Boat, Bus, Bus

Getting from Bocas to Boquete via public transporation involves a boat ride, a bus ride, a transfer, and another bus ride - totaling roughly 6.5 hours.  The final bus ride was also on a jam-packed, old American school bus.... 3 adults to a seat!  Not quite an actual chicken bus, but not far from it either.

I was super nervous about the trek, but I lucked out!  I met a man from Boquete on the boat ride out of Bocas.  He was heading to Boquete as well, so I asked to tag along.  He took great care of me.  He was so nice, it almost creeped me out....ah the jaded complexities of a city-girl's mind.  He even walked me from the final bus stop all the way to my hostel.  I actually saw him and his family the next day too.  They gave me a nice tour of the town and took me to dinner.

I arrived late Saturday, so Sunday morning, I got up and hit the town.  I went for a nice walk around the city (it's small, but spread out), grabbed some groceries, visited the park where they hold the 'Festival of Flowers' (although the festival is in March, many of the flowers are still in bloom), and also grabbed a bite at a restaurant/bakery near my hostel. (p.s. I had a very sweet, guava empanada, that was life changing..... muy deliciouso!).

Re: my new school - It often rains here in the afternoons, so that's when they hold classes.  It allows students to do activities in the morning, when the weather is a bit better.  I am the only person in my class (ahhhh!  Spotlight on Leslie!), but I think this setup may actually be good for me.  I also met some other students that I really like as well, so hopefully we gel into a nice crew over the next 2 weeks.

Below are pictures of the hostel, the town, and the grounds at the 'Festival of Flowers.'

The hostel, my room, and the view from my room (I can hear the river from my bed.  It's awesome!)

The town

The grounds at the 'festival of Flowers.'

I am looking forward to some fun outdoor activities, new friendships,  cooler weather, and quiet nights.   So far though, I am digging Boquete!

Bocas del Toro

Here's a super quick recap of my time in Bocas: I went to school every morning, and  then visited different beaches in the afternoons (one by water taxi, one by bus, one by bike).  I also took a tour of the Smithsonian Research Institute on the main island, ate some cheap local food (rice and beans, rice and beans), hung out a bit with some peeps from school, and went on a cocoa plantation tour (the most interesting part of my Bocas experience).

Here are some pictures form the different beaches:

The beaches were fan-flipping-tactic, but I am ready for a change of scenery AND weather!  Now, off to the mountains.....Boquete, Panama!

Where am I?

My first stop in Panama: Bocas del Toro.  See map below.  Bocas is an island district off the NE coast of Panama.

I left Nuevo Arenal this weekend and took a shuttle to San Jose.  I spent the night in San Jose, then caught a very early flight to Bocas.  The town is small, so I walked from the tiny airport over to my hostel - Hosteluego.  It's a nice joint, which I think I need for my first big hostel experience.  Below are photos of the hostel, shared bath, my private room (worth the extra $), kitchen and common areas.  I probably won't post this many photos of subsequent hostels, but for now, I am a true first timer (and it's a really sweet place.... by way of hostels).

My new school is small, similar in size and number of students to my school in Costa Rica; however, the classrooms are all indoors here.  It takes some getting used to.  I kind of enjoyed the open air classrooms in CR, even when it was a million degrees.  You could learn, while still keeping an eye on everything going on at the school, stop class if anything interests was happening, wave to people on their way to the bathroom, etc.  Here, it's all business, all the time, in the classrooms :)

The 'big' town (and I use that term loosely) where I am staying, is the biggest town on the islands.  It's VERY different than anywhere I visited in CR.  The town is really dirty, kind of run down, and full of people that are here mostly to party. Costa Ricans keep their cities, towns, and land really clean, so the trash here is probably the biggest shocker for me.....it's all what you're used to, I suppose.  Anywho,  it's an interesting dynamic here, nonetheless, especially since the backpackers/vacationers/locals all mix together here more than I saw in CR.  It's a unique place, for sure. Below are some photos of the town.  There is a special kind of charm here though, I will at least say that- super laid back and easy going.

Right now, it's the super slow season in Bocas.  The hostel is quiet, the town is sleepy, and it's kind of hard to find tours that are running, since they don't have enough people to run them.  My plans to explore every afternoon take a little more finesse under these circumstances!

My first 2 days were rainy (boo!), class placement for school was a bit frustrating, and I was sad that the other students here aren't my friends from Tamarindo.  :(

Even though I got off to a rough start, today, the sun came out and I got to visit another island.  I took a water taxi with a couple people from school to Red Frog beach, and the 'how do I like Bocas' scale, is now tipping back towards 'like!'  The beach was amazing!  Best beach I have seen in a while.  Crystal clear, warm water, small waves, very few people around, etc.  We even needed to hike a bit from the boat dock to the beach, so we got to check out the jungle for a bit too.  Way cool place.  More fun times in Bocas to come.....hopefully!

Monteverde: Take 2

Susan and I ventured out to Monteverde for a quick overnight visit.  The roads, as per usual Costa Rican standards, suckola, so we thought it might be best to split the drive up into 2 days (it's about a 2.5 hour drive each way).  We headed out Tuesday afternoon, so we could get an early start on Wednesday.

Although I had been to Monteverde before, our major activity on this trip was much different than before. On this trip, we hit up the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. We got a private guide, Osbaldo, who took us around parts of the reserve for some animal, plant and bird watching.  HOLLA!  Bird watching- my new fave activity (at least for the last 72 hours).  Osbaldo LOVES his job, and his excitement had us all geeked out.  We asked a million questions, chased him through the reserve hunting for glimpses of certain birds, and we learned a ton of cool factoids about Costa Rican plant and wildlife.  The 3 of us were jiving so well, that our 2.5 hour tour lasted about 4 hours.

Throughout this entire trip (since I arrived n CR), I have learned all kinds of really really interesting things about nature, and I keep saying, 'nature is cool,' and the more I explore, the more true that statement is.  Nature is totally fascinating! I totally dig it!

Anyway, after we did some hiking and animal/plant/bird watching, we headed back to Nuevo Arenal. On the way back, we stopped at 'Viento Fresco Catarata'-  a private park where you can take a tough hour+ hike, but visit 4 different waterfalls, and even pop in one for a swim! We arrived late in the day, so we were the only ones there.  It was really nice to enjoy the trails and waterfalls without other people around-  our own private falls and swimming holes.  The roads might stink, but the scenery in Costa Rica is always worth the drive!

Nuevo Arenal

I left Tamarindo and headed to Nuevo Arenal.  Susan, my good friend's mom, is house sitting in Costa Rica for a couple of weeks, so I am visiting her for several days.  The planets certainly aligned, because our timing could not have worked out better.

The last few days have been fantastic, and this week is a great transition for me.  I am essentially going from 8 weeks of  routine and being in 1 spot, to several months of being on the move MUCH more often, so stopping in between to visit an old friend has been perfect. PLUS, Susan likes to explore, so we have been enjoying lots of stuff in  the area.

Casa de Susan has also been very relaxing - great views, a cool breeze, a nice pool, and a bird feeder-  yes, a bird feeder!  Sounds cheesy, but I am totally into the birding thing at the moment.  Just sitting on the patio, we have seen all kinds of intereting and colorful birds....birds are neato, in a cool nerdy way......well, at least the birds in Costa Rica.

On an unrelated note, the house has super hot water in the shower, there are fluffy bath towels, I can flush the toilet paper (a rare occurrence in CR), ceiling fans, AND  (drum role, please) a washer and dryer!!  I am in heaven!

We spent the first 2 days hanging out in La Fortuna, near the Arenal Volcano.  We visited natural hot springs, hiked to a giant waterfall where we got to go swimming, and also visited another area where we got to do some waterfall repelling (yet another activity where I somehow end up dropping off a platform, bridge or cliff).......Fun, as always.  I suppose I like dropping off of things (when it's not an accident, of course).

Glad I didn't leave CR without a visit to Arenal!