adventures of a not so grey nomad

From the Pacific to the Carribean and back-in a day!

jilly — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:20:00 GMT

Last adventure in Panama 16 August 2010

Up at 5 am-haven't done that for a while! All to catch the Panama Canal Train from Panama city to Colon on the Caribbean coast. We thought we may not make it as the cabs were already busy taking people to work but we were in the right place at the right time and a nice man who was just getting out of a cab told the driver where we wanted to go and so we went -for $US3. It was absolutely bucketing down with rain at the railway station and by the time we had bought our tickets ($US22 one way) there was lightening and thunder so loud I could feel it! The ride itself lasted an hour and we were very comfy in the glass domed carriage with wood panelling and squashy padded seats-free (terrible) coffee as well. The aircon was a bit vicious especially around the legs! The weather cleared as we got closer to the coast and we had good views of Gatun lake and along the Canal. Colon is a miserable looking place-very run down, dirty and slum like. It has such a bad name visitors are advised not to walk around so we got a cab from the railway station to the bus station-the driver wanted $US2 each but no way-he got $US2 and that was a dollar too much-it was only a three minute ride! So feeling ripped off already at 8 in the morning we decided to go and check out the Gatun locks which are only 10kms from town. This meant a local bus-the usual squashed in affair with assorted locals-good fun and only 75c. The massive three tier Gatun locks turned out to be the highlight of the day-so much more informative and personal than Miraflores. There were only four of us there and we were so close to the action. We had a very nice black woman explain so much to us in excellent English. We learned that ships are charged according to a scale for different types of ships not on weight as we thought. Container ships are charged per container - $US72 full and $US56 empty; fuel carriers charged according to quantity; dry bulk loads on capacity as well. Although a container ship may have to pay the average fee of $US33000 they save three to five times that amount by not having to go around Cape Horn and save 28 days-so much easier to pay and spend 8-10 hours going through the Canal. Yachts up to 50ft pay $US500 -anything larger pays $US1500 toll but if they require any extras such as tugs, locos etc it costs more. Ships do propel themselves through but they require the locos and tugs to keep them centred and stabilised and to get them going and stop them quickly in the locks. The little 480 volt locos are worth $US2 million each and there are 99 working in the entire Canal zone and 43 at Gatun. The water fills the three locks purely by gravity at a rate of 8-10 minutes-thats 26 million gallons of fresh water from Lake Gatun! For every boat that transits the canal 56 million gallons of water is flushed into the ocean-when the new locks are operational in 2014 they will be more efficient and use less water. The locks are a busy place and we could have watched for longer -the ships we watched transit had very little margin for error-there would have only been about a foot on either side between the ship and the canal . This is all controlled by the Senior Pilot- who is on the ship for the entire Canal transit and he is in radio contact with the Lock Master who is in the Central Control Tower-who is in radio contact with the loco drivers to give them instructions . They can't talk to him but communicate via a system of bells to indicate they have the message and adjust the ropes accordingly.

But we had to get moving as we wanted to go to Portobello an hour away on the Coast-Costa Arriba. So another bus ride back to Colon-a free one on the work bus- and yet another bus to Portobello ($US1.25). This was meant to take an hour but turned into two as we stopped frequently to pick up passengers-lots of them school kids in their smart uniforms. Portobello is famous for being one of the most important ports in the Spanish empire-one attacked frequently by pirates and buccaneers as the incredible Incan treasure stolen and shipped up from South America by the Spanish was brought overland by mule from Panama and stored here awaiting shipping back to Spain. There are ruins of forts with rusty cannons -not too hard to imagine the likes of Johnney Depp and co there fighting it out! There is also an old church Iglesia de San Felipe, built in 1814 with a life size figure of a Black Christ-Nazarene of Portobello. Apart from that Portobello was a bit of a scruffy, impoverished letdown-not the tropical white sand and warm turquoise waters we were expecting! So yet another bus to get back to Colon. It was slow start The driver and his co pilot had been tinkering with something under the bonnet for a while-obviously something wasn't quite right and he was taking it easy. So easy we thought it would be a three hour trip! But he treated the gear stick gently and gradually coaxed it out of second and eventually got all the way up to fourth-then the action started. We went from a slow crawl and picking up every passenger in sight to full throttle and to hell with stopping for anyone! He drove like a man demented-passing a bus on a uphill blind corner and because he did that so well passed a truck on another blind corner! Meanwhile the co pilot, who is normally quite a busy person collecting money and passengers,spent his time operating the front door with a long lever-he had to make sure he shut it in time when we were passing other vehicles so he didn't lose it! Meanwhile people waiting on the side of the road were trying to flag the bus down with the limp wristed flap of the hand which serves as a signal for a bus to stop here-but the driver ignored them totally-he was obviously intent on making up for lost time hooning along -airhorn blaring-plus the throbbing Reggaetron music and a screaming child as well!

Off that bus and onto another one-this time to Panama city-an hour and a bit away. Because we caught it at Sabinita,10 kms out of Colon , it was full by the time we got on. Lynn got a seat on one of the poufs in the aisle-obviously used as seats when the bus was full and I sat on the seat by the door. Not too bad-air con and a movie-Mel Gibson in a Spanish dubbed The Edge of Darkness. $US2.50 later we were back at Allbrook terminal. UH HUH!-we knew how to get back to the hostel on a diablo rojo now! But there were long queues of people everywhere-not a good time to catch a bus. By the time we had a bit of a look around the mall where the haves shop and a cheap meal, the crowds had thinned so it was time to catch a bus. And despite some initial doubts we did it-we made it right back to our corner for the first time-only took us a week of practise but we did it-high five!!

Out and about in Panama city

jilly — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:37:00 GMT

Panama City 11-15 August 2010

We have spent the last few days looking around the city. Our hostel is not far from the major banking and commercial area of El Cangrejo and after a productive morning,when we actually managed to book and pay online for our air ticket to Ecuador, we walked around the corner dodging potholes, poles, broken concrete and other obstacles in the footpath and caught a bus to the major banking and commercial area just down the road. We were on the hunt for molas-the traditional style reverse applique , where layers of fabric are snipped away and the edges stitched down to create all sorts of patterns and designs,of the Kuna women from the San Blas islands and Lonely Planet mentions a shop specialising in these. We walked in to find HUNDREDS! How to choose! After two and a half hours and much deliberating and agonising we had chosen! After that effort we needed to eat-Lonely Planet again to the rescue-a Chinese vegetarian shop where you choose a portion for 60c from a selection of dishes- four selections for $US2.40 and free soup! So feeling well fed we set off to check out some other hostels in the nearby area-as recommended by Lonely Planet. We were happy with our current hostel but thought we may get something cheaper as we were sharing in a dorm. Unfortunately Lonely Planet got that wrong-after a fruitless walk around a maze of streets as directed by various helpful locals we found that they were no longer in the area. Never mind -we do like Casa de Carmen and it offers all we want so we decided to stay put!

We stopped for a coffee at McDonalds-a very flash large two storied McDonalds-and got chatting to Phil and Royce from the USA. They were a very friendly pair and they regaled us with stories of their time in Australia and NZ. She is a professor and ex-military and he is a retired flight instructor. He was a big man and I noticed he was wearing compression stockings. Turns out he had been in a paragliding accident in Peru a few years back and had spent a lot of time in hospital after breaking his ankle in 12 places and developing a nasty bone infection.

The next day we caught a cab ($US 3) and went to Casco Viejo-the old colonial part of town which is gradually being restored to its former glory after years of neglect. The cab driver seemed pleasant enough and after agreeing on a price we set off. He was talking to himself a little bit but we didn't take too much notice-until he started to talk more and more loudly and started becoming more agitated. loud religious programme on the radio wasn't helping! When he started hitting the steering wheel and brushing imaginary things/people ? off his shoulder -well then we were feeling nervous! But he managed to get us there through the busy traffic in one piece and he dropped us off in a small plaza in Casco Viejo. Squatters moved into the area when it was deserted by the elite of the day and now the government has to move them out in order to restore the once grand buildings. There is quite a police presence on the streets to protect tourists as in certain parts it is very dangerous for foreigners to venture. There is a lot of building and restoration activity going on and the parts that have been restored are very nice but it still a real mix of restored and ruined. I imagine in a few years it will be very trendy and touristy and expensive but for now you can see some are just brick or stone shells or facades-lots to be done yet. We came across a nice souvenir shop with a lovely young Panamanian lady who was offering good discounts so I made the most of it-a genuine good quality Panama hat in a box-perfect! They are made from a palm and originate in Ecuador! The difference in the quality is in the weave- the tighter the better-this enables them to be rolled without crushing.

We stopped for coffee and down came the rain-coffee became pizza and watching CNN news for a while until it had cleared. We walked around the sights including Iglesia De San Jose -where the famous Altar de Oro (Golden Altar) stands. Legend has it that when Henry Morgan sacked the original site of Panama (Panama Viejo) and the original site of the altar-a priest attempted to disguise the altar by painting it black. He told Morgan that another pirate had stolen it and even convinced Morgan to make a handsome donation for its replacement! Morgan is said to have told the priest”I don't know why but I think you are more of a pirate than I am”. The alter was later moved to its current site and is a huge floor to ceiling vision of gold.

We walked around the esplanade with great views of the Bridge of the Americas to Plaza de Francia which has monuments and statues depicting the role of the French in the construction of the canal. The plaza is dedicated to the 22000 workers who died -most killed by yellow fever and malaria. A Cuban doctor,Carlos J Finlay, discovered that the diseases were transmitted by mosquitoes and his work led to the eradication of the disease in Panama. There are also nine restored dungeons once used by the Spaniards then the Columbians-impressive stonework constructions. There were various stalls along the way-mostly run by Kuna women from the San Blas islands. They wear very distinctive traditional dress-a brightly coloured blouse with a high neck and puffed sleeves and identical mola work on the front and back body part. They have a piece of colourful fabric tied around their waist-much like a sarong- and wear strands of coloured little beads around their arms and legs which form geometric patterns. They wear gold jewellery and a gold nose stud in the septum and a red and yellow printed headscarf. When they marry they cut their hair and all the women we have seen have had short hair. They are very attractive women but very short-apparently the second shortest race after the Pygmy. The Kuna are self governing and autonomous with little interference from the government and live a very communal life with a strict set of rules-such as no marriage to non Kuna. They identify strongly with nature and believe true happiness is living in nature.

The sky was black and sure enough there was soon a torrential downpour. The usual brigade of sweepers set too with their brooms and swept it all away and we set off again for more sightseeing. We came across a group of musicians all in a dark uniform-possibly police or military cadets-all practising on their assorted instruments. We had hoped for a bit of a show but it seemed to be just a practice-nevertheless they were enjoying themselves. Eventually we went in search of a cab back to the hostel. It wasn't so easy this time -it was early evening and rush hour-no one wanted to drive us back-well not for the price we had gotten there for. We turned down the offer of an eight dollar ride-extortionate!- and eventually got one for $US4-if you are patient you can get the right price! Doors locked we headed towards home through a dangerous part of town. The driver was quite sane this time-but we did feel a twinge of concern when he pulled out a knife and started slicing the fingertips off a pair of black gloves! He gets cold hands in the aircon of the cab. Sometimes it just does not pay to have an active imagination!!! But again we arrived safe and sound-another day in the big city.

The next day we decided to check out the Causeway-a 2km stretch joining three small islands together. First a bus to Allbrook Terminal-we were really getting the hang of the bus system-one route at least. There was a big public health promotion on with different health education stalls set up. We lined up and had our BSL and BP checked along with many locals. There were elderly people dancing when we arrived-a Keep Active type of display. The old women were wearing long frilly dresses, high heels and full makeup. The men were wearing black trousers and a white tunic top. Most of them really seemed to be enjoying themselves waltzing around the floor. The next group of women were getting ready and helping each other with their hair. This involved putting it into two pigtails then putting in fancy gold combs to create a high framework affair then pinning in various beaded pearl bits to create a slightly Princess Leia look but with butterflies and pearls. They seemed to have a colour theme of white with either a green or orange accent. They wore a long finely pleated white skirt with a lacy petticoat underneath and a very frilly lacy white top with a green or orange pompom in front. They topped it all off with strands of gold chains and coins around their necks and plenty of gold jewelery. On their feet they wore flat satin orange or green slippers which they shuffled in as they danced around in a very graceful flowing dance. A nice young man with them told me they were “old ladies-over 55”!!! After lunch of delicious chow mein ($US 2.45) we got a taxi ($US 2.50) to the Causeway. We had been told it was 10 miles long but it is only 2 kms so we walked along it. It is used by joggers, cyclists,walkers and roller bladers but as it was still early afternoon we were virtually the only ones out enjoying the sea breeze and good views of the city skyline. We saw a few people on electric bikes and 4 seater bikes and a policeman on a little stepthru scooter with his red light on the seat behind him. After a soursop smoothie we thought we'd try the bus back to town. This time we were taken into the city centre where we had to figure out which bus to catch to get back to Via Espana-where we needed to be. It was busy with people and traffic everywhere and very unattractive with dirty ugly buildings. There were stalls selling BBQ sausages and kebabs-smoke in the air along with the traffic pollution. It was hot and noisy and chaotic but we did manage to find a bus we thought may get us back-heres hoping! It was rush hour-yet again-and the bus was only at a crawl at best. We were heading in the right direction and we recognised our part of town. It was so hot on the bus and we were going nowhere fast so we got off and walked eventually making it back after a visit to the supermarket.

You would think we'd had enough of exploring but the next day we headed out again-this time to the ferry dock near the Causeway to catch the 10.30 am ferry to Isla Taboga- The Island of Flowers-20 kms away. A taxi ($US 2) got us there with time to spare. As it was a Saturday there were a lot of day trippers-like ourselves-heading out for a bit of peace and quiet and sea air. We bought tickets $US11 return and got on board the slow ferry. Life jackets compulsory and plastic chairs screwed to the deck! We had to pass through the shipping lane into the Canal and we could see about 40 ships at anchor waiting their turn to go through the Canal. The hour long trip got us to Isla Taboga, which we had been told wonderful things about. It was a bit of a disappointment to say the least-the beach was strewn with flotsam and jetsam from the sea and the water was a bit murky looking. Obviously there are definite tides here unlike the Carribean beaches where there is barely a tide line. The sand was a brown yellow colour and it was quite rocky in places-the Caribbean it was not!! Of course-it is the Pacific!The path along the sea wall was lined with overgrown foliage and there were old sheds and buildings and piles of plant rubbish. But the island has a certain charm-there is only one road and no traffic apart from the odd ute or golf cart. The locals were setting up on the beach with their hired parasols and beach loungers at $US5 a pop but we wandered off for a look around and came across a group of workmen reinforcing the foundations of a sea wall. They were working hard in the hot sun-pushing a wheelbarrow full of concrete on the sand and mixing the concrete by hand with shovels. Isla Tabogas has quite a history but its claim to fame is that it has the second oldest church in the Western hemisphere, which unfortunately was shut. It was settled in 1515 by the Spanish just two years after Balboa first sighted the Pacific and before Panama City was built The island had a sheltered deep water port and ships coming from South America anchored here during the colonial era. It was also home for three months in 1886 for the famous French artist Paul Gaugin. Pizarro took off for Peru in 1524, the pirate Henry Morgan visited after sacking Panama city in 1671, and Sir Francis Drake also used the island. Despite the dubious water quality we did brave the water and had a swim as it was so hot. It may be the last swim in the Pacific for some time!

On the ferry trip back we had to stop and wait while three huge ships passed us on their way in and out of the canal. We saw a large cruise ship at anchor along with container ships and plenty of Panamanian vessels. Now for our challenge of the day-we were determined to conquer the bus system and get the bus right back to the hostel this time. We knew the drill by now so a bus back into town 25c and another bus 25c out to Via Espana. This time we did it-we did get off a stop too soon but we needed to visit the supermarket – we had it sussed -finally! So a job well done-third time lucky!

Sunday-a day in at our little oasis of calm and greenery in the midst of the noisy city and a day of blog!

On the Buses to The Panama Canal

jilly — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 06:05:00 GMT

Panama City 10 August 2010

After our free breakfast of coffee, juice and toast we left Casa de Carmen late morning and caught a local bus to the Allbrook Terminal and Mall-American style huge and new with dozens of shops, movie theatres ($US4 a movie!) and foodcourts- also airconditioned-a bonus when it is a humid 27 deg every day. We bought 4G memory cards for our cameras ($US15) and had Subway for lunch ($US2) before trying to find a bus to take us to the Mireflores Locks-easier said than done! There are dozens of old jazzed up US school buses which make up the local bus system -diablos rojos or 'red devils'. Some are real works of art with amazing painted scenes along the sides -basically any flat surface. Pictures of all sorts-mountain scenes, castles, pirates!! any gaps are filled with cartoon characters, slogans, colourful designs....The bonnets are decorated with hood ornaments-not just one but at least four or more-horses, birds etc. The windscreens have a huge colourful transfer across the whole width-they seem to be a name and there are destination signs as well. We saw plastic red domes on the roof of one-yellow fins on another. Some have massive chrome exhaust pipes at the back running up from the bottom of the bus to roof height. The figures painted on the back emergency door range from wrestlers to Jesus to children.-anything goes! -although they are becoming fewer as regulations require a plain white door-how boring! Even the mud flaps are decorated-I saw a pair with Forever Lover Boy! And on the bumper bar of the same bus-Jehovah is my Pastor ! And that is just the outside! Inside there can be feather boas draped around the windows, silver aluminum trims on the dash, dangling bits in the window-crucifixes, dice!!.....flashing neon lights-no holds barred!! There is a driver of course (often a little skinny young man) who thrashes the gears as he changes up and down-drives like a rally driver-toots the horn frequently, loudly and more than one toot at a time -takes the money as passengers get off (25-35c per ride)-and operates the front door with a manual bar contraption-whew! And manages to swerve around in the lanes to drop off and pick up passengers without hitting any other traffic!. Most also have a co pilot-his job is to rustle up passengers-by whistling, yelling and cajoling people to get on THIS bus! He lives a dangerous life-he spends his day hanging out of the door-jumping on and off the bus-often running along side trying to get back on as the driver accelerates away! He shoves people in the door and along the narrow aisle if the bus is full-as they frequently are-packed in like sardines!! Total bedlam but IT WORKS!!!! Well it does when you know which one to catch and where from!! No signs here -especially in English! But helpful people. We were told (in Spanish of course) and with lots of pointing and sign language at least four different places! Upstairs and downstairs and over there-eventually we found the right bus in a back area you wouldn't find unless looking specifically.

The Mireflores lock,one of the three double lane locks of the Canal, was only about a ten minute ride away-30c. We got off at the sign on the highway and walked along the drive way up to the visitors centre-a four storey building with a museum, restaurant and viewing platforms-it cost $US8 for a full package which includes the museum. We went straight up to the 4^th floor platform as there was a ship approaching from the Caribbean side-it had been through the Gatun locks at Colon, up into Lake Gatun, 26m above sea level and fed by the Chagres River, through the Culebra or Gaillard Cut-a 14km cut through the rock and shale of the isthmian mountains and the narrowest stretch crossing the Continental Divide-through the Pedro Miguel locks and lowered into Miraflores Lake before passing through the Miraflores Lock into the Pacific Ocean. In fact we were lucky enough to see two container ships approaching in the two lanes-one about ten minutes behind the other. The first lock chamber was filled with water-26m above sea level- and the ship came in pulled along by little loco engines. Then the water level goes down and when the gates open the ship passes into the next chamber where the water level is the same. The gates shut and again the water level goes down – this time to sea level -the next set of gates open and the ship passes through-heading out towards the Pacific-so easy and saving shipping companies about $4.5 million and a long journey around Cape Horn. Water comes from Gatun Lake-the artificial lake formed by the Gatun Dam across the River Chagres-approx 52 MILLION gallons per passage of ship which is flushed into the ocean. The whole journey through the 80 kms of the Panama Canal -from Colon on the Atlantic to Panama on the Pacific-takes about 8-10 hours depending on the size of the vessel.. Cost is dependent on weight, number of tug boats and locos used averaging about $US30,000-the highest so far was $US200,000 in 2001 paid by 90,000 ton French cruise ship Infinity and the lowest 36c paid in 1928by swimmer Richard Halliburton. Fees are payable in advance electronically so no threat of pirates which are still a real risk for ships near Somalia. Nearly 14,000 vessels pass through each year and ships worldwide are built with the Panama locks dimensions in mind-305m long and 33.5m wide. Expansion will deepen and widen the existing channels and construction of another set of locks will provide a third lane of traffic thus allowing the transit of longer, wider ships carrying up to 10,000 containers-presently the canal can only handle ships carrying 4,000. Work was begun on September3, 2007 after a referendum in October 2006 in Panama showed overwhelming support for expansion of the Canal which will cost $US5 billion. The new locks will be 427m long and 55m wide-the size of four football fields. Since the opening of the Canal on August 15, 1914 more than 970,000 vessels have passed through-it is estimated that figure will reach 1 million by October, 2010. It operates 24/7.

Continental divide=the line of mountaind sthat divides the flow of water between one side of a continent and the other.

The management of the Canal was handed over from the USA to Panama on December 31, 1999. Panama sees its future being dependant on the increased efficiency and larger capability of the canal so it is all steam ahead for expansion.

The museum has a good display and there is a simulator where you can steer a ship through the Canal-they are used for training purposes as the locks are so narrow. There is also a 10 minute movie about the history and construction of the canal which was really informative and interesting-a very educational visit!

We caught a bus back to Allbrook and from there we got another bus to get back to the hostel-well that was the plan! The bus went a different route through unfamiliar parts of the city- huge slum like apartment blocks and rundown market areas and streets -but we didn't worry too much about it. But as it got darker and we didn't recognise any landmarks we started to wonder.....! What should have been a ten minute trip got longer and longer! We were trying to look out for street signs but as they are few and far between and we don't have good night vision anyway that was pretty hopeless. We knew we weren't in the right area though. But best to stay on and hope the bus returns to All brook where we can start all over again! People got off and we thought we were close to the end of the line but no-more people got on and we took off again-to a less than desirable part of town by the look of all the bars and grilles on the doors and windows. Even the local shops were serving customers through a slot in the safety grille across the doors! We were driving up little narrow streets through dodgy neighbourhoods in the dark with no idea where we were! We finally came to a depot where there were buses parked up in a rough fenced area-OH NO! But a few meters more and we drove into a huge modern well lit shopping center with people around-we had driven in through the back entrance. But this was the end of the line-everyone got out so we had no choice but to follow. Luckily the bus driver spoke a bit of English- he was surprised to see us still on the bus-I think he may have misheard us when we asked him for Via Espana way back at Allbrook! He pointed us in the direction of a bus back to town-go to the right then take a left across the bridge over the highway and you'll see people waiting-yeah right! Take a right where-this one? And the left-which one is that? We did figure it out after a circuit of the shopping centre -down the out ramp onto the busy highway-across the busy highway and line up with all the people standing on the side of the busy highway! Now it was just a case of waiting for a bus heading to Allbrook-this means looking for a sign on the windscreen or asking the driver or his cohort. Two attempts later we found our bus-the bus with the LOUD rap music pumping away and the neon hearts flashing away on the inside above the windscreen-DISCO BUS!!! The driver was a skinny little black dude who obviously took great delight in driving along with loud music in heavy traffic at night!. The gear stick was shoulder height when he was seated and it graunched away as he changed gear-frequently! He even managed to talk on his mobile while all this was going on! His other main job seemed to be tooting the horn as loudly, frequently and musically as possible! Meanwhile his partner in crime was rustling up trade-calling and whistling people to get on THIS bus. He spent most of his trip hanging out of the front door -jumping on and off the bus and at one point running frantically alongside the bus trying to get on as the driver accelerated away! They seemed to be having great fun these two-laughing and chatting and not really too stressed by their job! There was even a chance to chat with another bus driver-driving alongside our bus! Not to mention the drag race with another bus along a stretch of road-we won! We did make it back to Allbrook eventually-2 ½ hours later! Should we try again? No! -we got a cab and $US3 and ten minutes later we were at the hostel-totally exhausted but we had had great entertainment and seen parts of Panama tourists probably never get to see-we still have no idea where we had been! The price for all this adventure- a whole 50c each!

Photos: Panama

jilly — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 05:55:00 GMT

The wheels on the bus go round and round-all the way to Panama

jilly — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:00:00 GMT

Bocas Del Toro To Panama City Monday 9 August 2010

It was a beautiful morning as we left Bocas by water taxi ($US4) at 7.30. It was still quiet in the streets-the vultures were out picking at the rubbish but even the dogs weren't out and about yet. There was more action at the water taxi terminal-people heading off to various places-some for work or school and tourists leaving for a day trip to another island or leaving for other parts like us-off to Panama City. As we pulled into Almirente port we saw Chiquita banana containers stacked on the wharf., a large dredge and a container ship The homes around the entrance to the port are pretty ramshackle for the most part-built out over the water and most with a little box like shed at the very edge of the deck-a toilet I'm guessing-probably straight into the water. As we climbed out of our boat-not easy as the awning was low and we had to both crouch low and climb up onto the jetty at the same time, a fellow passenger lost his sunglasses overboard-luckily Lynn had fast reflexes and fished them out of the water for him. We got a taxi ($US1) to the bus station and waited for our bus. The tourist guides so far in Panama have been great-they seem to be everywhere you need them when you need to get somewhere-taxis, boats, buses -all so helpful and very efficient-and they don't expect a tip which is so nice.

The bus ride to Panama was uneventful-we had some children and a baby on board but you would never have known-we didn't hear a peep out of them. Which is more than be said for the bird in a shoe box which a young woman carried the whole 10 hours! It would start squawking especially when the bus stopped and she got off for break -bird and all! At least it was in the bus-I saw a dog chained up on the luggage rack on the roof of a mini bus that we passed along the way! I slept most of the way-I remember the first part of the journey going through high steep forest covered mountains which run the length of the isthmus separating the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. As we ran down the Pacific side there was a lot of farmland -sugar cane and grazing paddocks. We stopped about three times for about 30 minutes each time-long enough for people to eat and drink and stretch their legs-much needed when there is very little legroom! We had a couple of changes of drivers-one played Spanish music and another put on DVDs for us to watch-one was called 'Good Hair'- featuring Chris Rock it was all about black women and their hair- all the products invented to deal with it such as “Relaxers” and the hair chemical industry; weaves (extensions) and all the business that goes with that i.e. buying the hair from India where people have it shaved off in a religious ceremony; the cost of these weaves-$US1000 at least and then the upkeep of it all. The women have their hair done in cornrows then the weave is stitched in-they go the the hairdresser weekly for a shampoo and every three weeks have it all tightened-huge maintenance. According to this film THE HAIR is not to be touched-no swimming, no saunas and no boyfriend running his hands through it-its more than his life is worth!! It is a huge issue and even has implications in the work force-natural Afros are not considered to be presentable enough and may mean the difference between getting a job or not-great little film.

Luckily I had my eyes open as we drove into Panama itself over a huge bridge-the Bridge of the Americas -Puente de las Americas. I could see many ships out in the water presumably waiting their turn to go through the Canal. We drove in through a really nice neighbourhood-Balboa- which was built to house the wealthy American canal workers and the military. There are nice homes with gardens and fences, neighbourhood playgrounds and plenty of trees.

The bus stopped at Allbrook, the new bus terminal-absolutely massive with a huge shopping mall. We decided to take a taxi to our hostel where we hopefully had a room for the night-we weren't 100% sure as there was a slight language barrier-especially over the phone- and they hadn't confirmed Lynns email reservation. A big loud man came rushing up to us and offered to take us for $US8-OK we said and the packs were in the boot when another man came and offered the ride for $US2! The drivers were shouting and bickering with each other and we had enough-we decided to take the other offer and asked for our packs. The big fella got the shits and grumbled and basically said bugger off then -or words to that effect-in Spanish! We just stood there and waited for them to forget about us and sure enough a few minutes later a very nice quiet well mannered taxi driver came over and offered us the ride for $US6-done. Off we went and got to Casa de Carmen to find that no they didn't have a double room but they did have an empty 6 bed dorm available. We took it-the hostel is fabulous -it has everything we need- toaster, microwave, hot water, free tea and coffee, free Wifi, free breakfast......!Very clean and spacious with a lovely outdoor area and a lounge with a flat screen TV-pure luxury for $US15 a night! So this is home for a few days. We walked to the 24 hour supermarket where we found NZ butter for sale and cheap alcohol really. A baked potato for tea with butter and real Gouda cheese-not orange American stuff-and a rum and orange-all good!

Photos: Panama

jilly — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:48:00 GMT

Bocas Del Toro-Reggae and Rasta

jilly — Mon, 9 Aug 2010 15:03:00 GMT

Bocas Del Toro Panama August 4 2010

Our first full day was spent just walking around the place checking out the shops, having a coffee and doing some grocery shopping. We have a great kitchen at the hostel -only things missing are a microwave and a toaster. In the late afternoon we walked down into some of the back streets where kids were out riding their bikes and playing on the streets.We made it down as far as the hospital- with a clearly marked morgue! - and the local cemetery. Graves seem to be mostly above the ground-probably due to a high water table-and many are tiled.

Tea was baked beans on toast-sounds boring but it was very good! We sat up on the balcony and watched the world go by-usually on foot or cruising by on large upright push bikes-often with a child in the front basket or sitting on the handelbars. Some bikes have a padded board on the bar between the handlebar and the seat-especially for passengers.

August 5

Today we decided to go to Boca del Drago-a beach on the western side of the island- about 30 mins away by mini bus ($US5 return) through farmland and countryside. We saw lots of old wooden plank huts on stilts where locals live-most of them seem very poor. The bus dropped us off at the beginning of a track around the beach-there is a restaurant there and a hostel but not too much else. Further along are a couple of big places-one looked like a swanky hotel or a very nice holiday home but closed up for low season. However as we walked past we saw 2 pet monkeys no bigger than a cat and with little white faces. The littlest one was sitting on a tree branch and seemed a bit hesitant about moving along it. She was making funny little sounds and squeaks and not at all concerned about us taking photos of her. Meanwhile the bigger one, wearing a harness, was prancing and jumping and leaping around all over the place. He was digging in sand-at one stage he had his hand down a crab hole trying to get the crab-he played with food bowls and as Lynn was taking a photo of the little one he climbed up along a branch and almost managed to grab her sunglasses! He was quite a character! We walked along the beach with its white sand and palm trees-the water was clear and warm and calm and it was so quiet and peaceful. The beaches go on and on-we walked around a few bends and came to Starfish beach-famous for all the starfish in he water. We found a shady spot and lazed the day away-swimming and reading. We had taken some food for a picnic-salad rolls for lunch!

We were catching the 5pm bus back so we headed back around to the pickup point. The monkeys were still out -this time joined by a big white dog with black patches over both eyes. He had made a hollow in the sand to lie in and keep cool-sound asleep. The cheeky monkey decided he wanted to play with him and jumped on his head trying to wake him up-that didn't work-so he jumped around and did somersaults on the dogs belly-that didn't work- so he started squeezing the dogs balls-that worked! The dog didn't seem overly concerned though-obviously this wasn't the first time-he just got up, gave himself a shake and wandered off.

We had a coffee while we were waiting and enjoyed the sea breeze-it was so hot and humid. When we got back to town we went to the supermarket for supplies, came back to the hostel and had a shower and a homemade Pina Colada. We cooked ourselves a late tea-scrambled eggs on toast for me and creamed corn on toast for Lynn. It was very quiet in the hostel-we seemed to be the only ones about. It poured with rain about 9pm-a torrential downpour. People in the bar across the street were having a merry old time-singing and yahooing-apparently until quite late-but it didn't bother me-I slept through it all.

August 6

Another very hot and humid day-too hot to do anything much We whiled away the morning catching up on emails and trying to sort out accommodation for Panama city. We chatted to a Dutch girl and she gave us some useful tips about where and where not to stay. She thought we were writing a travel guide because we were sitting out on the balcony with our lonely Planets and numerous bits of paper we use as memory joggers for our blog! We went and booked bus tickets to Panama -$US20 for a 10 hour trip- and ended up back in our little waterside restaurant having an iced coffee and reading magazines. We both fancied a proper meal so we had a late lunch at a little local eatery-stewed beef with rice and pasta salad-$US3.50. Another night on the open air balcony where we watch the world go by and enjoy the music from the bar over the street. The Pizza restaurant was quiet as was the souvenir shop-those guys put in long days -must be bored silly sometimes!

August 7

Today was dry and sunny so it was a good day to catch a boat and go to Red Frog Beach on Isla Bastimentos, parts of which are under protection of the Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos . However Red Frog beach doesn't fall into this zone and there is presently opposition to a huge residential development being constructed there. There are concerns about the environmental impact of this development both to marine ecosystems and turtle nesting sites -locals also fear their access will be limited. $US5 bought us a return ticket on a little speedboat for the 10 minute trip across the channel and through some mangroves to reach a floating jetty made of plastic. We caught sight of a dolphin briefly-he seemed to be alone-no pod in sight. We have not seen many birds on our travels-to my surprise. The only birds today were a large eagle type and a couple of brown pelicans. We had to pay $US3 to enter private land which gave us access to the beach-imagine having to do that in OZ or NZ! We walked along a gravel and sand road for about ten minutes and reached the beach- along expanse of white sand with a backdrop of lush tropical growth and clear, clean water. We found a shady spot and went in for a swim-lovely and cool-and waves! There were signs warning of killer waves and rip so we were cautious and swam where there were other people. As the day went on more and more people arrived. There were loungers and umbrellas set up but I think they were user pays. There was a gang of locals busy sweeping up plant debris and seaweed keeping the beach clean for us tourists. Some local kids came up with large green leaves closed up in their hands -they opened them up and inside in a little pool of water were tiny red frogs with black spots- rana rojo (strawberry poison dart frog ) which may disappear with the increasing development. It was a fitting way to end our week on Bocas Del Toro-sun, surf and sand. It has been a week of music,beaches, people watching, good food and the relaxed vibe of the Carribean.

The Archipielago de Bocas del Toro consists of six densely forested islands, scores of uninhabited islets and Parque Nacional marino Isla Bastimentos, the countrys' oldest marine park. Bocas has pristine beaches and a coral reef which makes for great snorkelling and swimming. There are also great surfing spots and its not uncommon to see tourists walking around with a surfboard. The main destination is Bocas del Toro on Isla Colon, the largest and most developed island and the provincial capital, which still has some authentic Caribbean charm thanks to low key development.-no huge mega hotels or chains -as yet. But since the mid 1990s foreign investors have been buying land and building restaurants, apartments and condos so things will change. It is touristy but very laid back and friendly. The town was originally built by the United Fruit Company in the early 20th century-lots of old wooden houses-many past their best. The local population is made up of Latinos, West Indians and lots of resident gringos-many middle aged and older men. There is a police station, a fire station with some older vehicles and a hospital. There is also an airport with daily flights to Panama City and Costa Rica. There are plenty of taxis-all utes and painted yellow with a black and white checked strip along the side. Water taxis are plentiful and ready to whisk you away to a deserted beach or snorkelling spot.

crossing the border to Panama

jilly — Mon, 9 Aug 2010 14:17:00 GMT

Panama Border August 3

Our last morning in Cahuita-we got up early and posted some postcards as we were about to leave Costa Rica and they had Costa Rican stamps. The PO was down a sandy side road and right next to the police station. The coppers were there-chatting and laughing and not looking at all concerned about potential crime in Cahuita! We went searching for the sloths again but they had moved on-alas no sign of a raccoon either. Oh well-after a breakfast of muesli and long life milk we set off. First a 10 minute walk to the bus station. We had just bought our ticket -$US3.50-to Sixaola the border town when the bus appeared. Bags in the side-DIY again no driver or sidekick assistance-and onto the crowded bus-luckily we got seats. The bus took us down the coast road to Puerta Viejo which looks a great place to stay-lovely beaches and lots of bars and restaurants. We headed inland and uphill and stopped at BriBri where a lot of people got off but even more got on! The bus got hotter and the windows steamed up as we wound our way through the hills. It looked as if people had been shopping at the markets and we dropped them off every few hundred metres along the way. As we got closer to Sixaola there were huge banana plantations with irrigation channels running through them and blue plastic bags over many of the bunches of bananas. There was a cable system a couple of metres off the ground along the length of the plantations where a man sitting in a seat suspended from the cable propelled himself along using a long stick-saves his legs I guess- although it is used to transport the bunches of bananas to the packing sheds where the bananas are washed and dried before being loaded into huge containers for transport.

The bus stopped in a dirty street just parallel to the highway-full of shops and people -and we walked up a slight incline to the approach to a bridge, built in 1908 by the banana growing United Fruit Company, which crosses the Rio Sixaola forming the border between Costa Rica and Panama. At this end of the bridge behind a barrier was a small office where we had to fill in a form and have our passport stamped with an exit stamp-all very straightforward and reasonably fast. Now we were in No Mans Land-heading onto a large,high,long metal bridge with a railway line running down the middle and uneven planks at either side for pedestrians. The planks were hanging on with nails in places-not at all in others-there were broken planks, cracked planks and in some places no plank at all! just a good view of the river metres below! And there was a car coming! Its wheels on our planks! Walking over this bridge fully laden with a backpack and a day pack- in front blocking the view of our feet -sweating with the high humidity and heat-was no easy task! There was only a waist high wire mesh fence down the sides of the bridge-the only barrier between us and the long drop into the water below! We did make it though- only to find ourselves at the end of a long stationary queue-we weren't going anywhere fast. It took an hour and a half to get to the little office where ONE man was checking passports, taking details and stamping them! It could have been worse-we had read that the office closes for lunch and as we had arrived at 11.30 we thought we were going to be caught. But Panama came through and soldiered on-lucky us! As we were waiting a huge truck came across the bridge-glad we weren't crossing-although there were little bays at intervals across the bridge to stand in and allow traffic past there wouldn't be much room to spare.

Now we were in Panama at Guabito-we were ushered into a minivan taxi by some Panama tourist guides for the trip to Changuinola, an hour away, where we had to catch a water taxi to get to Isla Colon. We had time to change our calones to $US-the currency of Panama- in the supermarket run by Spanish Chinese- then it was all aboard-all 13 of us at $US10 a pop! We could have caught a chicken bus for 40c but we took the soft option. So packed in like sardines-with knees touching- we set off-luckily the van was air conditioned! We all sat there-trying not to look at each other and touch each other too much-very awkward and uncomfortable!

We got to the water taxi depot , bought a ticket for $US4 and got onto a small speedboat. We were a large enough group to fill the boat but two tourists didn't have seats as there were two local schoolgirls on board. A tourist guide tried to convince them to get off and allow the tourists on but they refused. We couldn't squeeze them in as there are limits to people numbers and luggage weight which are enforced here-anywhere else in Central America it wouldn't be a problem! After some persuasion in Spanish the girls did get off and allow the tourists on-they didn't look too happy about it and who can blame them. It was a short trip-life jackets compulsory-only about 20 minutes across to Bocus Del Toro although a bit wet down in the back seat with sea spray coming in! When we got off there were guys all touting for business offering to carry bags or offers of accomodation. We told them we had reservations-a lie- and set off up the street. Luckily the hostel we had in mind was just up the street on the next corner so we looked like we knew where we were going! Hansis had been recommended to us by Lea-an American we had met at Gaudys in San Jose – and it was great. Clean, fresh, and modern with a great kitchen and a lovely black cat sunning himself at the entrance. Unfortunately they didn't have any double rooms-we were just deciding what to do next when they came through-they had one single room with shared bathroom for $US11 and a dorm bed with ensuite for $US10 per night-sold! After settling into our rooms we wandered about the place-only one main street -at least five supermarkets ( all Spanish-Chinese owned and operated) souvenir shops, bakeries, fruteria y legumbreria (fruit and vege) shops with not overly fresh stock, and plenty of little tour operators offering trips to the surrounding islands. Needless to say there are a large number of bars and restaurants offering everything from Carribean style fish to pizza. We settled for fish n chips! In a lovely little place over the water-sitting out on the small deck in the warm night air-cooked by a French cook and served in a newspaper cone with vinegar and horseradish mayo-very nice!

On the way back to Hansis we stopped in at the souvenir shop on the corner-the shop keeper was enjoying a beer and a chat with his mates out on the footpath-I think he may have been enjoying something else as well as he seemed very mellow when he came into the shop-all giggles and smiles! They partied on for quite some time-we could see them and hear the loud reggae from the hostel. Life on a tropical island!

Cahuita on the Carribean

jilly — Mon, 9 Aug 2010 14:00:00 GMT

Cahuita August 1

The bus station at Turrialba is new and modern and not too far from the town centre. We were lucky enough to get a lift from Jane and Fraser so after saying goodbye we wrote a few postcards and waited for the bus to Siquirres, 1 ½ hours away ($US2). We were settled on the bus when we had to get off and get on another bus-not enough passengers I think. The road climbed and wound its way over steep green hills-the scenery is lovely. Houses are cared for with lawns and hedges and gardens and the place looks reasonably prosperous and well kept. We passed a group of walkers on their way to Cartago where every 2^nd August a celebration is held at La Basilica de Nuestra Senora de los Angeles -the holiest shrine in Costa Rica-for the Patron Saint of Costa Rica -La Negrita (the Black Virgin).It is a statuette of an indigenous Virgin Mary found on August 2, 1635 by a mulatto woman who took the statuette home twice though on each occasion it reappeared where she had first found it. The townspeople were so amazed by this miracle that they built a church on the very spot it was first found and in 1824 La Negrita was declared as Costa Ricas patron saint. It was stolen twice from the Basilica but each time it later reappeared on its altar. People believe it has curative powers and will offer metal charms( milagrosos) representing affected body parts to her in the hope they will be cured. So every year people walk 22 kms from San Jose to Cartago in the heat arriving on their knees. In fact people arrive from many places-some from as far away as Nicaragua-walking for up to a week. That could explain why our bus was empty first thing-no doubt they will be chock a block after the Mass when everyone heads home again!

We changed buses at Siquirres and headed off to Puerto Limon-an hour away ($US2). Now the landscape was flat with acres of banana plantations. There was a plant with hundreds of shipping containers and Chiquita banana logos everywhere-Limon must be the export port. There was also a Dole compound-perhaps a processing plant. We arrived in dirty scruffy Limon an hour later-there was rubbish everywhere and a very rundown look about the place. It was similar to Belize-old wooden two storied houses sagging at the seams, dogs roaming around, rubbish everywhere, muddy broken pavements and roads and just a general feel of neglect. We walked two blocks to yet another bus station which was surprisingly clean and modern. We had to wait an hour for our next bus to Cahuita so we bought a plato de ensalada ($US3) and had lunch. The bus arrived on time and we put our packs in the side compartment,which was wet, and got on board. The bus wasn't new or air conditioned but it had plenty of legroom – not common in Central American buses! This time the road followed the coast line and we could see the Caribbean Sea for much of the 43 kms to Cahuita. As we left Limon I noticed many lowset houses with large amounts of security grilles over every window and door. Limon has a reputation for muggers and pickpockets and obviously homeowners take no chances.

We arrived in Cahuita 40 minutes later- at a bus station in the middle of a very small town. It wasn't very clear which way to go but some English speaking girls helped us out. We walked along the main street looking for a place to stay-one hotel looked rather nice but at $US 40 a night way out of our price range. A skinny, unkempt woman heard us talking about a budget backpackers and offered to show us the way. She lead us down off the main street and we were feeling a bit uncomfortable as it was looking a bit scruffy and away from the action. We stopped at one potential place and thanked her for her help-she asked for some money to buy a meal-probably more likely for drugs. We didn't give her any but she was very nice about it and went on her way. This particular place looked nice with good security but it was full so we walked a bit further and found Surfside Cabinas, a slightly run down looking place with a sagging two storied wooden house in front and a line of cabinas running down the side of the section. We walked into a large section with shrubs and trees through large gates set in a high mesh fence and headed for an outdoor patio area where there were a number of black Afro-Carribean people sitting watching soccer on TV. We felt like we were intruding on a family gathering but they indicated we were OK to come in by a nod of the head and a wave in the direction of an older lady sitting in a chair with her wheelie walker parked in front of her loaded with pens, papers and bits and pieces. The place is run by matriarch Ava, who spends her day sitting on a sofa and presiding over all the comings and goings writing out receipts and dealing with all the accommodation. She rented us a clean spacious room with bathroom for $US9 per night. We also had use of the kitchen -granted not a flash kitchen-with an ancient stove, a fridge (barely cold) and a ramshackle set of shelves with an assortment of kitchen implements-some obviously not in regular use but a kitchen all the same. After dumping our bags we went for a walk about the place as it was now late afternoon. It had taken us about 6 hours of travelling but it was efficient, easy and hassle free-and had only cost us about $US7. The two little supermarkets are expensive and didn't have fruit or vege-we just bought a carton of milk (long life) and yoghurt for breakfast. On our way back we passed one of the many restaurant/bars in town and decided to have a cocktail as it was 2 for 1 happy hour-ever mindful of our budget! We ordered an Olmega-pineapple, vodka, triple sec and coconut cream -1500 ($US3) each . They were so good we ordered another one-and a plate of chips with melted cheese!

Although it was tempting to have another one we headed back and settled for a cup of tea and bed.

August 2

Today was a public holiday in Costa Rica so there were a lot of visitors in town. After catching up with the laundry-done by hand in a concrete tub affair and strung up outside our room-we booked our room for another night and headed for the beach. There is only a small part of the beach accessible for free-the rest of it is included in the Parque Nacional Cahuita. It is entry by donation and the office is just over a small wooden bridge which has a locked gate blocking access at night. Apparently the park service wanted to charge fees for entry but the locals protested by physically blocking the entrance to keep it under their control-and succeeded. There is an easy sandy coastal track which runs for 9 kms through the jungle-we only managed 3 kms there and 3kms back! But in the first kilometre we saw black howler monkeys-the loudest animal in the world and heard for 3 kms in dense forest- white faced Cappuchin monkeys and huge iguana in the trees. We were on the lookout for sloths but no luck! However we spotted an acquaintance from Turrialba who told us there were two three toed sloths in a tree just outside her hotel-sure enough when we walked back into the village-there they were-after we had been searching all day! Very odd ,very hairy, very slow moving creatures hanging upside down from a branch in a tree. It was a mother and her baby-the mother ate a few leaves and then moved-very slowly-up the branch a short distance then appeared to go to sleep-the baby following closely behind. By this time quite a group of tourists had gathered -all trying to get a good shot-difficult when the subject appears as a big hairy blob!.

We also saw a poisonous yellow eyelashed pitviper snake curled up on a tree branch-very pretty -as pretty as snake can be!

After showers and a cup of tea-thank goodness for a kitchen- we met up with Sandra and her daughter Rosie and had tea at a local restaurant. I opted for a fish Cosada-rice, beans, salad, fried plantain and a lovely thick piece of fresh fish-washed down with a fresh pineapple juice and a coffee- all for only 3000 calones-$US6. Still Costs Rica is expensive by Central American standards and so tomorrow we head to Panama-supposedly cheaper and just as beautiful. But first a border to negotiate-on our own!

Cahuita was a favourite fishing place for indigenous fishermen from Nicaragua and Panama who came each year hunting sea turtles . In 1828 William Smith, an Afro-Carribean from Bocas Del Toro, decided to settle permanently here with his family. Others followed and eventually there was small scale production of coconut, cacoa, subsistence agriculture, hunting and fishing-an economy based on respect for nature. Gradually more people came and settled and by 1882 there were 14 houses in the village. Many Jamaicans arrived after the completion of the railways in 1890 and in 1903 Panamanians arrived fleeing from the war between Panama and Colombia-they spoke English and were Protestants. The settlement now consisting of 25 houses was moved in 1915 to land donated donated by the then President of Costa Rica in gratitude to the people for rescuing him from a sinking ship.The population gradually grew and a coconut industry was formed with the product traded in Limon, Bocas Del Toro and Nicaragua by sea. In 1920 there was oil exploration by the Sinclair Oil Company but it amounted to nothing-the test drilling hole still remains. A road was built in 1967 which linked smaller communities and Cahuita to Penshurt and then in 1977 it was built further from Penshurt to Limon. Now the site of old Cahuita is a National Park with valuable rainforest, white beaches and coral reefs-managed by the community -the descendants of the first settlers.

A bit of Kiwi in Costa Rica

jilly — Mon, 9 Aug 2010 13:57:00 GMT

Turrialba Costa Rica July 30 & 31

Another bus-another town-this time from San Jose to Turrialba about two hours away. We were going to visit a schoolfriend of my daughter and enjoy chatting with a Kiwi again. Turrialba-pop 80,000- is a small town situated at the bottom of an active volcano and surrounded by mountains-it is close to the headwaters of Rio Reventazon and as such is popular with rafters and kayakers. It's other claims to fame are the Rawleighs baseball factory,manufacturing the balls used in the USA Superbowl -it is also the home of the International Coffee Bean Bank, holding every type of coffee bean in the world, and at the nearby Monumento Nacional Arqueologico Guayabo, the largest and most important archaeological site in Costa Rica, there is a 2000 year old aqueduct which still functions today. It is a very busy bustling place with lots of traffic and very noisy-cars and vans driving around with speaker systems on their roof blaring out classified ads, cars tooting their horns to tell the cars in front to hurry up and car sirens going off. When we walked around the streets we could smell and taste the exhaust pollution-apparently cars are required to have an annual emissions test but car owners cheat-they put hydraulic fluid in their tank just before testing and that clears the exhaust long enough to pass! Our hotel was right next to a local market and we could buy any fresh fruit or vegetable we wanted-all sorts-some unknown. There were bunches of small round orange and red things-about the size of a ping pong ball. They come from a palm tree and when they are cooked and peeled the orange flesh is a dry starchy texture tasting like pumpkin. The locals eat them as a snack or use them to make soup. The town is full of bakeries selling lots of sweet breads, cakes and pastries-Costs Ricans have a sweet tooth and the bakery is obviously a popular stop as evidenced by many women in town who are of a generous size-enhanced by their choice of tight jeans and tops-no body image issues here!

We were invited to dinner at Jane's place-she cooked a fabulous Thai chicken curry and rice and we had a lovely evening catching up and chatting with her and her husband Fraser. I hadn't seen her since she was at high school in NZ-at least 20 years ago!! Now she has a lovely little boy-Archie, and another babe on the way. It was great to be able to ask them about life in Costs Rica as they have lived here for some time. We went out to lunch with them the next day-to a local restaurant-one of their regular haunts. We had a Cosada-rice and beans-slightly different in style to what we had been eating-with egg, chips, salad and Mexicana style shredded beef. Little Archie-who speaks English and Spanish at 2 years of age, loves rice and beans-a true Costa Rican boy! There is another little boy the same age living at the hotel and he and Archie are playmates. If you have a child born in Costa Rica you can become a permanent resident and now there is growing problem with people crossing the border from Nicaragua and having children which then gives them the right to live in Costa Rica-a much more affluent and developed country where health care is free. There is some form of social security such as an old age pension but no unemployment benefit.

It has been a lovely restful break here-a chance to catch up with Jane and family and also to catch up with THE BLOG-a monster of our own making! It has also been a chance to see a bit of the real Costa Rica-people going about their daily lives as this place is not really on the tourist trail apart from the water activities. On our last night there was a function at the hotel for the young Canadian girl who had been there on work experience for 2 months-she was due to go back home and so this was an opportunity to wish her farewell. Patricia the owner very kindly invited us to share in the lovely meal of Carribean style rice and beans and chicken followed up with delicious home baked cakes-what a bonus! We also polished off the last of the vodka and orange we had so it was a good night. Funnily enough a woman and her daughter had arrived earlier in the day, and I thought she looked familiar. On chatting to her it transpired that Sandra had been in the same ziplining group in Monteverde the previous week-we had a few laughs about that day as we compared stories of the Tarzan Swing. She was also planning to go to Cahuita on the Southern Carribean Coast the next day as were we so no doubt our paths will cross again.

Do you know the way to San Jose....

jilly — Mon, 9 Aug 2010 13:30:00 GMT

San Jose Costa Rica 26 – 29 July

It took two buses to get from La Fortuna to San Jose. I slept most of the way so don't remember too much of it-I know it was hot-no aircon on the bus. In San Jose we were dropped off at the side of the main road. We sent Lynn and the packs to Gaudys hostel in a cab and we walked across the busy highway and up a side street. We had a room at the front of the hostel with bunk beds-plenty of room. There was a communal kitchen with free coffee and a toaster-great thats breakfast sorted!-and a large lounge area with a big screen TV. Only downside was the smoke from the smokers-no such thing as smoke free places here! It was our last full day as a group so we set off on a walking tour of the city. First we stopped and had lunch-Lynn then went back to the hostel as she had a headache and the rest of us set off with Veronica in the lead. San Jose-pop 1.5 million in the metropolitan area- is a mixture of old and new. There are still some beautiful old colonial buildings, such as the Teatro Nacional built in 1897, and plenty of green parks with trees and shrubs but there are also plenty of ugly office blocks and concrete buildings. The city centre is hectic and grubby with lots of traffic and people everywhere. It was raining throughout our walk but we saw most of the main sites before calling it quits.

It was our last group dinner that night-we got cabs-$US 3- and went to a nice restaurant in the city-with lots of tin mugs hanging from the ceiling (not sure why)!. We had a local specialty meal-a bit of everything-and the cheapest option on the expensive menu. We oldies called it a night and went back while the young and keen went out and partied-karaoke until about 3am. Ed and the Dutch family left for the airport at 5am so the party was over!

July 27 Margarets Walking Tour

Margaret-shopper extraordinare and super organised - had a list of things to do and see in San Jose and so we invited ourselves along-beats thinking for ourselves! We walked into the city to check out the markets-about four of them-and must have seen the entire range of souvenirs for sale! The Central Market was really interesting-a mixture of cheap eating places , food, herbal medicines, clothes, tin mugs (what is it with tin mugs in Costa Rica?)shoes, etc. It is fully enclosed with dozens of shops and narrow little alleyways between them. Lynn and I were determined to post some stuff home so we checked out the Post Office-a beautiful old building-very well preserved. It wasn't obvious where to post parcels from so after a bit of fruitless wandering about and searching for something likely we asked at the counter in broken Spanglish. We were sent to the information desk where a lovely young lady soon gave up on my bumbling attempts to communicate and rang an English speaker somewhere-she handed me the phone and as I was trying to chat to her another woman from the stamp section approached us-speaking English! She told us which counter to go to-her counter for parcels under 2kg or off to another department on the left for anything heavier. She even offered us two boxes to use for packing. We told her we'd be back manana-mucho gratias! Very helpful staff! We passed an inner city hospital and saw lots of nurses presumably on a break or changing shifts-wearing immaculate white tunics and pants and shoes and a little white hat on the back of their heads or in various coloured scrubs-pink, blue, lemon. There were plenty of doctors about too-mainly male-stethoscopes hanging from their necks. We walked all day covering much the same trail as the previous day-minus the rain. We even repeated the coffee and cake experience in a very nice cafe -part of the old Theatre where the staff remembered Margarita! It was fend for ourselves for tea and we actually enjoyed cooking-made a nice change from eating out.

July 28 Our Walking Tour

Another day to explore the city but first port of call- the Post Office. We collected our stored boxes and packed them ready to go-time for a weigh! Lynn went to the counter on the right (the light counter) -mine to the left (slightly heavier!). I had a very nice young man looking after me-very trendy and bright and breezy but very little English He could read my name though and kept repeating it in a very Spanish accent. He was in a large side room along with another young man who was opening mail. They seemed to enjoy their job-chatting and laughing and racing around on their office chairs on wheels-no stress here! He gave me the price and after checking the contents he let me go and seal it up-this involved lots of packing tape and bits of cardboard to improvise a sturdy lid. Back again to fill out a customs form, pay the money (US103) and that was it-all done-such a relief! Just hope its gets to Oz safe and sound and soon. Now we were free to wander. We went in search of a photo shop to make some prints for Margaret to take home but no luck. We did end up in a dodgy part of the city by the bus station where we wandered through a very local market full of butcher shops, fruit and vege, dried beans and corn and anything a Tico (a person from Costa Rica) could possibly need. We had lunch in a local soda-plato del dia and a pina juice-$US3. We found an umbrella shop-dedicated purely to umbrellas-all sizes, styles and colours-even made to order if required. We checked out the Cathedral-very elegant and subdued colour sheme inside.La Merced was another church with beautiful satined glass windows and painted columns inside the church-quite lovely. After another full day it was time to head back to Gaudys where we shared a final meal with Margarita who was leaving at some unGodly hour in the morning. Time to say goodbye-she has been a great travel companion and provided us with lots of laughs and good company. She always seemed to be the first on every bus-sitting in the front seat with the window open. We had met up with her in Mexico City and had been in awe of her light case of wheels. I am pleased to say her case got heavier and the expansion zip was put to use as the trip went on and the case filled up -shoes, bags, shoes, a bottle of Mescal, shoes....! Good luck with the luggage limit!

July 29

There was a hairdressing college around the corner so Lynn and I went in search of a much needed haircut and colour. The haircut and blow dry was free-we just had to pay for the colour. Luckily for us there was a very friendly, outgoing local woman -Erika-there waiting for her weekly wash and hair straightening. She was able to tell the manager what we wanted-it took lots of translation on both sides but we got the message across. I wanted a full colour and highlights so I had to wait until the big manager got back from an errand-I think she was in charge of the colours. Lynn had her hair washed and cut by the time they started on me. We had the two managers looking after us-maybe because we were foreigners-they probably don't get many tourists looking for free haircuts! The students in their pink uniforms were lovely and most were working on blow waves and hair straightening on a steady stream of local clientèle. I was thinking of some foils but they still do highlights the old fashioned way-with a streaking cap and crochet hook! There were only two caps-one better than the other-so after I had a plastic bag tied onto my head, the cap Lynn had on was taken off her head and put onto mine-obviously the better cap! We also shared a towel-in fact there was only one towel in use in the whole salon-there was one on the line but one seemed to be enough! My hair was finally done enough and it was time for the rinse-cold water! A bit of a shock to the system-especially when I sat up and the water trickled out from under the cap and down my front and back! But alls well thats ends well and I had my hair cut with the hairdresser frequently referring to a picture I was told to choose earlier. The colour was nice-a bit redder than normal but with 4 months to go it would be long gone by the time I get home!

San Jose- or Chepe to the locals- is the capital of Costa Rica and home to one third of all Chicos. It was founded in 1737 but very little remains of the colonial era. Capitalism has boomed leaving many locals poor and disenfranchised and s a result there is a growing crime rate.

La Fortuna

jilly — Sun, 1 Aug 2010 07:05:00 GMT

La Fortuna Costa Rica July 24

The roads from Monteverde are shocking-winding, narrow, potholed, rutted dirt roads. There have been calls to pave them but there is resistance to this. The Quakers, who have put Monteverde on the map thanks to their land and wildlife conservation efforts, love their tranquil, green cloud forest environment and don't want hordes of tourists descending thereby putting pressure on all the infrastructure and services. So the roads remain unpaved at this stage-to the detriment of the traveller. It took its toll on our van-the driver had to change a flat tyre along the way which meant unloading all the packs to get to the spare tyre and then reloading again. After bouncing around for about an hour and a half in the van we arrived at a boat boarding area. I can't call it anything else as it was just a bit of lakeside ground in the middle of nowhere where boats pulled up to board and unload passengers. There must be certain times to catch them as there were many vans and tourists there waiting. As a boat unloaded passengers they got on the just vacated vans and were spirited off to destinations unknown. Meanwhile the van passengers boarded the boats for the 40 minute trip across Laguna de Arenal -then a van taxi for the 15 minute ride to La Fortuna town-pop 7000. We had a beautiful view of Volcan Arenal as we crossed the lake -it is Costa Ricas most active volcano producing ash columns, explosions and lava almost daily since 1968. People come hoping to see streams of lava flowing over the sides but apparently that hasn't really happened for 10 years. Postcards show a dramatic lave flow but you are lucky to see any now.

La Fortuna town is full of tour operators, hotels, souvenir shops and restaurants. Its small and easy enough to walk around and has the usual church and plaza in the centre. The church is lovely-quite different to others we have seen-it feels warm and welcoming and friendly. Behind the alter there is a ceiling high mural huge of blue sky and clouds with a large 3D figure of Christ with outstretched arms. There were gorgeous tropical flower arrangements and the whole place was light and airy. There were three ladies sitting in a pew and as we sat admiring the church they began singing-they had sweet and clear voices-it was lovely. Our hotel was modern, 5 storied with an elevator and quite luxurious with air con and Wifi - even a small fridge to keep stuff in-hardly basix standard!

There were lots of adventure activities to choose from-rafting, rappelling, hiking etc.and we attended a presentation at one of the adventure company' office. The Gap group which have been travelling the same route as us were there as well with their American guide-it was so noisy with everyone talking and once Lynn, Margaret and I decided not to do any of the options we left. We had lunch at a local soda-very cheap and tasty-the usual selection of rice and beans, salad, plantain and meat Then it was a wander about the town buying some souvenirs and just taking in the sights.

We had coffee in a nice bar-best coffee in the whole trip so far and only 800 cordoba ($1-50). I rang Hannah to see how the birthday celebrations were going and spoke to her and Mel and Ian-sorry I wasn't there for the party-should be a doozie!!!

July 25

We had decided to visit Reserva Ecologica Catarata Rio Fortuna and La Catarata de la Fortuna-the Fortuna waterfall- so after breakfast of muesli and fruit in our room we caught a taxi and went 7 kms out of town. The road up to the falls is only partially paved-especially on the steeper parts. There was a horse parking lot near to the park entrance for the equine set and a large car park for the buses and vans. It cost about $US10 for the entrance ticket. We walked in over a steel bridge and onto a paved path which wound its way up to a viewpoint of the 70m waterfall. Then it was a matter of going down 400 or so steep steps through lush, green, damp forest full of bromeliads and ferns to get to the bottom of the falls and the river. At the bottom of the falls the water was coming down with tremendous force-too dangerous for swimming although some idiot tourists were of course! A few steps further down and we came to the river with rocky pools of clear, cold water -very picturesque and reminiscent of NZ -especially the water temperature. There were fish swimming about and they weren't fazed by the brave swimmers. I had a paddle up to my knees but it was too cold for a full body plunge!! We had a picnic lunch and watched the many visitors as we summoned up the oomph to start the climb back up. It didn't take too long to get to the top-it was actually easier than coming down. It was early afternoon by this time-rain time! It didn't last too long and we decided to walk back to town. We didn't get too far before we decided to stop for a coffee at a little place where a very nice young man looked after us. As we walked along past papaya trees and pasture land we passed a woodwork gallery with some amazing art works outside created from tree trunks and branches. Inside was full of beautiful wooden pieces-from bowls to figurines with bits of bicycle chain or barbed wire for hair-too big and heavy to buy alas :( The rain returned with a vengeance-our umbrellas were next to useless in the downpour and Barbara our Dutch companion didn't have one so we took shelter in an open garage much to the amusement of the owner. He offered us a seat to wait it out so we took them gratefully. There wasn't a lot of chit chat as he couldn't speak English and our very limited Spanish doesn't allow for conversation! But he was very kind and generous and we thanked him mucho gratias as we left. It took us an hour and a half to walk back-good exercise for the day. Not bad for those of us still feeling the effects of horse riding plus sore stomach muscles from ziplining!

In the evening we met up with the others for a drink and tried the local cocktail made from a liquor from sugar cane with fruit juices-delicious. The Dutch family, Lynn, Margaret and I went for a meal at another soda- plato del dio which is such good value. Margaret was going to Mass so we thought why not? and tagged along. We had a very friendly priest welcome us with “goodnight” and went in and found a pew in the very full church. There were families with everyone from grandparents to babies, teenagers and children. It was standing room only with lots of people at the back of the church-so Lynn and I left giving the true believers chance to sit. Apparently where we two had been sitting a family of six came and sat!

I rang Hannah and left a message for her birthday-21 now-all grown up!

how scary can it be??

jilly — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:05:00 GMT

Monteverde Costa Rica July 23

Today was the day to feel the fear and do it anyway-ziplining in the cloud forest of Monteverde. I am not at all happy with great heights so the thought of hanging off a steel cable at tree top level was not a comfortable one. But I had good Team Central America support-I was not the only nervous one so that was reassuring. We caught the Adventure park coach and made our through the steep little back streets picking up other zipliners along the way. When we arrived we paid up $US40 for the pleasure of scaring ourselves silly and went out to the harness area where we were fitted up with a harness which we stepped into-providing us with a series of straps around the waist and groin. Attached to this were a couple of steel safety clip things-pretty heavy and reassuringly strong looking! This stylish ensemble was set off with a fire engine red hard hat and a pair of smelly heavy duty leather lined gloves. We had a safety briefing where we were told what and what not to do-Don't put your hand in front of the line mechanism (which is basically a n enclosed roller for moving along the steel wire).Do put your dominant hand up on the wire behind you to act as a brake. If you're a righty put your right hand back and head to the left-keep your knees up. Relax and enjoy!!!! Yeah right!! Off to the first line-this was short and not far off the ground. We had to jump in the air on the platform on command so the guide could clip us to the line. Now we were suspended from the line held up by steel wire, a clip and our harness- which acts as a seat type arrangement-knees up, hand back -around the wire not holding it, head sideways and go! Actually it wasn't so bad-I glided along smooth as silk and slowed up as I reached the opposite platform using my brake hand by tightening it around the wire. Now to get off this line and onto the next-with the help of the guide who used his knee to lift us so he could unclip us we changed lines and set off again. The lines got longer and higher and the platforms were more obviously just attached to a very tall tree!I found the best way to manage was not to look down-that way I fooled myself into thinking I was not metres above the forest floor! The guides were all lovely young men who encouraged us and joked with us putting us at ease. It was all very well done and safety was obviously the number one concern (thank goodness!). By the time I reached the last two lines of eleven I felt quite comfortable and even managed to look around as I zipped along the line. The second last line about 400 m long and 100 m high and it looked a very long way from one platform to another-but it was fabulous-great views of the forest and a chance to feel totally alone and enjoy the beautiful green environment. We had other challenges to face before this point though-namely rappeling which is a fancy name for going down a rope very fast! I was coming across a line and Lynn was just at the end and getting onto the platform. As I got to the end I could see her out the corner of my eye-one minute she was there then-she fell over the edge! Well thats how it looked-in fact she was being let down a vertical rope down the side of the tree. OMG it was the only way down! No choice but to do it! I went down so fast I was at the bottom before I knew it-it was so fast I couldn't stay upright and ended up flat on my back on the ground much to everyones amusement! But wait there's more-the biggest challenge of the day was still to come-THE TARZAN SWING!How can I describe this apparatus of of terror? It was a hugely long rope dangling from a very tall tree in a small clearing. It involved climbing a set of steep metal stairs-hard enough in itself for a height phobic person such as myself-being attached to the rope by a clip and stepping off the edge! There was a queue of people and everyone seemed to scream as the safety gate opened and they went over the edge-not confidence inspiring at all! I almost backed out-one girl did -but I thought no -don't be such a wuss. I got attached-held on for grim life, closed my eyes and stepped forward.- it was the most terrifying moment of my life! I didn't even scream-I was frozen with terror!Those one or two seconds of free fall felt like an eternity-but someone was looking out for me from above-the rope picked up the slack and there I was swinging like Tarzan in the jungle. That bit was fun -just swinging back and forth until the guides stopped us by catching us in a rubber sling contraption. I felt very pleased with myself-who would have thought I could do it-I will probably NEVER repeat it but I felt good. A few more zip lines and we came to the end. The last line was 750 m long and nearly 400 ft high and crossed a valley-it was sunny and quiet and there was a great view of the farmland below. It was amazing-what a great morning. After dropping back our gear we were rewarded by viewing photos taken at the Tarzan swing and on one of the zip lines-unbeknown to us. I certainly hadn't noticed any camera-too much of the fear factor going on! Needless to say the photo of me plunging to the depths on the swing was not a flattering one-my eyes tight shut and my face screwed up in fear-not one to pass around-but it did create some laughs from the crowd!

After all that excitement it was time for lunch-a big bowl of Aztec chicken soup-basically a tomato soup with chopped avocado, white cheese and broken tortilla chips in it-and a pork tamale. The tamale was pretty bland but the soup was spicy and tasty. We fancied a more sedate afternoon so we went off to the frog and butterfly house. Amazing frogs-all shapes and sizes and colours-green, brown, red and -my favourite -the red eyed green tree frog who has blue stripes on his legs and orange hands and feet. There were 25 species on display but there are so many more in Costa Rica. The little poison dart frogs were very cute-only about an inch long and some a beautiful red colour with blue legs (aka blue jeans frog). The native Indians used them for their poison darts-hence their name. There were even some cane toads there-they are not a pest in Costa Rica as they are in Australia. I didn't know the difference between toads and frogs-toads have dry, bumpy skin and frogs have smooth, wet skin. All in all an interesting afternoon. No butterflies as the afternoon was cloudy and cool and it was getting onto evening.

We wandered into town and went to the supermarket where we met Elvis-the Hercules beetle. He was massive-he had a very smooth and shiny shell and was very content sucking away on a piece of sugar cane-that plus bananas is their diet so they are found in large numbers in the cane fields and banana plantations-harmless to humans but a pest in crops. We bought some food and wandered back up the steep hill in the dark-after some initial confusion in the tangle of streets that is Monteverde. After tea in our room it was time to pack up again ready for the next day -a morning departure heading towards Costa Ricas most active volcano-Volcan Arenal-just another day in Central America.

Photos: trip photos

jilly — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:59:00 GMT

Nicaragua -Costa Rica (aka the day from hell)

jilly — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:10:00 GMT

Isla Ometepe -Costa Rica 22 July

Time to leave our lovely island home where we had relaxed and had a chance to appreciate the surroundings. The previous morning we had gone for a horse ride-along tracks through the tropical bush and along the beach. The horses don't wear metal bits-only bridles made from strands of nylon twine but they respond well to these and are well behaved generally. My horse, Torrito, was a grumpy, stroppy thing-he seemed determined to knock me out of the saddle by heading for the lowest overhead branch he could find. At one point he avoided the water option and took me through a maze of tree branches -I still have the scratches to prove it! We had a couple of water crossings-both times he would stop in the deepest part and start “pawing”at the water with his left foreleg-I don't know if he was just playing, frightened of the water or just out to splash me! It was a struggle at times asserting who was the boss in this relationship! It was so lovely though-out in the morning sun in the peace and quiet-just the sounds of the horses hooves on the track, countryside around us and the view of the lake. The downside was very sore knees which made getting off rather difficult and unladylike and saddle sores which lasted until a good couple of days later.

Back on the truck and ute for a quick 10 minute trip to the ferry terminal- I say terminal but in fact it was just a rough bit of road to where the car ferry docked. No chicken ferry this time-hooray! After our first ferry crossing this was bliss-luckily we had smooth sailing again-(wonderful for a lake so renown for rough crossings) we had seats up on the top deck -it was dry and sunny and there was even a cafe if you fancied a coffee. As we sailed away I had a wonderful view of the island and the two volcanoes -it was clear and sunny but I couldn't capture it on camera-so frustrating. We had trucks on board-one loaded with watermelons and another with pigs! There was the usual man with a gun in charge-ready for action but luckily this crossing was peaceful-no sign of any argy bargy on the 1 ½ hour trip.

From the ferry we caught a crowded local minibus with standing room only which took us to a bus station where we caught another bus to the border. At this stop we picked up more passengers and got the usual lot of vendors coming on board trying to sell us everything from chicken and chips to peanuts. Buses are great for sitting and observing the general population. So many people selling food-no wonder there are some very voluptuous women about- wearing tight jeans and revealing tops-everything on display! And frilly aprons-seems to be a fashion necessity -the frillier the better!

An hour later we got to the border crossing-total chaos! Muddy,wet, crowded, hot and humid and sooooo slow! We had to pay $US1 to pass through a gate and have our passport checked then Ronnie-the tour leader-collected our passports and $US22 departure tax and went off to do the real formalities. We sat and waited-and waited-and waited-it took ages! We watched as people had their luggage checked-searched is too strong a word- it looked as if they had been shopping somewhere and were bringing their goodies back into the country-in some cases huge bags full of stuff. We changed our Nicaraguan cordobas to Costa Rican colones-518=$1US1 and felt rich. We paid to go to the loo-it should have been free as the floor was wet and slippery-there was no soap and no running water-we had to collect water in a bottle and pour it into the loo to flush it -and no paper towels!

Formalities completed – at least an hour later-we had to make our way through no man 's land to the Costa Rican immigration section-about 15-20 minutes walk away. I took the easy option of getting a ride for me and my pack in a cyclo. Poor cyclo man-the road was full of puddles and potholes-it was hard going and there were 103( according to Lynn) trucks lined up waiting to go through which made the place so congested-absolute chaos! We came to a building and went down a side path to find the Costa Rica entry and departure office. I would hate to do it on my own-how do people know here to go? Here we waited again-not so much for immigration as that was very straightforward -but for a bus to take us on the first leg to Monteverde. We got dropped off at a BBQ restaurant which had a huge Brahmin cow statue out front-making mooing sounds! Time enough to have a frozen cappuchino-basically coffee icecream with a little milk-blended-and served with cream and a cherry garnish-devine! From here we took minivans for 1 ½ hours over steep, winding, bumpy, rutted, unsealed gravel roads in a storm with rain, thunder and lightening. I was worried that my drink may reappear but our driver was great-he took his time and took the bends slowly. In total it took 5 vehicles to get us to Monteverde-mainly non airconditioned, crowded public buses with people getting on and off all the way. We had no less than 5 police checks on the buses, sometimes only 20 minutes apart. Each time they looked at our passport and even though police checks are common in Costa Rica-this was a lot-they must have been looking for someone in particular-we thought it would never end. Finally we arrived at lovely hotel Historia-our room seemed new, smelling of new timber, cosy and comfortable and with a lovely bathroom with a hot shower! We were all tired after a huge travel day and after dinner at a nearby restaurant it was time for bed-no energy even for facebook!

Fiesta on Isla Ometepe

jilly — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:48:00 GMT

Fiesta day- a surprise birthday for Carly. Hope she hasn't seen the pinata and booze and snacks that were smuggled onboard the chicken ferry under very tricky conditions! The plan was to keep her busy having her hair straightened while some of us organised decorations and setting up. The boys from the restaurant had set up the tables and music system so it was just a case of stringing up paper chains and stars and chinese lanterns, made from old magazines, which we had been secretly making all day. Add a few dozen balloons and some party poppers, hats and masks and the scene was set- all we needed was the party princess.She was led over to the outdoor patio area on the lakefront blindfolded and dressed up with a tiara and some fairy wings-poor Carly had no idea what was going on! It was all a huge surprise when she took her mask of and saw us there blowing our party whistles.We had a great time-a big BBQ tea and cake and copious amounts of rum! it was very raucous but all good fun-we had so many laughs playing party games-pass the parcel and musical chairs. In fact musical chairs was so good we had another go at it! Pass the parcel was interrupted by a power cut but no problem-we all sang to make up for the lack of a music machine. It was only off for ten minutes or so.It was a great night-lots of laughs. The more mature members of the group called it a night before it got too late bearing in mind we had an early start in the morning! We left the stayers drinking and dancing-the rum was finished but there was some red wine circulating.A birthday to remember-in a beautiful location on a farm in Nicuragua beside a lake and two volcanoes around us-priceless!

The Chicken Ferry to Isla de Ometepe -Nicuragua

jilly — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:38:00 GMT

Ometepe Island via the “Chicken ferry” Nicuragua July 20

We almost left a group member behind in Granada-we were supposed to leave at 1030am but he thought it was 11am-it was close. We were just pulling away when he came along the street! We had a fast trip in the minivan to reach a ferry across to Ometepe Island due to leave at 1230pm. It had started to rain as we pulled up at the ferry terminal at 1225pm!-there was no terminal building, just a few sheds about and a large gate. We had to make a mad dash carrying our packs along a driveway to the port area where there were a few boats tied up. We saw a large ferry but didn't head for that one-instead we were herded in the direction of an old wooden vessel looking already well loaded with baggage and a huge pile of sugar cane on the top deck and a very full lower deck -mostly Western tourists. We just looked at each other and thought “you have got to be joking”-the boat ( described as a launch) was old and leaky and had definitely seen better days. But no this was it-over the skinny little gangplank that looked barely able to take our combined weight of person and pack and down a set of steep narrow metal steps-made potentially lethal by a combination of rain and jandels! Walking into the crowded lower deck was no better- a wet metal floor with a definite lean to the left and very little in the way of seating left due to the fact we were late and there was another large tour group on board. I managed to score a seat next to a man who was seated right behind the mooring rope and pole. It was quite claustrophobic as the ceiling was low-barely standing height- and the windows were just small open squares along the sides of the boat-barely big enough to squeeze through in case of emergency. All sorts of disaster scenes were going through my mind- I could just visualize the newspaper headlines-”Ferry capsized in Lake Nicaragua!” There were life jackets stowed in the ceiling but not enough to go around-their main function appeared to be stopping the rain from seeping through from the top deck. Not that they were even doing that well-there was water dripping everywhere and as we got underway the rain was driving in from the left side of the boat. The staff tied up some very old well worn blue tarpaulins -one string tied to that of a life jacket-mental note to self-don't choose that one in the event of an emergency! The poor man next to me was copping a fair amount of rain-I gave him my umbrella to put up in a vain attempt to keep the rain off. One young guy a couple of seats in front of us was getting wet from every direction-water was coming in from the side and from above-he tried the umbrella trick-then put on a rain jacket-then just resigned himself to the fact he was going to be very wet. Thank goodness the water was calm-the lake has a reputation for being very choppy. I was prepared having taken a tablet but it was smooth sailing all the way-still I was very relieved when the hour long ride was over!

We were picked up by a truck and a ute and taken to our accommodation right on the edge of Lake Nicaragua and with active Volcan Cocepcion-1610m and a perfect cone shape- in the back yard. It last erupted in 1957. Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes rising out of the lake with an old lava flow forming an isthmus between them. It is green and lush with lots of primary forest and still unspoiled with crops of plantains, sesame seeds, coffee and citrus. Our hotel was great-it had a restaurant and nice rooms and lots of hammocks and deck chairs overlooking the lake. We went for a walk in the afternoon. We saw howler monkeys although they were very quiet-just moving about the treetops and watching us looking at them! Further up the track we were just heading up a slight incline on a narrow path, like a tunnel through the trees and bush, when we saw a huge bird with a wingspan of about a metre, just cruising down the path towards us-we saw him coming and we stopped-he saw us and he virtually stopped in mid flight and did an abrupt U-turn and took off in the opposite direction. It all happened so quickly and was like something out of a movie. I don't know who got the biggest fright-him or us! There were lots of birds living on the cliffs alongside the path-mainly a cormorant type. We also saw beautiful tropical flowers and butterflies- a gorgeous place to be.

Honduras across the border to Nicuragua

jilly — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:06:00 GMT

Honduras -Nicaragua Sunday July 18

Another early start to beat the traffic -we left the hotel in Comayagua at 0620 and walked just across the road to the bus. Although it was a public bus we were the first pick up so we got the best of the seats. I had taken a travel sickness tablet as it was going to be a long day so that put me to sleep-as a result I didn't see much of the scenery. The little I did see was very green and lush and mountainous. No stock but some fields of plants that looked like small agave plants-blue and spiky. It is a plant used for making fibre for weaving. We changed buses in the capital??and spent the next few hours on a first class bus with air conditioning and a DVD player. We crossed the border into Nicaragua without any hassles-the bus drivers co-pilot collected everyones passport and departure tax of $US11 and dealt with the formalities. We had to get off the bus and wait for about 40 minutes but it was an opportunity to change money from Limpira into Cordobas. The money changers were swarming around us as we got off the bus-each one with a huge wad of notes in their hands and all offering their rate-open to negotiation! There were the usual collection of stalls selling food and trinkets and an ice cream man pushing his little chillybin of goodies and ringing his bell. It was very hot and we sought out the shade under the trees while we waited. One young Western tourist was sitting on a rock meditating and totally oblivious to what was going on-he got a few looks from some of the locals who must have wondered what on earth he was doing.

Three movies later we arrived in Managua-the capitol of Nicuragua. The bus stations are usually in the dodgiest part of town and this was no exception. It was in an area well known for crackheads and cocaine addicts. There was good security here with high gates and only passengers allowed in the terminal-bags can only be collected with a matching ticket. We were supposed to be catching another bus to Granada but it wasn't big enough for our group plus luggage so Ronnie had to negotiate another bus. The taxi driver who took her to sort it out demanded his 'commission' and got quite loud and aggressive until she paid up-this is usual throughout Central and South America-everyone expects money for any little service. Another hour travelling had us arriving in Granada. It was dark and wet by this time and everyone was hungry after a long uncomfortable travel day so it was a case of dumping the bags and out for tea. We settled for a toasted sandwich and coleslaw and chips at the Zoom Bar-sounded good -but we had a surprise when it arrived. The chips were a bag of potato crisps! Still it was good and much appreciated by all.

Granada-pop 84,773- is a Spanish colonial town founded in 1524 by the Spanish conquerer Francisco Hernandez Cordoba at the foot of Volcan Mombacho-one of the oldest colonial settlements of Central America and the oldest in Nicuragua. Hotel Cocibolco is situated in what remains of the historical centre of Granada. It was described as having “character” by Ronnie but we thought it was fine. Sure there was a hole in our ceiling, a window with no curtain and gaudy orange bed covers but it also had Wifi, a kitchen for guest use, free coffee and two gorgeous little ginger kittens who were very playful and mischievous!

Our one full day in Granada was spent on doing a day tour. Firstly a leisurely boat ride around some of the islets(Las Isletas) of Lago de Nicuragua or Lake Cocibolco, the 10^th largest freshwater lake in the world and the 2^nd largest in Latin America. It also has the distinction of being the only freshwater lake in the world with sharks-bull sharks to be precise. This is because the lake is connected to the Caribbean Sea via the San Juan river which made it of great strategic value to pirates and conquerers in the early days and enabled Granada to become a rich and important trade centre until the 19^th century. There are 365 islets of volcanic origin in the lake-10,000 years ago-some privately owned and some inhabited by the indigenous population. Others have restaurants-one islet is still used as a cemetery for the local indigenous people and on Isla San Pablo there is a small fort -El Costillo-built in 1784 to guard against British incursions. We saw monkeys on Monkey Island-only four monkeys are allowed to live there. There is one female and if she has any babies they are taken away in order to keep the population down . The monkeys are privately owned and cared for with the owner feeding them regularly. There are power lines running from the islet and monkeys have been electrocuted in the past by climbing along the wires. We saw some kayakers paddle up to the islet and the monkeys came to them and took some food offered to them. When they tried to leave one monkey in paticular grabbed the front of the kayak and held on tight-he obviously didn't want to lose his food source-he was very strong and it took a bit of effort for the kayaker to get away! Some of the privately owned islets have very nice residences with pools, gardens and even a cell phone tower. A couple of very wealthy families have made their fortunes over the years through coffee, banks and car dealerships.

Next up was a trip to Parque Nacional Volcan Masaya and the most easily accessible active volcanoes in Nicuragua. There are two volcanoes-Masaya and Nindiri which together comprise five craters.Crater Santiago is still active and we saw clouds of volcanic fumes rising from the crater. We drove to the top of the volcanoes -632m-and then climbed 177 steps right to the edge to get an amazing view down into the crater itself. We could feel the toxic gases going into into our lungs as we climbed and its recommended you only stay for 20 minutes maximum which we did. There is a cross at the top overlooking Crater Santiago-originally placed there in the 16^th century by a priest attempting to “exorcise the demons from the gates of hell”. Human sacrifices were made there in pre-Hispanic times and until as recently as the 1980s political prisoners were dropped from helicopters ,by the military regime in power, into the crater. The surrounding landscape is made up of volcanic rock and old lava flow making it quite eerie in places despite some vegetation managing to survive. We had a wander through the interesting park museum which detailed volcanic activity and facts and models. There is a certain species of parrot which lives inside the wall of the crater having adapted to the poisonous gas and there are plenty of bugs which survive as well.

We headed off to the town of Masaya and had lunch at the local artisans market-it was a slow day as many of the locals were out celebrating Liberation day-celebrated every 19^th July commemorating the ousting of the cruel dictator Anastasio Somoza Garcia who ruled from 1937 until he was forced to resign by the Sandanista uprising and overtaking of Managua on July 19, 1979. We had seen hundreds of supporters along the highway-on top of chicken buses, trucks, cars, motorbikes and push bikes-all wearing the Sandinista colours of red and black and carrying the FSLN ( Frente Sandanista de Liberacion Nacional) The Sandanista Liberation Front flag. It was a huge celebration in Managua the stronghold of the party and it was broadcast on TV live throughout the day.

I ordered papas fritas y queso (chips and cheese) and that is what I got- just not quite the version I was expecting. Instead of lovely freshly fried potatoes with melted cheese on top I got a small plate of soft, warmish french fries with little cubes of deep fried cheese! Went down OK with the minute little puddle of ketchup on the side of the plate! Luckily I had a decent coffee to wash it down with and a nice crisp apple in my bag for pudding.

Our next treat was a pottery studio where pottery is made in the old traditional manner. Clay is worked by kneading it by feet and then a pot is thrown on a foot operated wheel. The pot is allowed to dry then the surface is polished by hand with a large seed pod from a particular tree. Natural colours made from minerals and rocks are applied in layers and polished between each application-the polish intensifies the colours. Then the pot is engraved by hand with a sharp stick and final colour is applied before the work is fired in the woodfired kiln. After it has cooled it is polished again-but this time with some wax instaed of the traditional seed. Naturally there was a shop with a huge selection of goodies-it was so hard to choose! But it had to be small and lightweight so I bought a little red engraved pot just the right size to carry home in my travel mug.

The last call of the day was to see a witch-there is a strong tradition and belief in witchcraft and there is a chain of villages in Masaya called the “Pueblos Brogos” (Bewitched Villages). Our witch was very short on smiles and English. Our tour guide for the day-Ramone_ had to interpret. We had a choice of cards or palms-I opted for cards. She had the oldest, tattiest , dirtiest set of cards I have ever seen. She got me to cut the pack three times then she laid them out before asking me to upturn each card. Then she sorted them and picked some up according to her own secret code. Her advice to me was to watch my health and to bathe myself three times for three days with juice of lemon and water to “clean myself”. Good advice from her!-her house was a mess! The lounge area we waited in was like a waiting room but with sawdust on the cracked and broken floor tiles. She was obviously doing OK as there were two tuk tuks in the garage and it was a big house. There were photos of kids graduating on the wall and certificates of a court justice-she is very well known with newspaper articles about her and is regarded as being very good by the locals. Nicaraguans are very superstitious by nature and witchcraft is regarded as part and parcel of life by some.

On the way back to Granada in the van we had a trivia quiz where ramone asked lots of questions about all the facts and figures he had been firing at us all day. It was fiercely contested with lots of laughs and I won a close contest- my prize- a CD of Nicuraguan music.

When we got back to town we walked to the Cathedral in the main plaza. I faced my fears yet again and climbed up the bell tower- but it doesn't get any easier! We had a great view of the sunset and the town centre. We then went and had a local cocktail specialty- a Macqua-made with white rum, orange and guava juice, ice topped with a cherry and a slice of orange-very strong and very good! Tea was nachos at the Zoom Bar and then it was back to the Dario Hotel for a coffee before heading home.