Week 8 kicks off with our last couple of days in Panama - on the Bocas Del Toro islands to be precise. We woke on Sun 9th Nov to lashing rain and howling winds. We couldn´t complain really though as we´d had spectacularly good weather up until then and being in the tropics you do have to expect some tropical storms every now and again. It was actually quite nice to be confined to Tio Tom´s all day and laze around in hammocks reading and snoozing. Certainly no hardship!
We packed up and said goodbye to Bastimentos and Tom and Ina our lovely, but slightly crazy German hosts, and made for the border on Mon 10th. We first had to get a boat back to Isla Colon and then get on another headed for the mainland - this time to Changuinola. The ride there was quite lengthy and took us through mangrove swamps where we kept eager eyes out for crocs etc but no luck. Once on dry land we were accosted by taxi drivers all offering to take us to "la frontera", the border. It probably would have cheaper to get a local bus but we weren´t sure of our bearings and suspected the border crossing could be lengthy so plumped for a taxi for speed and convenience. Once at the border we queued for our Panamanian exit stamp and then had to walk across a cranky old metal bridge with hoofing great holes in it to get to Costa Rica. Once there we got our entry stamps and made for the bus station where we hopped on a service to Cahuita. We were dismayed to discover that Spanish sounds different in Costa Rica and we couldn´t understand anyone! However, we soldiered on and got to our lodgings in Cahuita - Spencer´s Cabins.We had a nice little room with a balcony looking out to sea, not quite as atmospheric as being OVER the sea as at Tio Tom´s, but nice all the same. Our concerns about Costa Rican spanish took a back seat in Cahuita and most people speak Caribbean English, which is cool.
I had a rather disturbed nights sleep that night as my digestive system had obviously taken umbrage to something. Thank god we had an ensuite! As many of you may know I don´t have a complete digestive system and have an ileostomy (if you don´t know what this is see www.ostomylifestyle.org for an explanation). This meant that I lost a huge amount of fluid in the night and woke the next morning feeling most peculiar.
So, we started Tues 11th with as much Gatorade and water as I could handle to try and rehydrate me. I managed to eat a little bit and my system seemed to have settled down a bit but I didn´t feel at all well so we spent the day relaxing on the balcony by our room. I felt considerably better by dinnertime and managed to eat a decent meal.
We got up early on Wed 12th so that we could walk in Cahuita National Park as the animals begin to stir. The trail through the park is really flat and follows the coast so nothing too taxing, although quite humid. As we walked I kept thinking I couls see hundreds of spiders by the sides of the path but they turned out to be crabs! They were so funny as they would all disappear into their little crab holes as we got close. As we got a little further into the park we begin to see what we had come for - MONKEYS!!!!! First we saw black faced howler monkeys and later some capuchins - including one which was very curious and came really close giving us ample opportunity for some great photos! It was so brilliant to see (and hear) so many monkeys in the wild just doing what monkeys do (making a noise, eating and flinging poo around). We went to the beach in the afternoon but I still wasn´t feeling 100% so we didn´t tax ourselves unduly. Managed a cocktail and some dinner later on though!
I awoke feeling rough on Thurs 13th as my tum was playing up again. We were destined for San Jose that day so packed up and trudged (and I mean TRUDGED) to the bus station. Poor old James had to carry virtually all our bags as I was too feak and weeble to even carry myself. James force fed me more Gatorade and water throughout the bus ride but I could hardly manage it as I felt so sick. By this point we knew I needed medical help as it´s almost impossible to rehydrate yourself when you´ve lost as much fluid as I had. I have suffered with severe dehydration before which hospitalised me for several days so I knew the signs. The bus ride from Cahuita to San Jose seemed to go forever but we finally made it. James bundled me straight into a cab (which ripped us off, but whatever - we were too preoccupied to care) and took us to our hostel. We dealt with the formalities of checking in as fast as we could and then got straight into another taxi and went to La Clinica Biblica, which is a private hospital that gets excellent write ups. We were seen virtually straight away in the Emergency Room and within 10 mins of getting there I was being examined by Dr Rafael Guerra Leon. He spoke excellent English and knew all about Crohn´s disease and ileostomies. He got me hooked up to a drip pronto and took some bloods. In all I had 3 litres of saline and also some iv antibiotics as the blood test results showed a bacterial infection - or good old Traveller's Diarrhea. As the doctor explained this kind of illness affects loads of travellers but as I take immuno-suppressants to control my Crohn's disease, I'm a little more vulnerable than most. I was discharged feeling heaps better, with some antibiotics to take and a follow up appointment for Sat morning. I was ravenous when we left the hospital so we got some soup at the shop near the hostel, after which I got some much needed sleep.
I was feeling so much better on Fri 14th that I felt up to taking a walk around San Jose. We looked around the gorgeous Jade Museum and also the Gold Museum, which is deep underground. San Jose is actually pretty nice for a Central American capital city and the weather was sunny without any humidity. We had a good wander around and then crashed out at the hostel. Unfortunately it was Brace´s turn to have a bad night, but mainly from the noise of other guests and then the cleaners clattering around and shouting from the crack of dawn.
On Sat 15th we had some admin to deal with. We were carrying around a ton of stuff we didn´t need (tent, winter clothes, souvenirs etc) so packed up a box and took it to the post office to be shipped back to Britain. I got the all clear from the hospital and we then pottered around the artisans market and bought some gifts for family before having lunch back at the hostel. James started to feel unwell that afternoon and by early evening was vomiting every half an hour or so. This wasn´t good and I was considering taking him to the hospital by Sun morning.
