Bocas del Toro 101 (or Bocas del Toro for dummies)

not surprisingly, I did get slightly ripped off by *little friendly* George on that boat tour - but thankfully as I was far from being alone there, I feel much better about it. I mean, I did get the tour, but for more money than the others paid and of course yer man there has buggered off into oblivion, but should i see him again it will not exactly be a pleasant encounter.

Although to be fair, not that it really mattered; on the tour I met Shawn and Nicole, 2 Americans who had gone through a shop (Jampon) and didn´t get what they were promised either. Basically we were put into another boat with 6 people who had it basically set up for themselves, and we were just along for the ride. However we did manage to get to Cayo Zapatilla for a few hours, and that was what I really wanted to see in any case, but I have to say the whole thing was rather disorganised, and of course they did the whole thing of dropping us off at a restaraunt along the way, which of course had prices to rival those of my favourite restaraunts in Vienna. At least whatever the heat did to my brain to make me make such bad travel decisions (chuh, you'd think I was some kind of newbie...insert embarrased face), seemed to have worn off, and Shawn and Nicole had been thikning along the same lines and we had stocked up at the supermarket the day before. So rather than a severely overpriced dish of shrimp, I spent a mere few dollars for a sandwich, fruit, juice and sweets. We knew it was a total trap when they tried to charge us for sitting at the table! We had also gone to one of the stops, and the larger group was asked if they wanted to get out...they said no, but the rest of us were not consulted. as the highest paying member of the group, I should have had the ultimate decision making authority, but I know all too well the world does not work that way...

All we could really do at this stage was laugh about it..the restaraunt stop was not a complete waste though, we got into conversation with Kurt, an American who owned a fishing lodge in Alaska, and he had some good stories about that and driving here in Panama...and how he screwed up some questions and ended up paying an exorbitant fine. Guess even the most savvy of us make mistakes now and again.

Also met Norm and Noel on the beach, 2 fisherman with whom I shared some drinks with later that night and we attempted to have a party night, but it was completely dead! Guess all the local working folk had finished playing and absconded back to Panama City. huh. Guess I will have to sort out some partying there!!!

But OK. so given some of these experiences I have wised up a bit. the accom..I can do nothing about it. so I will just enjoy and not worry. For future reference, when sucked in by sea view, etc. will pay only one night at a time and go night to night as is normal here. Had I done that I could have booked into Casa Max, a characteristic little Dutch owned establishment that Shawn and Nicole are raving about. Also after a stop at Mondu Taitu bar last night, I'd found the atmosphere quite cliquey and Shawn and Nicole, who had actually stayed there, echoed the same. although I guess that is hostels for you; its hit or miss with the crowds. but sometimes you can just get that feeling...its sister hostel, Heike, seemed like it would be the superior option and I wish I had booked in there, or managed to get something at Casa Max as well. To know for next time...

2. people. I KNOW better than to trust them, I KNOW that I am an easy target, especially with full luggage and lonely planet in hand...I also KNOW that I should be a lot firmer and tell these people to bugger off (although the less polite version of that) and I KNOW that i should shop around (I am waiting for a report on the J & J excursion some folks at my place had done, but I am sure they got what they were promised!). without knowing excursion prices, I should not have booked something.

Today I went with Shawn and Nicole to Red Frog beach. Initially I was reluctant to do this, but I read in old faithful (Lonely planet) the cost should be $10, so I just refused to pay anymore. And after passing by Boca Marine and Tours, found a boatman who would take me for just that. So Shawn, who is perpetually followed by these dodgy local guys, and Nicole joined me. We paid half the fee upfront, and half on the return leg. We were picked up almost dead on time. the boatman, Juan, was not resistant to that at all and was friendly enough, so I can recommend that place if anyone needs transport around this area.

And it was really a perfect, lovely day, exactly what I came here for. It was short walk along a jungle path, which also cost $2...they get you for everything, but whatever..along the way a little girl showed us one of the strawberry poison dart frogs, from which the beach derived its name, and we were half expecting her to ask for some money for that as well! But she didnt and I was quite glad i finally got to see one of the famed frogs.

as for the beach itself...blue Carribean sea lapping up on sandy shores framed by coconut trees. We also timed it well that we had it almost to ourselves and buggered off as the crowds arrived.

Tomorrow, I will see my last beach here, Boca del Drago, and take the $2 shuttle..I asked the driver today for the times and the rates and he was friendly enough as well. the times mean a couple hours beach time and returning in time to shower up before flying to my final destination. little planes again, hurrah!!!

So. last lesson, numero tres - avoid the boat area and the boatmen between the Police station and Tropic Suites. They are nothing but a bunch of disorganised cowboys, who (pardon the use of this expression in this context) could not find water if they fell off a boat. Also avoid Jampon Tours just down the way. Better off to go with Boca Marine or J & J.

As for anything else...there is a place not listed in the guidebook, called 'Golden Grill'. its an almost sterile sort of American diner type place, but dead cheap..pancakes for a dollar and a half. Not idealistic but folk always seem to be there and the food's not bad if you're on a budget and tired of the fried chicken or meat on a stick....

OK, the sunset is calling...

a small ps...

anyone reading this feel free to make comments!

Panama or Bust!

Hurrah! I finally made it!

The dinner with the English guys, Andy and Steve, who were a cleverly disguised Father/Son duo, was fantastic. All of us a bit sick of rice and beans (andy and steve were doing a very long trip through central america, going down to costa rica before needing to get back up to Cancun for a flight), we choose an asian fusion place with a colorful owner and gorgeous food, for not any more than i had paid for anything else in Nicaragua. We had a couple of beers and a bunch of laughs afterwards as well (Andy and Steve, thanks once again for the rounds of drinks!).

The bus ride was so not fun...turbo air con once again (at least I was prepared and had my 'hello kitty' wool socks this time), and the journey taking far longer than on the way in. The immigration process took quite some time, and an accident (a logging truck had tipped on the side of the road!) just outside San Jose slowed things down.

However, the upside was, as is often in these situations, meeting some nice people, in particular David from France. We spent our time in the immigration queue fantasizing about having a real meal upon arrival in San Jose. He also gave a great tip for the Costa Rica backpackers, so I tagged along and we managed to get a couple dorm beds for the night. The place has pretty basic rooms, but comfortable mattresses and excellent grounds complete with pool and hammocks. and our fantasy was realised; this hostel also had a little restaraunt which served a variety of things and the carribean chicken was exactly what i wanted after that long day....our room was shared with Leslie, another one hailing from France and it was an amiable group for the night.

Got up early and headed to a craft market and finally got some of the Christmas gifts I promised (or, errr, had forgotten and said i would make it up with something from central america). Although I had less pressure than David, who had the same plan about the presents...but he realised the night before his flight really left at 9am, not 12 as he had initially thought. Hope the airport shops were not tooo expensive...

Also wolfed down 2 breakfasts..not sure what is wrong with me, just polished those right off. And was quite glad to be taking just a little short flight rather than another 13 hr bus ride! The flight was great, we were only 8 passengers in total and the atmosphere was quite convivial. Amongst the group were 2 Isreali guys and 2 Canadians. The views over the mountains and finally the Carribean Sea once agan (YESSS!!!) were amazing and it was pretty much smooth flying all the way. We all tried to book into hotel las olas for the amazing bay views, but they were one room short and i voluntarily drew short straw, as i had a guidebook and would prefer something more central anyway. When I finally did decide though, i realise, i have severely overpaid (the sea view seduced me once again, hypnotically willing me to hand over too many US dollars for it), but sod it, I am over the 'I am soo cool because I stay at the cheapest place' thing and since I will in the very near future be freezing my arse off in Vienna with a view of an opposite concrete wall....I won't worry. I am, after all, still employed.

In the meantime I've been befriended by a gregarious local called 'George'. George was born in Bocas, grew up here, drives a boat around to the islands and does tours, so I just signed up to go with him and the group he had gathered tomorrow as he goes to all the places I want to see, including Cayo Zapatillas. He's also quite open and fun and insists we will party on my last night here. The entire town seems to know him. He also spoke of maknig friends with other travellers and has friends in Japan.

I look forward...and the boat tour with him ought to be rather interesting as well. Of course I was rather suspicious at first, but he seems a bit like a Panamanian Baboo (for those who don't know, Baboo was the local Zanzibarian lad I was referred to during my time down there and had a blast with, also experiencing local sides of Stone Town I otherwise wouldn´t have). So let's see, shall we?

Food is enticing me once again. At this rate I will probably be charged excess luggage charges on my way back to Los Angeles, or be forced to purchase a second seat. oh well, fat and happy!

Do Dogs Eat Butterflies?

Today as I spent some last moments on the beach at San Juan del Sur, I noticed 2 butterflies flitting around, and a dog was chasing them...maniacally chasing them and literally falling over itself to catch them. The butterflies would (intentionally or unintentionally I am not so sure...) come together, go up and down, split up..that really put the dog into a spin. And i just had to wonder, why, all this effort. And it made me think of something I learned in school, some phenomenon about 'escalation of committment' and once you have committed to something, even if it is going down, you cling to it as one might cling to a precipice overhanging a boiling pool of lava. And I think its just the travel I am once again facing to go back to where I came from, wondering if this was the right thing to do or not...I am also wondering, as I keep hearing all these great things about Panama...the islands are great, the ocean is beautiful, its so much cheaper down there, you can get anything for really cheap...and am hoping that I dont land there in 2 days time wishing I had spent my time there! well, at least I will get some days there still.

But no. I mustn´t do that. It IS Still quite nice here, and I have largely had a nice time. At this stage as well, I am quite relaxed with everything, as I am once again quite enjoying the autonomy of being on my own...well, sort of, I have some dinner plans with 2 English lads staying at my place here in Granada, so I best be off once again!

The Accidental Tourist..

greetings once again, this time from sunny Nicaragua. and no its not a typo, or evidence of a severe lack of geographical knowledge on my part (which, lets face it, is doubtful, as I AM, after all, top of the travel game board amongst my friends on facebook, har har snicker snicker), that is where I am as part of my 'Costa Rica and Panama' trip.

And one need not score too high on that little travel quiz to know that i´ve gone basically in the wrong direction here, but as a sign I came across in Puerto Viejo read 'a good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving'. Although to be fair, it's not as though I just woke up one morning and said, hey, why don't I just switch up the itinerary a bit? no no...I confess, I latched on to someone else's trip. After randomly meeting Norbert, a German with a similar amount of holiday time to myself during an ad-hoc group dinner in a pizzeria in Puerto Viejo 2 days before I was set to head on further south, to make a long story short the seed of this idea was planted.

The mercenary traveller in me wanting to appease the country number count gods thought hey, one more to the list while i am here, and it was, after all, a country I had considered during my travel planning process (that generally took place during working hours, of course) and it was now occuring to me I COULD have it all..hah.

Not to mention seeing something new and with word that the Pacific coast had been dry and sunny and the carribean..not so much...I realised I had quite possibly budgeted entirely too much time to those little Panamanian Islands where everything was centred around things I could only do in good weather (well, for me anyway, as that would include poss more surfing lessons and definitely some diving, etc.). This one paragraph realisation had taken the better part of a sleepless night, and the next day after some slight persuasion on my part, it was agreed I'd be joining on the trip north rather than heading south.

I have to admit, that I wasn't entirely sure of the decision and travelling with someone else (well, as it ensued, not only me)..not to mention the amount of time required on buses, boats and any other forms of transport might be rather draining. And there were some...what i shall label with the all-encompassing term 'technical difficulties' to the point I nearly got on a bus straight back to where i'd come from, but after a great week, that would have been a mistake.

after being waitlisted for tickets at an ungodly hour the next morning, we got our tickets to Granada. oh, and one note for any future tica bus travellers reading this; pack your winter gear. yes, one would not think to need it, but the tica bus love affair with air conditioning is going strong. otherwise it was a quite scenic journey that passed far quicker than i had expected it to. the inaugural city of Nicaragua was Granada, a city well endowed with beautiful colonial architecture and giving off an entirely different feeling than being in the carribean. We checked into one of these colonial structures, the hotel Esfinge, which is mere blocks from where the chicken buses run to the other parts of the country. Its located right on the main market street, which is a flurry of all sorts of activity, however once inside the confines of the hotel, it was amazingly peaceful.

Unfortunately a good lot of time was taken up sorting out onward transport, and in my case, transport back as I did still need to end up in Panama at some point for the flight back to LA. thankfully once that was sorted there were still some daylight hours left check out the town and enjoy coffee and cake.

the next morning was off to Omotepe island, a trip that went relatively smoothly, and with lady luck helping out a bit..after finding out the previous 2 days no boats had run. By this stage I was catching a cold (the after effects of the tica bus turbo air con i presume) and was ready for some relaxation whilst Norbert decided to head up a volcano. something I wanted to do as well, but the illness and lack of proper footwear meant it wouldnt happen. Although in the end he wound up ill with another sort of ailment, and hence the Omotepe thing was a bit of a non event, spent only at the hotel we stayed at which was in the middle of nowhere. Which would have been very peaceful if it were not for some geese that made otherworldly sounds..i couldnt figure it out at first, it sounded like dying aliens.

but for me, the peace was fine. the rest allowed me to recover, and whilst making my way to my hammock du jour, Gary, an American with a balloon delivery service (you meet all types out in these parts...) starting enquiring about the surrounding acomodation and I had a good chat with him, getting some info about San Juan del Sur, the next destination. Gary later joined us for lunch and he could really TALK...politics, traveling, age guessing and tales of smoking up with wanted mass murderers in Mexico, and all this rolled into one afternoon. shortly after he took off on his bike back to town and left us to formulate some plans for the next and last segment of the trip..the one i looked forward to...finally... a BEACH. After much deliberation and more drama, and more of me saying, why the f*** did i do this, we decided to stay in San Juan del Sur itself and head out to the other beaches on a day trip.

Got sorted with some accomodation at the small and simple Rebecca Inn, run by the welcoming Martha and seeming more like it was her home with a few rooms to rent, and met Seth, a nice young lad from Guatemala trying to find work and study English as well. It was a nice atmosphere. We got a taxi to take us out to Marsella beach, which was pretty much deserted by the time we got there..which was perfect. swam in the sea, got stung by jellyfish and just missed the sunset, but thoroughly enjoyed it. had our last dinner at a place called Marie's bar, which was less than impressive, and a few drinks over the road at what seemed to be the centre of social life in the town that night..a bar i can't recall the name but i've dubbed it 'the pirate bar' based on a drawing of a pirate both outside and on the menu.

the next day did not leave enough time to head to another beach so a chill morning at the beach here (minus jellyfish swimming), and I put Norbert on the bus back to Granada, to catch the tica bus back to san jose..the same bus i should have been on but seats seem to be randomly available, so hence i will go 2 days later. It was a strange feeling to be on my own again, and although I am not even vaguely god's gift it took only a matter of seconds before the local men started earning their machismo reputation with suggestive 'hola's' ringing out all around me.

I had, what I realised, was my first meal alone on this trip (I had met the 2 Daves and Erik straight away upon arrival in Puerto Viejo and had company each night after that), but it was not long until I found myself conversing with Nancy, a retired lady from the US who had just moved to Costa Rica and was doing a visa run holiday here. We watched the sunset whilst sipping margaritas and chatting about travel before moving over to the Pirate bar (and yes, i do know the barman by name and we are recognised there...), and more randomness occured there as an Argentine lad with implaceable accent encroached on our nachos with promise to buy us drinks later to compensate for having some of our food....never happened, Nancy left, i stayed and conversed with some American lads who had been there the night before before lurching 'home' to Rebecca and awaking some hours later to barking dogs and killer hangover.

However, this time I did not raise the white flag against the hangover and crawled to the beach via the shop to get some water, of course coming in contact with all alcohol ads imagineable..ugh....

the sea helped me recover, but when the jellyfish came back i got out, got a few rays and then headed off to find some food and shower. Nancy and I had yet another drink at the Pirate bar, and out of nowhere Mr. Argentina shows up proffering 2 beers saying 'here is my debt..see you tonight!'...chuh, i dont think so, cos here i am writing in my blog instead and quite happy to do so...as i fully intend to get up early and make the most of the day before I myself make the trip back to Granada and finally the journey to San Jose and even more finally, the flight to Bocas del Toro (presumably holding a sign reading 'Panama or Bust', as I am quite excited to get there and after the stories from the 2 Daves and Erik, along with Nancy's tales....).

So until Panama (or who knows, at the rate I am going maybe the next message will be from Venezuela)...

Ciao!

post new year party carnage!

ok, i am exaggerating a bit here..its not that bad today! despite some seriously nasty caipirinhas and copious amounts of the local brew, the hangover effects are minimal, with oddly a sore throat being the worst of it...???

oh, and happy new year!

So here I am on the second country of my cheeky paid month off journey. all has gone surprisingly well, save for a few minor things. However one has got to expect flight delays in Mexico, no? and the good news was, despite an initial cock-up on the date change for my Pacuare river rafting trip, they did realise it and showed up the next morning. the bad news was..after trekking down a dirt road in vertical swimming pool style rain, we were told the river was running too high and the trip was off. so back up the hill, a little workout that would give billy blanks tae bo a run for its money on the butt exercise..and then of course our bus had left to get us at the other end, and of course, no ones mobile phones had reception. so we spent an hour in this frigid vertical swimming pool, and i swer that is the wettest i´ve ever been in my life..and i scuba dive (!)

anyway, the guides were very gracious considering all the complaints they had to deal with and promised to refund our money. the following day i called round to the office..the owner showed up part way through, and asked if i were willing to pay part for the transport, which i was, but not the amount they were asking as was far more than regular bus fare. after which he simply pulled the full amount out of his pocket and said no more! apart from apologising profusely for the situation, and inviting myself and my newfound buddies for a beer that evening!

I was very impressed, especially after dealing with Viennese supermarket abuse and other bad service.

So yes, moving on; its been fairly easy to meet people here. On day one I met the 2 Daves and Eric, hailing from California. had both a dinner and a breakfast swapping travel tales with them, and joined them for the Canopy zip line tour which was great fun. along for the ride were a couple of adventurous swedes and we all had a right laugh over it. granted, still no one had any idea about the new year plan for the following night, but i guess in a place like this thats just how it rolls and i never worried about it.

Yesterday i decided to take it easy in anticipation of the mysterious would-be big night and rode my bike to the nearby Punta Uva beaches, which favour swimmers more than surfers so I needn't have worried about being sucked out to sea. well, not too much anyway! it was a gorgeous little bike ride, although the many varieties of local wildlife still elude me (but i notice electrical stations...i wonder what that says about me!). To continue the randomness, i had gone to the previously non-functioning cash machine and met Kate, a transplanted Californian living in Costa Rica. we had to laugh at the guys over the road really just giving it to Michael Jackson´s ¨Thriller¨. We talked more about this New Years eve thing, which was seemingly as elusive as the local wildlife is to my eyes, but an offer came for popping by the backpackers down the road so i figured set and sorted.

Back at my hotel, i figured i´d bunk down for a siesta to prepare for the evening but 2 surfers (Bradley and Eric numero dos..this doubling up of names is going to become confusing) 2 doors down invited me for a beer instead and the evening was off..after the first beer 3 horses just randomly ran into the gardens of our hotel, knocked some stuff over, slipped on the crazy paving path and ran out, leaving us wondering ´did that just happen?´or, what exactly was in the local Imperial beer!?

Never making it to the backpackers, we did dinner at a little place serving carribean food in town which was my cheapest and best meal here thus far. although i can´t remember the name of the place. had a few bevvies and resisting letting our 30 plus ages get the best of us..moved to EZ times for cocktails and Eric´s attempts to buy the part of their decor which consisted of a piranha head carved into coconut shells. The main attraction though was johnny´s, the local disco on the beach, with its blazing bonfire and locals and gringos alike just chilling out by the waves and under the stars. Here I ran into both Kate and the swedes, along with a host of people from the backpackers, and found out that party never really happened anyway, so alls well that ends well. The actual new year brought fireworks down the coast and everyone just hugging everyone and my mistaken Irish identity rearing itself once more as myself and a couple of Emerald Isle lads broke into a round of the Pogue´s ´Fairy Tale of New York´

ah. the penny just dropped. was wondering why my biggest hangover symptom was a sore throat!!! the party ensued with more random people and moving to main street´s cafe Viejo which was met with more dancing the night away in flip flops and more randoms from all over the planet with their party decorations...i ended up with a pair of green sparkly 2008 sunglasses..hmmm. not bad, not bad.

All in all, a great night to bring in the new year...I am muchos happy to be rid of 2007 and look forward to the surprises 2008 will bring!!!

Last Call for United Airlines flight to Los Angeles..

...which is something that every "California dreamer"would love to hear, and quite frankly after leaving the harsh minus temperatures of Vienna, I was looking forward to...but to have this announcement happen whilst still stuck in an impossibly long immigration queue at New York JFK...it was not really what i wanted to hear at that moment.

And the fact this was the Saturday before Christmas meant the likelihood of getting booked on any other flight in the near future was bleak (yes, thank you CNN for the news reports we could watch with eyes glazed over in that immigration queue, stating the busy season had started, airports were packed..and packing tips? pack your patience....). I kept the words in my mind of the Life Coach I'd been sat next to on the plane, saying if I didn't make it, I wasn't meant to be on that flight. Oh, and just to go off on a slight tangent here, I'd also gotten yet more confirmation that my decision to leave Austria early next year was the right one...as if I didn't have enough already

Right, so feeling relatively peaceful despite all this and some minor mayhem, myself and fellow traveller Sacki got the last 2 seats on a reasonably timed flight out the next afternoon, which would get us into LA in time to soak up a bit of that California sunshine. It had taken some time to be rebooked, but the atmosphere was rather 'gemuetlich' for the situation, which made my mind flashback to an article I'd read about sleep deprivation being much like being drunk. So off to the Ramada inn, which was your standard run of the mill airport hotel, but hey, free food, a bathtub and fitness centre, i was not really complaining. not to mention the chance at a proper nights sleep rather than the added 6 hrs of travelling to LA, and having a few laughs over dinner (well, some of it completely inane and putting paid more credit to the sleep deprivation theory) and breakfast and to be honest, it was one of the best missed or delayed flights i've ever had!

and the departure at JFK went incredibly smooth, as did the arrival at sun drenched LAX (and with much joy did i shed that woolly overcoat!).

so far so good for the beginning of the cheeky one month holiday...watch this page!