Eating scorpions in Mexico, climbing volcanoes in Guatemala, surfing in Nicaragua, chasing sloths in Costa Rica, island hopping in Panama, dancing Rumba in Colombia, lifeguarding in Ecuador and more...

April 1, 2010

Bocas del Toro, Panama

Our van ride to the border between Costa Rica and Panama was a breeze and we were all very excited to be travelling together to a place that wa had heard was beautiful. At the border we came accross a small problem. Moana did not have her passport and they did not want to let her through. We had asked before and were told by many people that if you were a citizen of Costa Rica you only needed an ID to cross the border and visit Bocas, but when we got to the border we were told otherwise, that the ID was only for people of a certain area going to another area closer to the border. All we needed was a paper to be signed, but the man refused to help us. It was the end of the trip before it began. 
We told the van driver what was happening and what would be Moana´s options. He told us to go and get our stamps and told her to cross hte border. If you have ever crossed a land border in Latin America you would know that most have no security and you can walk back and forth without any worries. You have to walk into an office to get a stamp, but if you didn´t want one, it is easy to just across across to a new country.  So while we were getting our stamps the driver directed Moana to cross and wait for us in the van. The thought was that if anything happened she had her Costa Rica ID and they would send her back to Costa. We got our passports stamped, crossed the bridge, got them stamped again and went to the van where Moana was nervously waiting. All the passenger got in the van and as we are about to leave, our new driver gets a call on his cell phone from the man at immigration on the Costa Rica side and tells him he knows Moana is there. The driver yells at the other driver for not telling him, tells Moana to get off and explains to us that if we had just crossed and not talked to the man at immigration, things would  have been fine, but he knew that she could not cross and figured out what we had done. He said there was nothing he could do to help now and we had to say our quick goodbyes and leave Moana at the border with the other driver who would help her. It was one of the scariest moments in my life being in the van with Keone and leaving Moana behind, but we knew she could take a bus back and with no passport there was nothing we could do.


At the boat without Moana








Once we got to Bocas Keone and I went to a hostel, got a room and checked the internet for news from Moana, to know if she had tried to cross again, if she was coming, if she was back in Puerto Viejo, but we had no news and we were worried, so we decided to walk around Bocas and get ourselves some food to cook dinner.




Bocas is a group of islands that can be reached by small taxi boats, a lot of the houses by the water have decks and it is a very beautiful place with a strong personality. Many people out in the streets, children playing evrerywhere.
View from our bedroom window
Still freaking out about Moana

The next morning we decided to go surf at Careneros to take our mind off Moana and in hope that when we got back we would have received news of where she was. In order to go surfing at this spot which was in a different island on the other side we took a boat that we paid a few dollars to drop us off there. We had no idea we would be dropped off in the middle of the ocean. So Keone got dropped off there and I was taken to a deck around the island and had to walk through the beach, then a swamp full of crabs to get to the tiny deserted beach by the point. In order to get to the waves I had to carefully pass trhough the reef trying not to cut my feet and step on the many sea urchins. I finaly got to the waves where Keone had been and was ready to attemp to surf on his very small board.





On the way back out Keone and I had to go through the reef where we got a few cuts on our feet and when pushed through the coral by a wave I got a really nasty rash on my leg that would take a few days to go away. The good news was that when we got back to the hostel we had news from Moana, she had taken the bus back to Puerto, had been fine there and her friend was sending her passport with a bus so that she could come meet us in a few days!




After Moana arrived we continued to explore the islands and drop off Keone in surf spots. One of the best days was when we got dropped off at a different island and had to hike through muddy jungle to get to an amazing beach on the other side with a very strong ocean and amazing sand.







Moana got caught trying to cross the border

Staying at a hostel with a kitchen was great and we made lots of friends to cook with. We bought fish from a man who had an unmarked market at the back of his house and cooked several different dishes that were very successful amongst the lucky ones who got to taste them. This special night we had fish tacos with a delicious sauce that Moana and I made from scratch.... so good!
Bike riding around the island




Keone was the coolest kid in the hostel, no one could believe he was 14 and hanging out with all of us
On our way to Playa del Draco






Exploring the other side of the island





Thousands of Starfish







Our muddy hike to the other  side of another island


Bocas was really beautiful and I was very lucky to share an amazing time with Moana and Keone. I miss them already and cannot wait to have more adventures. After a delicious pizza lunch I said goodbye to the two and waited to take my boat to where I would catch a very long bus ride to Panama City.

No comments:

Post a Comment