back patio to marvel at the evening’s rainbows.

As the mist creeps down the mountains around 4:30 pm the rainbows start to appear: whole rainbows you feel you should go touch or taste or at least go dig under at their ends. I suppose there IS gold in those rainbows. Not hidden in pots but in the bank accounts of American retirees. Land in these mountains is expensive.

But for now, on weekends, the town is filled with ngobe Indians – who’s women float in a sea of color and who’s men enter the back alleys late on Saturday night to partake in loosely organized tournaments of fistfights. I walked thru the small bar-zone this morning to see the pockets of men on the curb nursing the wounds from their fights with fists and alcohol.

today is my last day here before i move on. it’s grown on me. something i didn’t expect. plus, it’s easy to be comfortable here but it’s time to challenge myself a bit more. i will upload some pics, etc. but expect the updates to get less frequent in the coming weeks.

some closing thoughts/recommendations on boquete: nomba hostel is good for meeting people and getting adventure advice from ryan but the rooms at hostel boquete are a FAR better value and much nicer. the guy that sometimes runs the place is kinda flaky, tho, so confirm any reservation and if you plan to stay another day and have been told you can have another room, don’t move your stuff out until the other room is available. reservations and payments fall thru the cracks. boquete bistro has great breakfasts and lunch and good service. the lebanese restaurant (don’t know the name but there is only one) has excellent salads and looks fancy but is very reasonably priced. shalom bakery had great coffee, free wi-fi and crazy-cheap food. i had breakfast: bagel w/ cream cheese, chicken salad on cabbage and coffee for $2.50. the saturday ngobe market is not a morning market but starts later in the day.

and darn, today is a holiday so i may not be able to get laundry done :(.

Boquete, Panama

Originally uploaded by peggydaly

Market day under a rainbow in Boquete. It really is a magical place despite the gated communities being built outside of town. I enjoyed it thoroughly.