Tuesday, June 30, 2009

WEEK 12

Panama to Colombia ... Sailing the San Blas Islands
- I wake up around 6am, and move from my bed to the couch near the entrance to the hostel ... good thing I did, because Fabian buzzes at 6:30am, and no one else in the place is remotely alive
- I buzz him up, and go wake Isaac up, then hit the shower to get ready
- shortly after 7am, the three of us are in a cab, heading over to Luna´s Castle, to pick up the others
- Fabian told them 8am, so we´re early when we arrive ... Isaac and I get our cabbie to take us to a pharmacy (for sea sickness pills), and then to a grocery store (for essential supplies like water, rum and coke, chips and hot sauce) ... we got a LOT of water
- we get back to Luna´s Castle, and the others have already headed off ... so we head off too ... only we head straight to the bus station!
- this is a surprise, because our original understanding was that we´d be taking a shuttle to Portobelo (otherwise, we would not have bought all that water so early!)
- so now we´re taking the same trip I originally took to Isla Grande, only we stop a couple hours earlier at Portobelo
- this means lugging all our water onto the Panama to Colon bus, then lugging it off and getting it all on a chicken bus to Portobelo ... ugh
- and lugging around all this water is how we are introduced to the rest of the people we´d be travelling with (lovely)
- two couples ... Willie from Scotland with Heather from Ireland, and Joe and Laura from Portsmouth, England
- we say hi, we apologize for the misunderstanding with the water, and we board the big comfortable bus towards Colon
- an hour and a half later, we get off a few minutes before Colon, as we can catch the bus to Portobelo from here
- within the next half an hour, we pile onto a fairly populated chicken bus headed to Portobelo ... this bus was kicking good tunes, and was decorated more than any other bus I´ve seen
- so we had a pretty pleasant ride hour long ride to Portobelo ... where we got off near a dock, and there we saw Fabian´s boat ... the Sailing Koala (officially named Mano II)
- we take a dingy over to the boat and unload our bags ... then we return to land to hang out in Portobelo for a couple of hours, while Fabian preps the boat (this would have been the perfect time to do our water shopping)
- our group of 6 hit bar beside the dock and have a pre-trip beer together ... then we head off in various directions, exploring the town, and looking for a decent lunch spot
- Isaac and I find a cheap hole in the wall that makes some pretty decent food ... we get the fried chicken special for like $2 ... Willie and Heather wind up getting the same ... Joe and Laura opt for a fish filet at a different restaurant
- after the meal, the others do their water shopping, and then we all head back to the boat
- on the boat, we get a tour of what´s what, and we get assigned our beds ... everything is a pretty tight fit, and every square inch of free space gets used (my bed requires gymnastics to manoeuvre into without bumping into various communication and engine devices)
- it´s mid-afternoon, and it doesn´t take long to figure out the boat gets HOT ... below deck has little fans, but really, it´s like a sauna during the day ... on deck can be cooler, but pretty much impossible to avoid the sun
- we wait until about 5pm, because the first night´s journey is about 12 hours long, and we don´t want to arrive at our destination before sunrise (because there are reefs that need to be avoided)
- 5pm hits, the sun starts to weaken, and we set sail (not literally, this part of the trip has no wind, so Fabian has to use the engine the entire way)
- a couple of hours in, it´s almost dark outside, and Fabian makes us sandwiches for dinner ... canned chicken with mayo, with tomato and red peppers (and onions for those who want)
- not half an hour later, someone makes the comment that Joe looks incredibly green (and indeed he does) ... no one has taken any sea-sickness pills, and apparently the rocking of the boat isn´t agreeing with everyone
- Joe moves towards the bow to lay down (on Fabian´s recommendation) ... and not long after that, Willie has also moved towards the bow to lay down
- in the meantime, Isaac has popped one of the pills we bought
- even Fabian isn´t feeling great, so he tries to lie down for a bit too
- the girls and I don´t really feel sick at all
- a little bit later, Willie is the first to get sick ... this is a great relief to Joe, because he simply didn´t want to be the first ... so he then got sick (and instantly felt much better) ... somewhere in that timeframe, Isaac also got sick (and felt better) ... Willie, unfortunately, was sick for most of the night
- it gets late, and the couples go to bed ... Isaac stays in the sitting area on deck, using one of the mats as a nice outdoor bed ... Fabian still isn´t feeling great, so he sleeps by the bow while I keep an eye on the sea (i.e. just make sure we aren´t heading for a collision with any massive boats ... his auto-pilot takes care of the rest)
- despite barely sleeping in the last several days, I´m not feeling very tired, and I´m enjoying the boat ride ... the entire sky is being lit up by lightning from every direction, but the weather is calm and enjoyable where we are
- eventually Fabian gets up and takes over the watch ... so I grab the mat on the other side of the sitting area and make my own outdoor bed
- I wake up around 4am, because Fabian has turned off the motor to the engine ... apparently we got to our destination too soon, and now he has to wait until dawn to navigate us safely through
- next time I wake up, the sun is up, and we´re anchored near 3 other boats ... there is an island about 50 feet away from us, and another two smaller islands not too far off ... the water is a gorgeous green/blue and you can easily see to the bottom ... everything gives the feel of a tropical paradise
- the main island is called Chichime, and Fabian is friends with the Kuna people who live there ... he tells us to go explore for the morning, giving us snorkling equipment
- we spend most of the morning swimming and hanging out on a tiny empty island at the far end of Chichime ... then the Kuna served us lunch - coconut rice and fried plantain and fried red snapper (that Fabian purchased from the Kuna in the morning)
- the afternoon we spent playing frisbee in the water, just off the shore of the island ... then various degrees of sunburn were noticed
- the remaining hours of sunshine were spent trying to find shade ... then it was a return to the island for dinner ... this time the main was Caribbean lobster (again that Fabian bought from the local Kuna and they prepared for us) ... a bit fishy, but the tails were big and the meal was very enjoyable
- for dinner, Fabian also got us some wines (Clos - a very cheap and yet tasty boxed wine we´d been enjoying throughout Central America) ... by the time we were back on the boat, everyone was pretty happy
- the music came out (Isaac´s portable speaker being the only speaker anyone had, but many iPods were available), and one of the big bottles of rum was cracked (we brought one big bottle, so did Willie and Heather)
- a couple of hours later, everyone on the boat was drunk - including Fabian (but not Laura, as she wasn´t drinking) - and we all crashed out for the night ... Isaac and I again opting for the outdoor bed
- next morning, we headed to the other island (the one we hadn´t been to) ... a mix of swimming there and taking the dinghy
- we again played frisbee, this time on the island, under the shade of the palm trees
- eventually, a Kuna guy joined us ... he had no idea how to throw a frisbee (first couple of tries were upside down) ... but by the time we left, he was pretty decent at it
- we returned to Chichime for lunch ... this time it was a traditional main of smoked fish ... it really seemed to depend on which whole fish you got ... some were pretty dry, others were moist and much more tasty
- after lunch, we got back on the boat and prepared to set sail again ... this time, Fabian was hoping that there was enough wind to actually use the sails
- he got me to steer the boat between the islands and out to the open waters, while he raised the anchor and then raised the sails ... I then steered (i.e. held our course) until we arrived at our next destination (steering in open waters is fun and relaxing ... steering around other boats, between islands and avoiding reefs is a bit stressful)
- after a few hours of sailing, we anchored at Porvenir ... where Fabian took our passports to shore, and took care of the Panama departure side of immigration for us
- we spent the rest of the late afternoon and evening on the boat, Fabian making us pasta for dinner
- a friend of his was anchored on a neighbouring boat, so he came over for a visit, and we all had a bit of rum ... but eventually the weather turned, and we spent quite a while watching a fantastic lightning show ... until the rain showed up ... sending us below deck, and to bed for the rest of the night
- next morning, we sailed about 15 minutes over to a fairly full Kuna village ... Fabian gave us an hour to walk around and check out their homes, the school, the basketball court, etc.
- the highlight of the village was the store that had essential items like more boxed wine!
- once we were down with the village and back on the boat, we sailed a few hours to the eastern edge of the San Blas islands ... there we anchored in this amazing blue lagoon area called the Caya Holandes Islands
- as soon as we anchored, I saw this massive cloud in the water, and I exclaimed, "Look at the size of that ray!" ... pretty sure it was an eagle ray ... it was MASSIVE ... Fabian jumped in the water after it (with the under water camera), and he got some amazing video footage ... at least he would have had he pressed the right button!! Oh well.
- we spent the rest of the day swimming and snorkling, and when night came, we had pasta and wine for dinner
- after dinner, the rum came out, and so did the music ... then the rain started, which lead to Willie, Isaac and I all washing ourselves at the back of the boat
- there wasn't enough rain for us to properly rinse off, so we all jumped in the water ... it was really neat, because every time we moved, there was this glow around us ... something to do with some kind of algae that glows when it's disturbed or something like that
- then getting back on the boat, the ladder wasn't properly propped up, and it collapsed, pinching my right big toe against the boat (ouch) ... and then I had no footing, so I fell backwards back into the water (with toe still stuck - OUCH) ... a month later, the toenail is still purple, and I think some bone on the joint is poking out a bit (but it doesn't hurt much)
- eventually the rain won the battle and our group left the party and opted for bed
- next morning we were mostly rained out ... but by noon, the sun broke, and we were able to sail to another part of the lagoon, where we spent the day snorkling and hanging out on an island
- Fabian calls this island "Koala Island", as he figures he's the only one who takes people there
- we saw a couple of stingrays up close, and there was a bit of a reef that had a lot of pretty fish
- the day started to fade, and our time in the San Blas Islands was almost done ... and Heather was fairly disappointed, because more than anything else, she wanted to see dolphins ... but this trip was destined to meet everyone's hopes and expectations ... so before we set sail, we lucked out and saw two dolphins passing the boat (they even made a couple of passes for us)!
- after that, we set sail again ... out into the open waters ... 40 hours of nothing but sailing! ... the nights were super rocky (but no one got sick), and the days were pretty hot with no escape from the heat or the sun (and no jumping in the water to cool off) ... this stretch was definitely the least pleasant, but it wasn't miserable ... I spent most of my time reading a book, so the trip passed by fairly quickly
- two days after we left San Blas, around noon, we arrived in Cartagena, Colombia ... the sail into the city was scenic and pretty exciting, but more than anything, it was HOT ... we anchored the boat at a marina, and Fabian took our passports to land to send them off with someone (who apparently takes them to the airport to get stamped) ... we then unloaded the boat and made our way to the marina's restaurant
- a round of drinks later, Fabian sent us off in cabs to check in to a hostel ... we thanked him immensely for an amazing and unforgetable experience ... and then it was time for a new experience ... Colombia, we're here!
- EoW

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Now

David and I are killing a day or two in Santa Marta on the North coast of Colombia. It is hot hot hot here and the streets smell like poo. The public beach is usable, and full of locals. The water is not too clean, but people go in.

Got here on a 16 hour bus from Bogota. Temperature went from 16 to 34. Bus was majorly A/C. Knees were painfully stiff.

Last night walked around because the hostel room was hot. Ended up at this corner that had plastic chairs/tables with a bottle of Rum, lime, coke, ice and two plastic cups. That´s how it´s done in Santa Marta.

Tomorrow or the next day we had to Venezuela. Have to make it to the ferry jump off point for Trinidad by Wednesday.

Time to test out the bank machines here. And get some sun.

Monday, June 15, 2009

WEEKS 10-11

Week 10 - Panama City and Isla Grande, Panama
- so a lot of people told me ahead of time that they do not like Panama City ... especially people who live in other parts of Panama ... the capital is too busy, too much pollution, too much traffic, too hot, etc. ... after spending a couple weeks in Panama City, I have to admit that I LOVE the city - can´t say why exactly (maybe it´s the casinos that want your money, or the imported and plastic Colombian hookers that also want your money ... or maybe it´s the 24 hour MacDonald´s) ... whatever the reason, there was a comfort level there, and it just felt like a place one could call "home"
- Ruby and I catch the David-Panama bus, and about an hour and half later, we are let off at a massive bus terminal ... not only is the terminal huge, but there is an entire mall (with movie complex) across the street ... and an entire circus set up at the end of the parking lot!
- we´re in Panama City for about 2 minutes when Ruby says (for the first time, but not the last time), "I think my baby-daddy might be from Panama City!" ... apparently many men here are Ruby´s "type" ... looking at the women at the bus station, I´m wondering why the only attractive people here are men ... turns out there are many beautiful women too - they just aren´t at the bus terminal
- we catch a cab and go to the "best hostel in the city", Luna´s Castle (according to the Lonely Planet ... we later find out the guy who wrote the Panama section got fired for not doing his job properly, and when we wrote about Luna´s Castle, it hadn´t even opened - they just paid him money to say they were the best)
- in its defense, Luna Castle is kinda cool ... decent internet service, help yourself beers, make your own banana pancakes in the morning, and a makeshift movie theatre in the basement! However, the place is PACKED ... like 80 or so beds, and often full ... backpackers everywhere you look, hard to breathe ... and the bedrooms are crap ... no windows, barely functional fans (HOT rooms), noisy bunks, and extremely uncomfortable matresses
- anyway, we chuch our bags in our room, and go outside (in noticeable heat) to check out where we are ... we´re in Casco Viejo ... an older part of town that was a main focus during the days of building the canal, but has since degradated into slums ... and is now being reconstructed to become a tourist attraction
- as such, we witnessed many pretty buildings along the waterfront, and a fantastic walkway that goes over the water and gives a great view of the rest of the city ... but at the same time, there were many buildings in shambles, and there were a few streets we were advised to avoid, especially at night
- after we´d given ourselves a fairly thorough tour of the area, we grabbed dinner and headed back to the hostel ... there we ran into an Irish guy Ruby had met in Honduras ... a group of us played cards for a while, then it was time for bed
- next day comes, and it´s Ruby´s last full day before she heads home ... neither of us slept very well ... and the heat outside is stifling ... we´re head of another (newer) hostel in another part of time that supposedly has enough air conditioning to be nicknamed the "ice box" ... so we pack up and check out
- we catch a cab to the financial district - El Congrejo ... but the Hostel we´re looking for is so new that the taxi driver has no idea where it is (even though we had a street address for the place) ... at one point, he actually tries to drop us off at an entirely different hostel (guess he´s given up on finding the place we´re asking for) ... but after we refuse to get out, he makes one last attempt at magically we find our desired destination - the Jungla House
- the hostel is inside an apartment building ... we buzz in, and take the elevator up to the 5th floor ... there we are greeted by a super friendly Panamanian woman named Rosie ... she shows us around (fantastic balcony area, huge and clean kitchen, dvd viewing area ... Rosie really goes out of her way to make people feel like they are in a home, as opposed to a hotel ... and it all gives off a really good vibe), and we get really good bunk beds (not noisy, and comfortable matresses) in one of their small and welcoming dorm rooms ... the one big negative is that the "ice box" disclaimer seems to be false, and all we get is a ceiling fan (turns out there is a/c in some of the other rooms, but the rooms are MUCH more expensive)
- the other big thing that took some getting used to (mostly because we weren´t really warned ahead of time) is that the bathrooms are "shared" in the sense that they don´t have locks ... but you walk in on one person naked, and you quickly learn that a closed door with the light on means "occupied" ... and another day some newbie walks in on you, and the wheel has turned full circle
- we also meet Randall ... a Costa Rican tour guide who happens to be living at the Jungla House for the time being (apparently he´s moved to Panama City to pursue some much younger woman he claims to be in love with, but she doesn´t seem to be all that interested) ... he´s a nice guy, and his English is decent ... and he LOVES to talk
- after we check in, we go into the heat and check out El Cangrejo ... completely disimilar to Casco Viejo, the financial district is all big and new and gogogo ... after walking about 2 blocks, we run into three big casinos ... then we hit the main street and it´s bank after bank after bank ... we pass many internet cafes and many restaurants (of all types, but predominantly Chinese), and a fairly surprising number of hair salons (not to mention an exotic massage parlour)
- pretty much every establishment we pass is pumping out a/c to the extreme ... making them all seem inviting in the heat ... but we´re on a bit of a masochistic mission - tonight will be Ruby´s last night and she wants to party it up ... we´ve been told that the best clubbing area is along Calle Uruguay, in El Cangrejo ... so right now, we´re determined to figure out exactly where this area is
- we don´t make any wrong turns, but the walk turns out to be a lot longer than we expected ... by the time we get there, we´re tired and melting ... still, we´re able to get a decent feel for the area ... Calle Uruguay is just two blocks long, but it´s just club after club after club ... and then more clubs down the side streets ... good enough, we´ll come back here late tonight (but we won´t be walking!)
- we walk back to the hostel, and it´s time for a midday shower ... it doesn´t take long to figure out Panama City is a 2 to 3 showers a day type of city
- once refreshed, we try to make the most out of Ruby´s last day but hitting one of the city´s tourist destinations ... no time for the canal (but Ruby insists that´s okay, because she WILL return to Panama City someday - especially since she´s fairly confident her baby-daddy is here) ... we settle for the Causeway ... it´s a 2km strip of road that connects four small "islands" to the rest of the city ... it´s also the first/last bit of land the big ships see when entering/leaving the canal
- we catch a cab to the beginning of the Causeway, and get dropped off at the bicycle rental shop ... we´d read that we´d be able to rent a two person (side-by-side) bike that we could use to cruise the length of the strip ... turns out EVERY two person bike they have is broken!! Not cool.
- we have to settle on walking the entire strip ... in that same intense heat ... so much for shower #2! ... after what seems like an eternity, we come across the first island (Noas) ... but there doesn´t seem to be much to see there ... so we trek on to the second island (Flamenco) ... and here we find a few restaurants - salvation!
- we sit down on the outside patio of the first restaurant, and everything instantly gets better ... the wind picks up, the sun starts to set ... the music is good, and the drinks are cold and refreshing (I get a guanabana batido - soursop and milk - delicious!)
- the prices aren´t too bad, and we haven´t eaten in ages, so we get dinner there too ... my corvina (sea bass) was excellent
- fed and refreshed, we were content with the overall Causeway experience ... we caught a taxi back to the hostel (another adventure for the taxi driver, but we were able to at least help find it this time) ... the sun had set, and it was getting to be time we figured out a plan of action for the rest of the night
- back at the hostel, Ruby blurts out to Rosie, "Rosie, I need a Panamanian boyfriend!" (in Spanish) ... this sends Rosie into a laughing fit ... but next thing we know, Rosie has made a few phone calls, and we need to hurry to get ready, because we´re being picked up by some of her friends, and there is a guy she thinks Ruby will like!!!! Maybe I should ask Rosie for a Panamanian girlfriend! Or maybe I should wait to see how the rest of the night unfolds first.
- so shower #3, and then it´s time to dig through the backpack to find clothes that adhere to the Calle Uruguay DRESS CODE (the code it simple enough ... pants and closed-toe shoes for men ... women have no dress code at all ... there are also cover charges to many of the clubs ... for men ... even if the women get a cover charge, it´s almost always cheaper that what the men have to pay) ... jeans and sneakers may sound comfortable enough, but the night has probably "cooled" down to about 30 degrees outside, so wearing socks, shoes, and long pants all sound like horrible ideas
- Ruby takes extra time getting ready ... dolling herself up for her blind date ... by the time she´s ready, there´s a car downstairs that has been waiting for us for at least 15 minutes
- we enter the car thinking we might be meeting her new dream-guy, but it turns out to be other people ... Carlos is driving - he is Panamanian who run a Spanish school ... goes for the ultra macho combined with pretty boy look and manages to pull it off ... in the passenger seat is his girlfriend, Evelyn - a gorgeous, friendly German who met Carlos when he was promoting his Spanish school ... she signed up for classes, and now she´s officially moved to Panama to be with him ... both are very nice people, and they speak fluent English ... it´s great that they are willing to show us around and try to make sure we have a good night out
- we drive to Calle Uruguay, and the transformation from the daytime is impressive ... not just lights and music everywhere you look, but people - so many people (and it´s only a Thursday!) ... a lot of the women are wearing eye-popping outfits ... but there is a good mix of this and that, so there´s no need to feel underdressed
- first stop is a bar called Prive ... you walk in and it´s all white, and some sort of electronica is playing ... the bar itself is a huge rectangle and it takes up the majority of the place, with seating areas off to either end ... we get a couple of bar stools, so some of us sit and some of us stand at the bar
- we get a drink, and then Miguel shows up ... how to describe him ... Ruby takes one look and nearly passes out ... her first thought is this guy really may be her future baby´s daddy (and this is the guy Rosie wanted her to meet) ... they talk for a little bit, but his English isn´t great, and Ruby´s Spanish is only so-so ... that isn´t the real problem though ... Miguel is constantly heading outside to smoke ... Ruby is not into that, so it doesn´t take long before that potential all fizzles into nothingness (at least they make you smoke outside in Panama)
- some local Rapper enters the bar with an entourage holding fancy cameras ... no one knows who he is exactly, but he´s there doing some sort of promotion ... just in case he is (or might become) famous, Ruby makes sure she gets a photograph with him
- next stop is a place called Chocolate ... unfortunately, it´s pretty much empty ... so we basically just pop in and pop out
- next we head to Pure ... supposedly one of the best dance clubs in the area ... only problem is, they have a $10 cover charge for men and for women ... this turns most of the group off, so we all head back to Prive instead ... it´s not as packed as it was when we were first there, and the crowd seems to be thinning out ... apparently, it´s a good bar to start off at, and then people typically head out to the bigger/better dance club type places
- once the crowd starts to feel non-existant, we head upstairs to a different bar, called Seis ... this bar has a 70´s disco atmosphere, with the walls and the lights ... but the music is definitely salsa ... we hang out here for a while, mostly watching how the locals can all dance to salsa - incredibly close and incredibly well ... I´d call the moves a "four-step", but there is a LOT of simultaneous hip action on both sides
- eventually, Carlos tells us he and Evelyn are going to call it quits for the night (Miguel has long since disappeared) ... Ruby and I decided to stay out (it is her last night after all, and we´re having a pretty good time), so we say goodbye to them
- Ruby really wants to dance, but she´s craving hip hop ... so we venture out and find club Guru ... two problems ... first is the cover is $20 each, and second is that that music blasting out from the entrance is NOT hip hop (the club was written up as the only hip hop club in Panama City)
- so we backtrack to Pure, and pay the $10 entry fees ... we walk in, and the lighting around the bar is so white, it looks bleached ... it´s hard to focus on anything, it´s so bright ... and the music is LOUD and obnoxious ... and there are only like five people inside ... did we just get scammed??
- turns out there is an outside section, past the bar ... we head out, and the patio is pretty spectacular ... a laser light show is going off on the far back wall, there is water cascading down side walls and running into mini pools ... bars are off to either side, and there are little cushion chairs scattered to the back ... and the rest is just people, people and more people ... all dancing, all having a great time
- next thing you know, we´re catching a cab home and it´s about ... 3:30am ... good times, good times
- a couple of hours of sleep later, Ruby is hugging me goodbye ... she´s off to the airport, heading back to Minnesota ... and I´m officially travelling alone (but only for four days)
- Isaac emails and informs me he is sticking with Doro, and he is going to take another week of homestay Spanish classes ... so I shouldn´t expect him for (at least) another 11 days
- hrm ... decisions, decisions ... should I stick around, or should I push forward to Colombia on my own ... I start to look into boat trips to Colombia, along with other Panamanian destinations I might be interested in
- at the same time, I´ve barely checked out El Cangrejo, and I can definitely use a bit of down-time ... I head out to find a good internet cafe, and start to catch up on things like this blog
- I also walk through the biggest of the casinos in the area ... evil temptation ... I do love blackjack ... I resist the temptation though ... for now
- I get back to the hostel in the late afternoon, and I start talking to the only other two guests staying there ... there is Pauline is from Holland, and we´re sharing a dorm room - she´s been in Panama City the same about of time as I have, but her next stop is to Boquete to work (and make some cash) for about a month ... and then there is Sachin - born in India (and tanned way darker than I am), but raised in North Carolina ... he´s just graduated from UNC and lives in Chapel Hill (good connection to have!!) ... he´s in town for one day/night only (he was travelling in South America), catching a flight back to the U.S. the following day
- Pauline was planning on a fairly quiet and relaxed Friday evening ... I didn´t have any plans, but after the previous night with Ruby, I wasn´t really thinking about partying ... HOWEVER, Sachin was all about making his last night a big night out (same attitude as Ruby´s) ... so he kept looking to Pauline and me to go with him
- being the team player that I am, I flat out stated I would go out ONLY if Pauline came out too ... utter blackmail, but next thing you know, we´re all getting ready to at least go out for a few drinks at a bar down the street
- first stop is the gas station (less than 2 blocks from the hostel), for 50 cent cans of beer ... we start drinking them as we walk down the street, en route to a bar
- along the way, we stop for Sachin to get money from an ATM ... this gives the street police a chance to spot our open beer cans and give us a hard time for drinking in this neighbourhood (we never were told drinking outside is illegal, but we were told we couldn`t have open containers of alcohol because there were apartments around, or something like that)
- so the fuzz starts lecturing us and Pauline (who speaks the most Spanish by far) doesn`t say a word (partly because the cops decided to only address the men) ... Sachin, on the other hand, starts rattling off all 20 words of Spanish he knows - OVER and OVER again ... I`m somewhere in the middle, speaking infrequently, but always apologizing, saying we didn`t know, and asking if we can just throw away the beer and walk away
- eventually, we get to the real reason we`ve been approached ... the notion of $30 per person comes up - of course! they just want money ... we play dumb brilliantly, and they eventually give up ... the cops dump two half beers on the ground (and they just litter the empty cans), but they are kind enough to let us keep our two un-opened beers.
- our brush with the "law" was over, and our night was off to a great start ... we find the first bar, and it`s a total dump ... people are drinking outside, so we see our opportunity to finish our unopened beers ... after that, we keep walking to the next bar ... which again gives off a vibe of "no thank you"
- the evening is feeling more and more like a bust, so I throw out the idea of Calle Uruguay to try to salvage the night ... we hop in a cab, and 5 minutes later, everyone is much happier
- we start off at Prive ... and the crowd is good, the music is great ... we even find a corner where we can dance a bit ... when the crowd begins to thin, we decide to move on to the next place ... we try the upstairs bar, but tonight there is a significant cover charge, so we head out onto the street to find somewhere else to go
- we head over to Pure to see how bad the cover is ... it`s worse than the night before, so that`s a no-go ... a big Israeli guy starts telling Pauline she should come inside Pure, and when she tells him we`re going to look for another place, he leaves his friends at Pure and starts following her around like a puppy dog
- we wind up in front of a bar called PEOPLE (each letter is a massive statue in front of the bar) ... there is a cover for men only here ... we stand outside debating whether or not to go in ... eventually, a group of German girls walk up to the bar and start talking to us, asking us if this is a good place to go
- turns out this Colombian guy named Alex is watching us the entire time from the upstairs balcony of People ... he seems to have a thing for Pauline, so he comes down and tells us he can get us all in for free!
- in we all go ... the downstairs has a tiny dance floor and a large sitting area ... but everyone is dancing, so it`s more like a huge dance floor the music is "ecletic" (i.e. it`s all over the place with no consistent style) and it`s LOUD
- we hit the bar, we hit the dancefloor, we all have a blast
- the Israeli gets the cold shoulder from Pauline, but he`s quick to recover and throw himself and any and every German girl he can isolate from the rest of the pack
- eventually, Sashin and I are ready for a new venue, but Pauline isn`t anywhere to be found ... we head upstairs to the "VIP" area (another bar, more lounging, less dancing) and we find our girl out on the balcony, having a conversation with Alex
- she seems happy to see us (as opposed to the potential "go away boys, I`m working on something here" look), so we stroll over to say hello ... turns out she`s ready to go too, and Alex is quick to join us on the way out
- we stop for some street meat ... a burger for me, some taco thing for Sachin, and a meat skewer for Pauline ... in retrospect, we all agree that Pauline got the best food (and it was the cheapest) ... Alex tries to get us in to Pure for cheap (if not free), but even though it`s crazy late at night, they refuse to change the price ... guess his connections don`t work at all the bars (maybe just at People)
- we decide to call it a night and head home ... Alex offers and gives us a ride ... guess he really liked Pauline ... however, Pauline is pretty tall, and Alex is VERY short ... so he never stood a chance
- we buzz in to the hotel at around 4:30am, and a pattern of late nights and not much sleep at the Jungla House has already been established
- next day, we say goodbye to Sachin, and Pauline and I check out the Panama Canal ... I wasn`t all that keen to go, but it turned out to be pretty cool ... it`s especially neat to see how high tech it all seems considering it was created about 100 years ago
- we watched a couple boats pass through the lock system, and then we watched a short movie about the canal, and then we walked through four floors worth of a museum ... what I found most interesting in the new additions they are making to the canal ... a 55 billion dollar project to put in new locks, to allow bigger boats, and also to make better use of the water when raising/lowering the locks (right now, only 14,000 boats a year can cross through the canal, simply because that`s all the water they get from rainfall in a year ... each time a lock empties, the water is wasted out to sea)
- we get back to the hostel, and Carlos and Evelyn there ... turns out Evelyn is heading back to Germany the next morning (returning permanently in a few weeks), and Carlos will be driving Pauline to Boquete (she`ll be helping out with his Spanish school for the next month)
- Carlos and Evelyn say goodbye, and they go out for a last dinner together before she leaves ... Pauline and I contemplate another night out, as it`s her last night in Panama ... but neither of us have it in us, so we stay in and hang out on the balcony with Rosie and Randall (something that happens for part of almost every night really)
- Rosie`s neice, Madeline, is staying with her for the weekend, so we also join her to watch a dvd ... eventually the movie ends, the chit chat on the balcony ends, the music out of the stereo reception ends, and we all call it an "early" night (probably like 2am)
- next day, it`s hugs good bye to Pauline ... I`m now the only person staying at the hostel!
- I head out for a $2.50 huge plate of local food, served at an outdoor "restaurant" that only has a roof over a few chairs, and is only open for breakfast/lunch (I wound up going there for my first meal fairly often)
- next, I hit the nicely air-conditioned internet cafe for a couple of hours, then I go to the casino and play some blackjack ... I only put down $20 ($3 minimum bets), and HOURS later, I`ve never gone up more than $9 and I`ve never gone down more than $12 ... I eventually get tired and hungry, so I walk away having broken even - not bad at all!
- I get some cheap and tasty Chinese food for dinner, then head back to the hostel ... much to my surprise, it has gone from empty to nearly full!!! a group of 9 Israeli`s show up ... it would seem they are returning after a few days in the San Blas (which were fantastic) ... luckily, none of them are in my dorm room, so I have it all to myself!
- I wind up reading a book for most of the evening, but I do wind up hanging out on the balcony with Rosie and Randall for a bit
- next day, I find myself back at the casino (mayday, blackjack can be an addiction!) ... I put down $20 again, and it disappears in like 10 minutes (I actually wound up putting down $21) ... so I do the smart thing and walk away ... no actually, I throw down $100 (anyone know the phone number to Gambler´s Anonymous at Panama?) ... and I play two hands at a time, $6 bets each ... not even an hour later, I`m up $125 ... problem being I won the money too fast, so I`m not quite ready to leave ... luckily, I have other plans in the back of my mind, so I cash in, and walk away up a net of $104 dollars :)
- next, I catch a $0.25 bus ride to the bus terminal ... then I walk over to the mall, and treat myself to a movie - Wolverine ... loved it! The movie ends, and it`s still fairly early ... so I figure why not watch another movie! This time I see 17 again (was the only real option I had, given the start times and the desire to see a subtitled movie) ... it was entertaining enough, but I wouldn`t exactly recommend it to anyone
- I contemplate taking a taxi home, but I`m confident that if I take the same bus that I took on the way in, it will eventually circle around and drop me off where I caught it in the first place (long story short, there`s a big one-way street near the casino that makes it easy to catch buses to the terminal, but there`s not easy way to get back)
- so I get on a bus, and about 30 minutes later, it dawns on me that I`m headed to the airport on the outskirts of town ... oops ... well, okay cool ... I get to see the airport, and the area of "Tacumen" ... will add over an hour to my trip, but I don´t exactly have anywhere else to be anyway
- we pass the airport and everything is fine and dandy ... and then a few minutes later, everyone has gotten off the bus, and I`m the only one left ... the driver pulls into a gas station and starts yapping to me to get off ... I explain to him that I want to return to the city, to be let off on that main street ... to which he replies this is the LAST STOP OF THE NIGHT, and there are no more buses back into town until THREE AM (it`s about 11pm, and we are in the middle of nowhere, as far as I can figure)
- so I pay my $0.25 (pretty cheap to get stranded in the middle of nowhere) and try not to freak out
- there is a grocery store across the street from the gas station ... I head over there, and they are closing down ... I ask if I can call a taxi, and they point to a security guard outside the store ... I try to explain my plight to him, and he basically tells me I`m screwed (at least, he doesn`t really do anything to help me)
- just as I`m starting to wonder if I can possibly hang out on the streets until 3am, a taxi pulls up to the store to get an end-of-day beer ... I tell him I need to get into the city, and he has to think about it for a bit before agreeing to take me ... I´m expecting him to charge an arm and leg, but he only charges $20 (I say "only", because any taxi to the airport is always at least $20)
- so this taxi saves the day, and drops me off by the casino ... I pop in to apply to be the new GA spokesperson, and I instead walk out up $30, making my next for the day $114 (taking the cab fare out of my winnings)
- I head back to the hostel and call it a (very fortunate) night
- next day, I leave my big bag with Rosie, and I take my day pack with me back to the bus station ... there, I get a ticket on the express bus north to Colon (the port city to the north, aka the Caribbean end of the Panama Canal ... it seems small, very busy, and not at all pretty) ... the ride is an hour an a half, and about 45 minutes into it, the girl beside me wakes up and discovers she`s slept through the arrival and depature in Panama City!! Much to her chagrin, she`s on her way BACK to Colon!!
- in Colon, we all get dropped off at the bus terminal, and I immediately hop on a chicken bus marked Costa Arriba ... apparently there is only one such bus every two hours
- the bus takes off and about thirty minutes later, we are travelling east along the Caribbean coastline ... passing Pilon and Portobelo and Puerto Lindo, all en route to the end of the line, La Guira ... from here, I take a 5 minute water taxi over to my actual destination ... Isla Grande
- Isla Grande is NOT that big ... in fact, it´s very small ... Little Corn is much bigger ... the island is also very dead ... possibly because the rainy season has started, but more so because the island apparently is more of a weekend destination (and I´ve arrived on a Tuesday) ... most of the restaurants are closed, and I see maybe a total of 10 other tourists the entire time I´m there
- still, the place is pretty, and the weather isn´t horrible ... I check in at the hotel right by the dock ... the price is fair, and the room is decent
- I go for a walk north, and I run out of real estate in about 10 minutes (if even) ... then I take the south path, and I stop about 15 minutes later (once the path becomes dangerously rocky)
- by now, the sun has set, and I try one of the four open restaurants for dinner ... I get the sea bass (corvina) ... it´s fairly cheap and very tasty ... the fish is served whole, with head and tail attached ... something that seems to bother a lot of people, but I kind of like it :)
- not much else to do on the island, so I head back to my room and read until I´m ready for bed
- next day, the sun threatened to make an appearance, so I headed to the north end, where there is a bit of a beach ... I got some sun (through clouds), and took a dip in the water ... and then it started to rain ... and it kept raining ... I took shelter under a hut (aka an empty bar patio), and that pretty much spelled the end of my quest for a sunny day at the beach
- when the rain lessened, I headed back to my room, and read/napped until it was time for dinner ... by then, the rain was gone for the most part ... I tried a different restaurant, and got red snapper (pargo rojo) ... slightly more expensive than the sea bass, but definitely worth it ... the fish tastes as good (if not better), but it also comes off the bone much nicer ... making it easier to eat with much less mess
- after dinner, it´s back to the hotel for more reading until bedtime ... I went to Isla Grande to get some sun and beach, and instead, I´m mostly just bored
- EoW

Week 11 - Panama City, Panama
- next morning is very cloudy, and rain looks imminent ... so I decide to call it quits, and head back to Panama City ... turns out I got up too early though, because no bus shows up to take me back to Colon until the afternoon ... at least there is an express bus ready to go as soon as I get to the bus station in Colon
- the ride back to Panama City is uneventful, and the sun was out when we arrived at the bus terminal ... so I decided to head back to the mall and watch another movie ... Star Trek had opened since I was last there, so I decided to check it out ... loved it!
- after the flick, I wisely took a taxi back to the hostel ... when I got upstairs, I got a big hug from Rosie (awwww) ... all the Israelis were gone, so the hostel was down to me and a family of three American who were only in town for a couple of days ... however, a couple of guys were renting the private room on the 2nd floor, which meant that Randall was moved into the dorms ... so I no long had "my" dorm to myself ... Randall, Rosie and I hung out on the balcony for a bit, and then we called it a night
- next day I got my haircut at one of the million nearby salons ... I lucked out with a girl from Miami (i.e. she was fluent in English), but then again, she did a fairly crap job of cutting my hair (didn´t really take much off, so I´ll probably need another one in a week or so) ... then I went for a pretty long walk, hitting the drugstore for refills in some necessities (in particular, a new inhaler for my asthma ... a) the further south I travel, the more I seem to be needing to use it and b) is seems to be easy and straightforward to get a new one in most of these countries ... just show them your old inhaler, and then give you a replacement for fairly cheap ... no prescription necessary) ... I then checked out a couple of bookstores, settling on a couple of cheap English books I found through some pretty slim pickings
- by the time I got back to the hostel, most of the day was gone ... after I grabbed some dinner, I wound up watching a dvd with Rosie (sort of ... whenever she tries to watch a dvd, she either falls asleep, or gets called away to work ... the movie was Rambo, First Blood ... Rosie claims she has tried to watch it like 10 times, and has never actually seen it) ... tried to watch another movie after that, but the dvd player died ... so that was the end of that night
- next day, Rosie was all nervous and excited, because her boyfriend was coming in from Boquete ... Ryan is from Colorado and he´s been living in Central America for about 5 years ... while Rosie´s been running the Jungla House in PC, he´s been running their hostel in Boquete ... but today, he´s coming to Panama City longterm, partly for their relationship, and partly to implement a few changes at the Jungla House
- I headed out for my normal routine of cheap brunch, internet and casino ... this time, my $20 lasted my quite a while, so when I lost it, I simply got up and walked away (still up $94 overall)
- back at the hostel, I met Ryan as well as a new Israeli couple ... Gali and Tomer ... they were very friendly, and it appeared we were the only three backpackers at the hostel ... but a couple of hours later, most of the original group (3 girls, 2 guys) of Israelis returned (this time from Bocas del Toro, where they too got rained out) ... turns out they knew Gali and Tomer through a mutual friend, so it was a bit of a reunion for them
- then again, when the big group arrived, the vibe was different than they were expecting ... instead of hugs from Rosie and the same beds that they always had, Ryan took over the check in process, made them dig out their passports, and assigned them to a new dorm ... this seemed to be the start of implementing new procedures at the Jungla House
- the new procedure with the biggest impact was posted later in the evening ... the Jungla House would not buzz anyone in between 2am and 7am (3am on Friday and 4am on Saturday) ... the attitude being that they aren´t going to pay someone to work the graveyard shift, so if you are out that late, just stay out until the morning ... remembering my 3:30am Thursday night and my 4;30am Friday night, I instantly see a potential problem here
- better still, Ryan was planning a big night out for everyone ... his first night back, Saturday night, an American from Colorado was due to arrive any minute, if was the last night for the two brothers staying in a room on the 2nd floor (Nelson and Mike, from Portugal, living in NYC, both graphic designers, one for Macy´s, the other for the Onion ... in Panama City to buy property, and turn it into a rental home) ... many reasons to entertain and party it up ... Rosie even dresses up to come out with us (which is big news, because Rosie has been asked to come out several times and has always declined, saying maybe another time)
- next thing we know, there are like 13 people drinking on the balcony, rocking out to the music on Ryan´s laptop, pumping through the stereo ... the bars on Calle Uruguay don´t really get going until 11pm or so, giving plenty of time for a "pre÷party"
- the guy from Colorado shows up from the airport, has a couple of beers and disappears ... Rosie has a rum drink (good time to point out the Ron Abuelo Añejo 7 Years is by far the best and cheapest rum we´ve encountered so far on this trip), and she´s disappeared into her bedroom ... apparently booze puts her to sleep, so we´ve lost her for the night ... a beach ball goes over the edge of the balcony and is never seen again (luckily Ryan kicked it over, so no one has to feel guilty about it
- eventually it´s time to hit the clubs ... we wind up heading out in three groups ... four in one cab, four in another, and I stay with the brothers ... we walk to a restaurant beside the big casino, because a friend of theirs has just flown in with his dad and his little brother, and they´re having a quick bite to eat
- we find them at the restaurant, and they quickly ditch their dad at their hotel around the corner ... that leaves five of us walking to Calle Uruguay ... the weather is cooler (or maybe I´m finally aclimating), and the walk isn´t too bad
- we meet the others at People ... Ryan knows the owner and has gotten everyone in and upstairs for $5 (supposed to be $10 to get in and another $10 to get to the VIP upstairs) ... I wonder if Ryan and Alex know each other ... but there´s no sign of Alex tonight
- the brothers buy a bottle of vodka for the group, and we take over a big part of the VIP section ... the real party seems to be downstairs though, and the music isn´t great ... still, we make the most of it, and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves ... eventually, Gali and Tomer call it a night ... not long after, some of the other Israelis leave ... and then the rest leave, and the only ones left are Ryan and our walking 5
- we bail on the club, and we say goodbye to Ryan as he heads down the street to get a taco (ironically, he gets home at about 4:30/5:00 in the morning, breaking his own curfew ... but he has a key)
- Mike and Nelson know of a caberet show they think we´d all enjoy, so we catch a taxi there ... turns out it would have been about a 5 minute walk, had we known where we were going ... we get inside, and the show is over ... the curtain in drawn on the stage, and the place is just full of drunk guys at the bar and at some tables, with a bunch of women all wearing the same white caberet/thong outfit ... most of them keeping a man company ... "seedy" describes the feel of the after÷show aura
- we have a beer, then walk back towards the hotel of the other÷brothers ... we drop them off, and then Mike and Nelson want to check out the casino ... of course I´m game for that!
- we head in, and see the Israeli guys playing roulette ... we hit a couple of differnt blackjack tables ... and Mike starts winning immediately at his ... Nelson changes tables after some bad luck, and has more bad luck at my table ... I put down $20 and next thing I know, I´ve worked my way up to nearly $150 ... when I call it quits, I´m up $125, putting me $229 net ... the brothers are impressed, and I´m pretty content
- we walk out of the casino, and it´s daylight ... ouch ... was not expecting that ... heading back towards the hostel, we see the guy from Colorado ... he´s just woken up and is heading out for the day!! When we get to the Jungla House, it´s 7am ... but even though that´s the new official time they open, no one is answering the door
- luckily, the brothers have a key (as they are staying on the 2nd floor), and better yet, there is an unused dorm room there ... so I crash on a bed there for a few hours
- 11am comes, and I can hear one of the brothers talking on his phone ... definitely not enough sleep, so I head upstairs to my bed, and I try to sleep some more ... but when the sun and heat take control of the day, sleeping is just no longer an option
- I spend the remainder of the afternoon blogging, then I get myself some Chinese food for dinner
- after the food, I return to the hostel, and I wind up playing cards with the Israelis for a couple of hours ... then they all want to head out, but everyone knows there is no possible way they will be back before 2:30am ... I'm not all too keen to go out myself, so I offer to buzz them in when they get home ... so I spend the rest of the night just relaxing and/or drifing in and out of a nap ... eventually the others get back, I buzz them in, and head straight to bed
- next day is more of the same ... food, internet (finally get a week's blog written and posted), and playing cards with the Israelis until the evening comes
- I see Ryan at some point in the afternoon, and he comments he hasn't seen me since he left to get a taco two nights ago ... pretty funny ... he spends most of his days shopping for the hostel and then placing everything he's bought ... one of his first purchases was a new dvd player
- I wind up going to the mall with the Israelis ... it's their last night in Panama City, and they want to see Angels and Demons ... the movie is decent, but they're mostly interested in seeing the female lead, as she is from Israel
- we get dropped off near the casino, so while the others head back to the hostel, I go play a bit of blackjack :)
- a couple of hours later, I've won like $20 (net $249), and it's getting late, so I head back to the hostel ... as I get to the front door, I run into Tomer heading out ... he wants to go to the casino ... so naturally I join him! ... and so begins the inevitable losing streak ... I lose $40 without any effort (as do Tomer), and we decide to bail on that casino and go look for the other Israeli guys, and they too are out gambling at another casino
- we find one of them at a blackjack table, and he is all alone ... and losing ... so Tomer joins him ... the losing continues, so naturally I jump in ... I drop $80, and we've all busted broke before we've blinked ... I'm now down $100 for the night, but still up $129 overall
- we watch some crazy high rollers throw thousands away on baccarat (another day I saw a guy playing about $700 worth of chips on every roulette wheel spin) ... it's crazy to watch that much money come and guy like that
- eventually, we head back to the hostel, where everyone is staying up all night, because some of them leave at 4am, others at 5am
- the girls are all watching a season of Gossip Girl on dvd ... I've never seen the show, but I get sucked in and join them until it's time for people to start leaving
- a couple rounds of hugs goodbye, and then everyone is gone (except for one girl who is staying for one more day ... I never had any chance of pronouncing her name properly, but Hally was kinda sorta pathetically similar) ... off to bed around 5:30 am
- next day, they sun insists I get out of bed by 11am ... I end up lazing on a couch, watching Gossip Girl with Hally (turns out it's her dvd)
- a few hours later, I've completely zoned out into the la-la-land of an entire season of a show on tv ... when suddenly a large group of people check in ... a group that Isaac met on his 16 hour bus ride from San Jose, Costa Rica!! He officially had to say goodbye to Dora, as she was staying in Costa Rica for weeks ... so after weeks of travelling apart, we were once again back on the same path
- after greetings and introductions, those who just arrived from Costa Rica crashed out from fatigue (Isaac was out for hours, which started a pattern that led to several people saying they've never seen anyone sleep so much) ... Hally and I finished the dvd and played some cards ... we also briefly met Anne ... a German who just checked in ... Randall (who has been in and out all this time ... haven't seen him too much, but he's still the only other person in my dorm room) was so pleased to meet someone else who speaks German - so the two of them took off to see the city
- evening arrives, and Isaac wakes up in time ... we take Hally out for a belated birthday dinner (her birthday was yesterday, but her friends weren't up for going out to dinner that night), then we head back to the hostel and Hally goes to bed, as she has to be up early to travel tomorrow (and she barely slept last night)
- Isaac and I get some rum, and we hang out on the balcony, catching up
- next thing you know, it's about 5am and we're LOADED ... we decide to go out, knowing that the 7am rule won't be a problem
- we hit a casino and promptly each lose $40 (now up net $89) ... then we hit a restaurant for breakfast ... and we wind up back at the hostel at 8:30am!! And off to bed we go.
- next day, I ignore the sun until noon, before it finally kicks me out of bed
- I get up and Isaac and I go for a bit of a tour of the area, and we grab some lunch
- then it's back to the hostel, and Isaac again crashes out for several hours
- in the meantime, I hit the casino for a bit of retribution, and I win $20 (net $109), then I return to the hostel and watch a couple of dvd movies with Anne and Randall
- evening comes, Isaac wakes up, and we get some dinner ... then it's back to the hostel for more balcony and rum
- Ryan winds up hanging out with us for most of the evening, drinking, talking and listening to his wide collection of music
- Rosie hangs out with us too, but after one drink, she gets sleepy and goes to bed
- meanwhile, Ryan busts open his liquor cabinet and asks us what kind of shots we want ... translation - we're in for another bumpy ride!
- 2am arrives, so it's obviously a good time to once again go out and break curfew ... Ryan comes out with us (so getting back in isn't a problem) ... we're walking down the street, and suddenly the police come up to talk to us!!
- turns out, Isaac was walking with a beer in his hand ... deja vu!!!
- this time, Ryan does all the talking (as he can speak Spanish) ... but the routine is very similar ... they want money, they don't get any, they leave us alone after the beer has been dumped
- Ryan takes us to a 24 hour diner, and we get "4th meal" ... then we head back to the hostel to call it a night ... 4:30am
- next day, Isaac gets up and heads out for a haircut and some other errands ... then he comes back to the hostel and crashes out again
- meanwhile, I hit the casino, because I'm on a mission to lose all my money ... I throw down $100 and play two hands (really, I just prefer two hands at a time it just happens to be much more expensive to play that way)
- the problem is, I'm stuck in the last two spots on the table, and it's full of locals who think they know everything about blackjack, yet they all do some of the most retarded moves anyone can ever do (examples ... hit on 13 when dealer shows 6, or stand on 7 ... the list goes on) ... they also all lose their money all the time (I've seen almost all of them lose over the last couple of weeks) ... the PROBLEM being, no matter how stupid their actions are, and no matter how consistent my actions are, they will always look at what the dealer gets, and then look at my cards ... and then add up what the dealer would have had if I did or didn't take another card ... and whenever they all win, they don't think twice about it ... but when they all lose, and there was a chance they would have won if I did/didn't take another card, they all blame me for not knowing what I'm doing!!! It's just the worst position to be in when the rest of the table doesn't know what they're doing ... they honestly would get mad at me for hitting on 16 one time (dealer showed 10), and then NOT hitting on it another time (dealer showed 3)!! It's as if I'm supposed to magically know what the next card will be, and anytime I don't get it exactly right (i.e. so that they win), I'm to blame. The worst part is they are all going off about me in Spanish, thinking I don't understand ... but I know exactly what they are saying, my Spanish just isn't good enough to talk back to them
- so I sit silently, and everyone eventually loses all their money ... meanwhile I fare better than all of them, only losing about $25 even though the dealer has hit 21 over and over again ... literally 10 times in about 25 hands
- the table thins out as people go broke ... and the dealer stays hot ... eventually it's just one on one, and I wind up unable to afford two hands anymore ... and eventually I get down to my last chip ... I'm able to win and rebuild ... SLOWLY ... about an hour or so later, I've worked my way back to $25, and I walk away
- the experience with the locals completely ruined the gambling for me ... I play because I have fun when I play, and if I lose money, then I'm simply paying for the entertainment ... today was no fun at all ... so just like that, my addiction ended, and I was completely done with the casino ... meaning that after several trips to casino and several hours of gambling, I ended up winning a total of $34 ... I am happy with that
- I head back to the hostel and Isaac is sleeping ... Anne and I are both hungry, so we go out for dinner
- her dorm room faces the balcony at the hostel, and it turns out we've been keeping her awake with all our last night festivities! I apologized, but I also gave her a hard time for not coming out and joining us
- we return to the hostel, and two other German girls (that she met in the morning, Ozlem and Cordula) come by to pick her up to go out and see the nightlife
- we all wind up on the balcony having a few drinks, and I give them a few recommendations of where they probably want to go ... eventually, we all decide it's better if I just show them
- all this time, Isaac is still sleeping!!
- I wake him up, and we all head out to Calle Uruguay
- Prive is so packed there isn't even room to get in past the door ... but we're able to go upstairs to Sies, and we get a table on their outdoor balcony
- a few drinks later, everyone is having a blast, but it's time to get up and dance ... so we head off to People ... I guy calls down to me from the balcony, and it's Alex! ... he comes down and gets us in for free again (it's good to have local connections!)
- we go up to the VIP area, but again it's fairly dead compared to the downstairs ... so we head back to the action, and the music is way better than last weekend, and we stay and dance for quite a while (and then the music turns to crap again)
- I say goodbye to Alex, and we head out looking for another place ... we check out Pure, and the entry fee is once again ridiculous ... so we start checking out every bar on that street, looking for cheap entry
- we get to a place called Sahara, and it's free to go in ... it's more of a bar, but it's fairly empty ... and there is a live band ... locals for sure, but doing English cover songs ... next thing you know, five of us are dancing on the small floor in front of the band, having a blast
- eventually the music stops, and the band thanks us for supporting and enjoying their music ... then the bar closes, and we're back on the street ... only Ozlem and Cordula immediately have to catch a cab to their hotel, because they have a flight in 2 hours (it's like 5am)!! Crazy girls ... they were a lot of fun ... hugs goodbye and the cabbie takes them away
- the three of us left start walking home ... we're all hungry, so we decide to get something to eat
- we check out one diner, but nothing on the menu appeals to anyone, so we get up and head to the 24 hour diner that Ryan had shown us the night before ... but again, the menu just wasn't working
- next stop was the 24 hour MacDonald's, but they were only serving breakfast at that time of day, so we once again left ... next stop was the restaurant that Isaac and I had eaten at in the early hours two nights ago ... only they didn't open until 6:30am (it's 6am now)
- so now we're frustrated and we can't even head home (silly curfew!)
- we walk around, and see this underground place ... we poke our heads in, and it's small bar that's still open! a few locals are dancing, and there are no tourist there at all ... so obviously we go in!
- the beers are super cheap, the local atmosphere is pretty fun, so we just sit and people watch, killing time, but totally enjoying ourselves
- 6:30am arrives, and we leave the bar (still open, people are still dancing) ... we open the door to get outside, and it's bright from the sun - HATE that (and it's the third time it's happened to me in Panama City)
- we head to the now open restaurant and at last get our food ... by the time we get back to the hostel, it's almost 8am
- next day, I'm up at 11:30 ... which is good, because Isaac and I have a meet-and-greet with a boat captain ... his name is Fabian, and he is one of the most recommended captains for sailing from Panama to Colombia ... Ryan was able to get a hold of him on his cell phone, and he had booked us for his next trip out, which happens to be tomorrow!!
- this is all really excellent news, because from the sounds of it, the first boat we were going to catch was probably going to be a much worse experience
- Fabian shows up at noon ... very nice and friendly guy from Colombia ... he speaks excellent English ... he brings out a laptop and shows us a bunch of pictures of what to expect on our trip ... the pictures are amazing, and we get very excited about going
- it's also the first time Ryan and Fabian have met ... so we become the first official Jungla House representatives on Fabian's boat ... if all goes well, it could be the start of a good relationship between Jungla and Sailing Koala (the name of Fabian's business)
- the rest of the day flies by as we try to get things sorted for the trip ... laundry and packing and errand running
- last night at the Jungla house, we're chilling with Anne, Randall, Ryan and Rosie
- we have to leave at 7am the next morning, and I think I've had about 10 hours of sleep in the last week ... so we're not planning a night out at all ... BUT ... not only is Ryan going out, but so is Rosie!! (definitely this time, no flaking out) ... and so is Randall!!! Neither one of them has gone out with us the whole time I've been at the Jungla House, so this just feels too much like an event not to be missed
- we all head back to Calle Uruguay ... but the energy level is low (i.e. Anne's, Isaac's and mine) ... first stop is Chocolate, but we don't stay too long and it's fairly quiet again
- next stop is some bar where you can sing karoake ... we stay for a while, and rumour has it Randall is going to get up and sing ... but the waiting list is long, and the fatigue is kicking in
- so the three of us say goodbye to the others (a final goodbye, as we know we won't seem them in the morning) ... big big big goodbye hug to Rosie ... I will miss her a lot
- Ryan gives me a key, and we get back to the hostel and have our goodbye hugs with Anne ... we get to bed EARLY ... 3:30am ... in just a few short hours, the next big leg of our journey begins ... a weeklong sailig trip through the San Blas islands ... destination Colombia!
- EoW

Thursday, June 4, 2009

WEEK 9

Alajuela, Costa Rica
- a taxi picks us up from the hostel early in the morning, and Ruby and I head to Rivas to the Tica "bus station" ... turns out it´s just a (closed) ticket office on a street ... luckily we´re able to flag the bus down when we see it, and we´re on our way to Costa Rica
- we board the bus, and head for our assigned seats ... and the person sitting directly across from us is none other than Alyson! That was a happy coincidence! We chatted, and caught up, and hung out at the border crossing ... it definitely helped pass the time of the long bus trip. Alyson was heading to San Jose for the last couple of days of her trip, before flying home to Toronto
- the border crossing into Costa Rica was a fairly painless waiting game ... then again, crossing borders with Tica Bus seems to always go smoothly
- a few hours later, Ruby and I get off the bus near the airport, well short of San Jose ... we catch a cab to get us into the proper residential area of Alajuela, and then it´s up to Ruby to try to remember where the house is that she lived in for a few months, three years ago
- memory kicks in, and the taxi drops us off in front of a quite, pretty bungalow, closed to the public by means of a metal gate (we´re in a NICE neighbourhood, but every single house has a metal gate to the sidewalk, and the front and back doors are metal barred too)
- Ruby´s host mom isn´t home at first, but she shows up in just a matter of minutes, getting dropped off by a friend (she´s been shopping in preparation for her flight to the U.S. tomorrow)
- so I get to meet Wilma ... a tiny older woman, full of life ... loves to talk ... English or Spanish ... LOVES to say "come on, give me a break" ... very nice person, very entertaining, very hospitable
- big hug for Ruby, and a lot of catching up, but Wilma also welcomes me into her home with open arms, and immediately makes me feel comfortable
- Wilma´s son, Herman, drops by ... he also knows Ruby ... and we all get into his car so Wilma can run a couple more pre-trip errands ... we wind up at a very modern mall, which is always fun to walk-through and compare to back home ... always similar, but always different ... Ruby and I are also able to hit an ATM here, to get some local Colones
- Herman drops us all off back at the house, and Wilma starts preparing a home cooked meal for us (quite the treat when backpacking!) ... meanwhile, Ruby and I walk around her old "hood", hitting a store for some drinks and snacks, and visiting another host family that Ruby knew
- dinner was delicious, and Wilma seemed very happy to not only have company in the house, but people to drink with! Her beverage of choice was something very much like a bloody mary ... at one point, she complained that I only bought myself one beer - completely neglecting the fact that I bought a JUMBO (1 litre) bottle, making it roughly the size of 3 normal beers!
- the evening conversation was fun, and eventually Wilma started throwing brain teasers our way ... her best trick was to take five half-broken toothpicks and "magically" turn them into a 5 pointed star (without every touching them)
- eventually, it was time for bed ... I´m not sure if Wilma´s dog usually sleeps in the bed I was given, but my allergies kicked in big time that night ... I had a lot of trouble breathing, and I had to wait for an allergy pill to take effect before I could finally fall asleep
- the next morning, Wilma made us breakfast, and then she got ready to head to the airport ... her cleaning lady was at the house, so we were able to stay even after Wilma left
- so hugs and "come back any time" invitations later, Wilma was off to the airport, and Ruby and I were off to catch a bus to visit the Spanish school that Ruby had attended during her previous stay in Costa Rica
- the school was pretty impressive ... on top of a hill, building after building set up to run small independent classes ... almost all of them outdoors ... everything was pretty - the buildings, the pathways, the plants and flowers and other flora ... it looked like a great place to learn Spanish! The people were also extremely friendly ... many of them remembered Ruby, so she had a great visit
- once we´d said our goodbyes, we headed back to the house and grabbed our bags ... we then caught a taxi to the bus station in San Jose ... it was time to get back to the Caribbean coast ... next stop, Puerto Viejo!

Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
- the bus ride is fairly comfortable, but it takes several hours to drive through jungle and forest and coast line ... we wind up arriving in Puerto Viejo after the sun has long disappeared
- somehow during the bus ride, Ruby has managed to meet and befriend the only other African-American female in all of Central America travelling by herself ... her name is Donna, she is from Philly, and she´s suddenly "with" us ... hi Donna, nice to meet you (I think)
- so first order of business is to try to find a place to stay ... I noticed a decent looking place near to where the bus dropped us off, so we poke our heads in to see what they have available ... they have a four-bed room at a good price ... BUT ... Ruby remembers this really cool hostel from when she was in Costa Rica before, and she wants to check that place out first
- so we start walking down the main road, through the heart of Puerto Viejo ... many restaurants and bars ... most of them with some sort of Rastafarian feel to them ... in a lot of ways, the entire town seems like a tribute to Bob Marley ... people joke that it´s easier to get marijuana in PV than it is to get drinking water! (and Donna can attest to this, as it took her about 30 seconds of "hunting" to come back happy)
- we keep walking, and the bars and restaurants disappear, and the road becomes empty and dark (and full of pot holes) ... and then it starts to rain ... and then it starts to POUR ... hey Ruby, just how far away is this place we´re looking for??
- Ruby thinks it´s just around the corner, for about 10 corners in a row ... coupled with a fear that maybe it doesn´t even exist anymore ... but eventually (read soaked to the bone, with our backpacks on our shoulders), we find the place ... and I have to admit, Rocking Jay´s gives off a pretty cool vibe ... it´s huge and colourful, with a bar and a restaurant, and many backpackers around (probably because town is too far away) ... we check out the room they have available for 3 people, and it´s a very small room with a couple of bunk beds and no space for anything else
- so we decide to go back to the first place we looked at, but at least Ruby is happy to have found Rocking Jay´s ... we decide to catch a taxi back to town :)
- we dump off our bags (nothing seems horribly wet), and head out to find food ... we asked the hotel manager where a good place is for good local food, and he sends us down a dark ally away from the action on the main street
- a couple of blocks later, we wind up at this tiny little restaurant that happens to be packed with people ... I get the stewed chicken with rice&beans, and it´s pretty delicious ... similar to the same dish in Belize, but different enough
- after dinner, we head to one of the reggae bars for a drink ... Ruby gets a Smirnoff Ice, I get a local beer (Imperial I´m sure), and Donna gets ... a shot of tequila with a beer chaser! Oh-oh, who IS this chick??
- Donna pounds back her shot, sips some beer, then goes off looking for weed ... as previously mentioned, she returns minutes later - mission accomplished (again with the oh-oh)
- we finish our drinks, and have determined that the reggae bar across the street has a better crowd and better music ... so we head there
- turns out there is an amazing live band playing, so we find seats and enjoy the show ... Donna disappears after a while, and next time we see her, she´s swaying to the music, right in front of the band! Well that isn´t necessarily an oh-oh sign ... maybe she´s just cool like that
- the band finishes its set, and Ruby and I decide to call it a night ... Donna decides to come back to the hostel with us ... when we get there, Donna discovers it´s not crazy late, so she decides to head back out to party more ... but before she leaves, so gives a monologue about how she loves natural light and blah blah blah ... next thing you know, we have a candle lighting the room, and incense stinking the place up!!! (mmmm, black coconut, my favourite)
- forget oh-oh´s ... this chick is straight up crazy! Turns out she´s a 40-something grandmother who parties like she´s 22 ... oh and did I mention that when she first got on the bus, I was 90% positive she was a man in drag!??? ... bottom line is we were sharing a room with her - yay
- the rest of the night passes without event ... the next morning, Ruby and I head off to Rocking Jay´s ... for brunch and to look into the border crossing trip they offer that includes a boat ride to Bocos del Toro (in Panama)
- we get the information we need for the trip, and book for the following day ... the weather is a little too cloudy and grey to justify staying much longer in PV ... and Ruby is on that tight timeline anyway
- we get some fantastic lunch (I had ridiculously cheap and super yummy marlin), and then we find a table to play some cards (I´m teaching Ruby how to play Casino, Crazy 8´s Deluxe, Rummy 2000 and Golf ... trying Cribbage did not go well)
- we play a game, and Ruby suddenly gets up and says she needs to go back to the room to get something (more money perhaps) ... whatever her excuse was, it turns out the real reason is that it dawned on her that we´d left Donna alone (with all our stuff) for waaaaaay too long, so she was on a mission to make sure everythign was a-okay
- her timing was fairly spectacular ... she gets back to the hotel and the hotel manager informs her that Donna JUST left (as in took her bags and everything), and did NOT pay!!!
- Ruby heads towards the bus station, and quickly finds Donna ... playing it cool, she says something like, "Hey girlfriend, were you seriously going to take off without at least saying goodbye?" ... Donna panicks a bit, but tries to play it off cool, "Oh hi ... yah, I didn´t know where you guys were, so I left you a note ... I´m just going to head off with the guy I met ... we´re going to check out Panama for a couple of days, then come back" ... Ruby coyly asks, "Did you pay your share for the room?" ... and Donna is all like, "Oh, was I supposed to do that ... I guess I forgot ... how much was it again?" ... Ruby knows full well how much Donna owes, but she haven´t even had a chance to check our room (i.e. to see if the crazy chick stole anything), so she plays dumb, "I´m not sure exactly ... you better come back with me and we can ask the manager together."
- so both of them head back to the hotel, and Donna pays (Ruby gives the manager specific instructions not to let her leave again until Ruby has had time to give the room a once-over) ... turns out nothing seemed to be missing ... just a case of a crazy chick who was too stoned to remember to pay when she left on the spur of a moment
- MEANWHILE, I´m back at Rocking Jay´s, playing solitaire, oblivious to everything! Ruby comes back and fills me in on all the details ... I have to admit, it can be a good thing to travel with someone who grew up in the ghetto ... Ruby was all like, "I´m glad she didn´t steal anything, because I really didn´t want to have to kick her ass ... but I would have!"
- so bye bye Crazy Donna ... we play some more cards, eat dinner at Rocking Jay´s (yes, the food there is THAT good), try a couple of places for some evening entertainment (we didn´t see much, but we did watch this one young white guy try to walk home, but he was so messed up he kept falling down, and eventually had to take a nap on the sidewalk of the main street! Ruby actually walked up to him and took a picture!)
- overall, it was a quick but entertaining time in Puerto Viejo ... but the clock was ticking, and Panama was calling

Bocas del Toro, Panama
- next morning, a mini-bus picks us up in front of our hotel ... it´s just Ruby and myself for the entire journey (always nice to have a bus to yourself)
- the bus driver is friendly, and he tells us he makes this trip every single day ... the road is very bumpy (it actually isn´t much of a road at all)
- the ride to the border isn´t too long ... we get there, and the driver tells us we have to do our paperwork and work to the other side, where he´ll meet us with our bags and the van
- we get out of the van, and get into the immigration line that is both for entering and leaving Costa Rica ... the line isn´t too long, and it doesn´t take much time to get our departure stamps
- next, we have to walk into Panama, but to do so, we have to cross a wooden bridge that has HUGE holes in it ... you´re walking, and you´re basically a couple feet away from falling to your death ... definitely a memorable experience!
- we get across the bridge, and get in line for Panama immigration ... at this point the sun is beating down on us with full fury, and the line is NOT moving ... we must have stood there, melting, for well over an hour ... at least we didn´t have to lug our bags around
- eventually, we get to the front of the line, and it takes less than two minutes for us to both be processed ... go figure
- we get back in the van, and we take a fairly short drive to a boat/dock area ... apparently, this is the launch area to get to the islands of Bocas del Toro ... the area smells "wonderful" and it doesn´t take a genius to figure out why ... on the other side of the river, there are many houses, all with docks, all with toilets at the end of the dock (bottomless toilets) ... lovely
- we have to wait a bit for the boat to fill, but then we´re on our way to the town of Bocas del Toro, on the island Isla Colon
- the ride isn´t too rough, and about 45 minutes later, we arrive at Bocas del Toro
- right across the street from where we land, there is a hostel that´s been recommended to us at Rocking Jay´s ... Big Kahuna is kinda nice, but it seems too expensive for the price, so we decide to keep looking
- we wind up walking the entire length of the main street, and around the corner (at least it wasn´t pouring rain this time), to check out the ever popular Mondu Taitu - some treehouse-esque hostel ... winds up being the same price as the Big Kahuna, and it´s smaller and more cramped ... more than anything, you get the vibe that this place is party central
- so, we walk one block more ... to a no name hostel that nobody knows anything about (I think it´s actually called "The Hostel") ... and it´s clean, and cheap, and empty ... so we wind up getting a big dorm room and two bathrooms basically to ourselves! And we´re only a block away from party central. :)
- we get settled and then go out looking for an ATM ... we have to go down a quiet side street, but it happens to be where the fire and police stations are ... so we assume it´s all safe
- next, we go looking for some food ... it appears that we´ve had more than one meal of tuna and/or potato chips while blitzing through Costa Rica ... after having our eyes pop out at some very expensive seafood restaurants, we find a place that seems like a fast food cafeteria with an outdoor patio ... only the food is fairly decent (the pizza at least), and the hot sauce is fantastic (first time on the trip I´ve seen hot sauce made with scotch bonnet peppers)
- we go to a bar for a drink, and people on the street keep coming up to us to tell us about this huge vodka-themed party tonight ... at Mondu Taitu ... we walk by it on our way back to the hostel, and it´s so packed, people have to hang out and drink in front of the entance
- the vibe is a little too hardcore for our tastes, so we wind up hitting a grocery store for some drinks, and then we head to the Hostel to play cards
- and then the rain starts ... and then it comes down with full fury ... and it lasts for most of the night
- the next morning, we´re thinking about finding the good beach area, but before we can even get up and going, the rain returns ... the rain lasts all morning, and we give up on the idea of staying ... we only wanted sun and beach, and that´s obviously not in the equation ... so we pack up and check out ... and check a boat after having delicious and cheap Chinese food (again with really good hot sauce)
- our next destination takes us inland, away from the Caribbean coast (and hopefully the rain) ... off we set for Boquete

Boquete, Panama
- the boat ride is a bit bumpy because of the weather, but compared to the rest of the day, winds up being a pretty nice trip
- next, we get a taxi to a gas station, where we can apparently catch a bus to David (a city in Panama)
- turns out that pretty much every mini-bus that shows up for David is already full ... meaning we eventually have to settle for trying to make room when there isn´t any ... Ruby lucks out and gets a faux-seat facing another seat (i.e. their legs are overlapped to fit) ... and lucky me, I get to stand in the middle of the bus!
- better still, the top of the bus is about shoulder height, so I have to hunch over drastically ... and then there isn´t really anything to hold on to for support, AND it´s a very bumpy and windy road (we´re climbing through mountains for the most part)! lots of banging into the seated passengers ... but not a big deal, the ride is only THREE HOURS!!!
- about 30 minutes pass, and my neck is in agony ... one person gets off the bus, and I´m waved do to share the door platform with the guy who collects the money ... so now I´m low enough that I can stand straight (yay), but I´m also facing an open door, with nothing more than an overhead handrail to keep me from spilling out to certain death (boo) ... did I mention this ride was on a very windy road? I quickly learned that the high speed turns to the right pushed me more inside the bus, so they were nothing to panic over ... but the high speed turns to the left basically put most of my body outside of the bus, and I was holding on for dear life!
- the first 15 to 30 minutes of this open door policy was possibly entertaining ... but eventually the muscles get sore and tired, not to mention my affinity for sleeping in all and any moving vehicles ... I really had to focus on the road ahead ... try to catch the road signs for which way the next curve would bend ... and then I´d have to turn my body accordingly, to minimize the centripetal force against me
- finally, with about half an hour left on the trip, the bus emptied a bit and I was able to get a seat ... hanging outside a bus might sound fun, but I wouldn´t recommend it beyond fifteen minutes
- we arrive in David, and there is a bit of a real city feel to it ... the bus station seems fairly substantial too
- the bus to Boquete leaves almost as soon as we arrive, so we aren´t in David for long
- the trip to Boquete only takes an hour and a half, but by the time we get there, it´s already dark
- luckily, the town is very small, so the hotel we´re looking for (even though it seems on the outskirts of town) is only a few blocks away
- we head to the Boquete Hotel, which is on a river, near a bridge ... quite pretty, and inviting ... it´s run by an American guy (also named David) who doesn´t seem to speak too much Spanish ... it would appear that Boquete is a town pretty much filled with ex-pats, especially from the U.S.
- the initial price of the room is pretty high, but we are able to haggle down to something we are comfortable with ... seems like since the rainy season has officially started, prices to rooms are much more negotiable
- once we´ve checked in, we go for a night walk around the town (David told us Boquete is the safety town in all of Panama ... nothing to worry about here) ... most of the action is on the main street, with bits of spill over on the various side streets ... it takes less than half an hour to feel like we´ve seen most of what there is to see ... overall, it´s a quiet and pretty town ... "quaint" seems like the perfect word
- we head to the restaurant with the checkerboard painted walls (again on David´s recommendation), and order a pizza (as that´s all they´re serving this time of night) ... the pizza turns out to be really yummy, and we even wind up having leftovers
- we head back to the hotel, and sit on the patio out back, facing the river ... serene, peaceful, calming ... Boquete is cooler temperatures than we´ve had in ages, but the vibe we´re getting is warm and good
- we play a couple games of cards, and then call it a night
- next day, the morning is sunny and beautiful ... we decide to check out the much adverstised hot springs of Caldera
- we start by taking a bus back towards David, but we get dropped off at an intersection with a bit of a bus shack (and a billboard for the hot springs)
- we wait about an hour for another bus to show, that takes us through the town of Caldera ... tiny town, but it´s FULL of activity ... this would be because today (Sunday) is the day of the presidential election in Panama ... and everyone is out voting! Oliver Murillo won in a landside, but it was still neat to be in a country during a presidential election ... even the supermarket wouldn´t sell alcohol on that day (nothing to do with it being a Sunday, entirely because of the election)
- towards the end of town, we get dropped off at a road that leads to the hot springs ... we figure it´s about a 10 minute walk, but it turns more into a substantial hike, through a gravel road, then over an aquaduct of sorts, then over a wooden bridge that is so broken up it makes the bridge we used to cross the border seem ridiculously safe (this bridge had entire planks missing, and then loose wood casually laid overtop), then up a big hill, then through some farm land, down some rocks, pass some ecological research field, and finally up to a couple of houses where you pay an entrance fee
- then once you´re "in", you discover that the much acclaimed hot springs are two tiny circles of stone, trapping water inside ... and the water happens to be hot! Huge disappointment ... the first spring was barely a foot deep ... the second one was bigger (jucuzzi sized), but only 3 feet deep maybe, and super hot, and kinda dirty
- our salvation was walking further down the path, to the river ... too much current and too many rocks to swim, but we were able to "wade" ... the water was cold and refreshing (especially after the hike getting there)
- we didn´t stay too long, but then again, we had to rush back to try to catch the last bus (4pm) back to the main road
- as we neared the bus stop, it started to rain ... then it started to rain cats and dogs ... already wet from the river and sweaty from the hike back, I stood out in the rain for a couple of minutes and pretty much had a shower
- shortly after, we catch the bus, and it drops as off back by the main road ... by now, the rain has let up, but we have to wait at least an hour for the bus back to Boquete
- we catch that bus, and by the time we arrive in town, it´s pouring rain again ... it´s a sprint to the store for food and then a sprint to the hotel ... avoiding the massive flash-flooded puddles on the roads
- it rains and rains and rains the rest of the day/night ... we have tuna and chips for dinner at the hotel, and we play cards for hours ... then we call it a night
- so it´s like 3am, the room is pitch dark, and I think I just randomly wake up for no particular reason ... a light breaks into the room, and it becomes apparent someone is opening our door!! I see the silhouette of someone short and dark and it occurs to me that maybe Ruby stepped out and is coming back in ... except when I glace over to her bed, she´s in it!! Great ... intruder with a key!!
- I say "Helloooo..." a few times ... maybe even "Holaaaaa..." (I was half asleep) ... eventually my voice wakes up Ruby and she says something more threatening ... the entire time, the person has been at the doorway ... suddenly, he says "oh", and backs up and closes the door
- Ruby gets up and locks the door and double locks it with the sliding lock I never knew we even had ... now we´re wide awake and wondering what the hell just happened
- then we hear a key opening the door to the room across from us, and a few minutes later we hear one of the girls inside say, "what the hell ... get out of here!!"
- turns out the guy just went into their bathroom and didn´t really do anything ... next morning we find out no one else had their door opened, and nothing was stolen or anything ... still, it was a pretty freaky night
- we were assured nothing like that had ever happened before, and security measures were taking place the next day, including changing to locks to the front gate
- however, the weather looked like it was going to rain again, and it was time for us to be heading on anyway ... so we packed up and checked out ... next stop, a beach on the Pacific coast!

Santa Clara, Panama
- we catch the bus back to the David bus station ... from there, we move to the swankier end of the terminal, where they have all the big buses from David to Panama City
- we get on the bus, watch a couple of bad movies, and travel the majority of the way to the capital
- about an hour before the city, we are let off at the side of the ride ... supposedly at the beach town of Santa Clara ... only, there is no beach in site
- turns out the beach is a decent hike down the road ... it´s mid-afternoon and the sun is hot ... and we don´t feel like hiking with our packs ... we´re told we can hail a mini-bus or a taxi, we just have to wait for one to come by
- about half an hour later, we flag down a mini-bus, and we get dropped off about 5 minutes later, right at the beach
- the beach is huge, the sand is ideal, the water looks inviting ... only problem is, there doesn´t seem to be much in the way of places to stay!
- the one hotel/restaurant that actually seems open only has rooms for 5 to 6 people, so the price is way out of our range ... then we find out it´s possible to rent hammocks under a canopy (right on the beach) for the night, for the cheap price of $3 per hammock
- we pay for our hammocks, and set up shop under our canopy ... overall, it really isn´t that bad ... but avoiding bugs is a bit of a challenge, and hammocks really aren´t all that comfortable for sleeping through an entire night
- even better, we have a new full moon in the sky, and there is some crazy huge halo around the moon, that seems to block out all stars and all clouds ... really neat to witness, but impossible to capture with Ruby´s camera
- we eat a so-so dinner at the first restaurant, and then head back to our hanging beds for the night
- things get fairly interesting when a couple drive up, park, and walk down to the water ... they are "hanging out" for AGES ... we try to ignore them and hope they don´t notice us
- eventually, the sun rises (at like 5:30 am), and that´s the end of any chance to sleep
- then again, the good news is that the sun is out ... the morning is gorgeous! We play some frisbee in the sand and go into the water ... unlike Nicaragua, the Pacific ocean is again warm and not full of gross grass and/or pollution
- we head back to our hammocks to laze, and the morning is going wonderfully ... and THEN some guy comes up to us and ruins all our fun, saying that we have to pay for the hammocks and canopy separately for the day, and it´s an additional $10 or $15 ... this does NOT sit well with us, and after much complaining, we pack up and catch a ride with a truck back up the road, stopping at a hostel called the Blue Dolphin
- the hostel is really nice, with a pool and a kitchen and the rooms have a/c ... the price they tell us is extreme, but we´re able to barter our way down to something in our price range ... the only problem is that the hostel is pretty far away from the beach
- so instead of the ocean, we wind up spending the rest of the day in and out of the pool
- we really enjoyed the hostel, and we could walk to a store for food and drinks, as well as a cheap local restaurant
- after a full day of sun, we got tuna, bread and booze for dinner ... and we drank and played cards until it was time for bed
- next day was more of the same - hanging by the pool ... but only for the morning ... we were able to do a late checkout, so after lunch, we packed up and headed up the road to once again catch the David-Panama City bus ... it´s the 6th of May, Ruby has to leave on the 8th, but there´s still a lot of party left in her ... Panama City, here we come!
- EoW