I´ve seemed to have gotten a little behind in my blog posting so I will try and summarize my past couple of weeks in condensed sections, that are more fill than frill.
COSTA RICA
After our harrowing boarder crossing, Mike and I thought that the Caribbean would be a nice reward. We landed in Puerto Viejo, a surfer town almost touching the southeastern border with Panama. This town makes it claim to fame for having the famous ´Salsa Bravas,´ a off shore reef break that offers spectacular, and dangerous, waves for die-hard surfers. The town itself was a little on the seedy side. Most of the locals are young men who aggressively and unabatedly pursue the foreign girls. I found this out first hand because we met up with our friends Judith and Emily and had to fend off these sleaze balls 24/7. But all was not lost, at our hostel, we met up with some of Mike´s friends who had amassed a huge group of 14 people and it made for a very merry Christmas, complete with a huge potluck, Elmo pinata, and Christmas carrels. I made it an early night and went back to my tent around 4am, Mike stayed up until 9.
The following day, Mike´s group convinced us to come with them down to Panama City for New Years. Wasn´t in the plans and a bit out of the way since I had to be back in San Jose on the 3rd to meet my friends, but if Panama is the place to be, then I couldn´t pass it up.
PANAMA
Mike went ahead with the rest of the group and I traveled with the girls, who were also going to PA to ring in the new year. The border crossing passed without incident and we made our way toward Bocas de Torro, an outcrop of islands just south of the border and a must-see on the Panama backpacking circuit. We almost didn´t get the chance because after being told by a border guide (never to be trusted) that it would cost $5 for a taxi and boat ride to Bocas, he put us in a cab with his buddy cab who, after arriving at the docks, demanded more money saying it was $5 each for the cab and $5 more each for the boat. We refused to pay, not because of the money, but the principle. We got in the boat and sat there while he yelled at us and called the police. Finally he got the dock agent to hold up the boat until we either payed or got off and waited for the federalies. Not wanting to miss that last boat of the afternoon, nor have anything to do with the Panama police, we swallowed our pride and coughed up the cash. The was a lot of activities in Bocas, from surfing and snorkel tours to bike rides and beaches, but I didn´t do any of that because it rained the whole time. We spent the time getting our livers in shape for the new years celebrations that were rapidly approaching, playing drinking games and Martin (a Swedish guy in the group) and I taking Tequila suicide shots. That´s where you snort salt up your nose, squirt lime juice in your eye, then finish with a shot of the worst tequila they have. Sounds awful, and it was, but it was also free!
From there we made our way to Panama City and settled in for our New Years festivities. The group, now more then 20 strong, would have a huge dinner at our hostel, ring in the New Year there, and then head out to the bars, which don't really get crowded until 1am or so anyway. The first part went as planned with a big dinner on the veranda followed by fireworks and champagne to for the ball drop. But after that, it all fell apart. Imagine yourself trying to keep 5 drunk people, all with there own idea of where they want to go, together. Impossible right. Now imagine that there are 19 people and your drunk too. It ended up being just the girls and I walking down to Calle Uruguay, a stretch of real estate with a bunch of bars and discos. It was at this point that we decided that it would be a good idea to try and take shots for every letter in the words 'New Year.' Probably better done at the beginning of the night than at the end. Judith ended up getting really drunk and decided it was a good idea for her to take a walk around town by herself. Emily, not drunk enough to see the wisdom in this, wouldn't let her and they ended up walking around together, leaving me to finish off the New Year's challenge. We finally made it back to the hostel to watch the sun come up and people were starting to file in from there adventures as well. Everyone except Mike, who ended up waking up on a side street somewhere downtown having no idea how he had gotten there. We were convinced that, had she gone off on her own, Judith would have somehow woken up beside him. The next day was spent recuperating, or, in Mike's case, drinking and gambling at the casinos. As for myself, I fell back on my favorite pastime, movies. And, to start the new year off right, we made it a double feature.
COSTA RICA
The following day the girls and I took a long, sticky bus ride back to Costa Rica stopping late in the afternoon at a small roadside town called Palmar Norte. There we treated ourselves by checking into in a nice Cabana hotel with a pool and relaxed after a long travel day. That night we had a farewell dinner as the girls where heading off the Pacific and I was heading up to San Jose to meet up with my friends. It had only been about two weeks since I started traveling with them, but I felt like I had known them forever and it was sad to say goodbye. Now I'm waiting to meet up with my Berkeley companions and explore Costa Rica and see what's changed since my last visit over two years ago.
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