I left my heart in Bocas del Toro

From Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica, I headed further down the coast and crossed the border at Sixaola and entered Panama, with only minor hassles. A quick shuttle bus later and a few of us were on a boat speeding out to the Archipelago de Bocas del Toro, a wonderful island chain just over the Panama border. Bocas town is the gateway to the islands, and is itself pretty stunning, with traditional Bocatorian stilt houses built over the water. My hostel Casa Verde, was based right on the water and every evening was spent having a few beers on the deck listening to the live bands that play there every night. There are lots of gringos who have made their home there and lots of travellers who came and never left... I almost became one of these.... (should've).

One of the main attractions out here is to go on a full day boat trip, spotting dolphins and snorkelling in the morning, and then spending the afternoon on Zapatillas island, an uninhabited white sand paradise. Best day of my trip so far. I was also lucky enough to meet 3 great Canadian girls, Katy, Lindsay and Bea, on the boat trip so we had such a fun day.

Coincidentally we were all heading out the next day to Palmar Tent Lodge on Isla Bastimentos so they took me under their wing and fed me... :)

Palmar Tent Lodge is based on Red Frog Beach on the Isla Bastimentos, right next to a beautiful marine park. Totally isolated, this hostel was set on the beach and we lived in large safari tents steps away from the beach.

It felt wonderful to be away from civilisation, drinking rum out of coconuts, 'pipas', every day and night on the beach. There was a great group of us there, mostly Canadians (they are everywhere!!) and we had fires on the beach, moonlight walks, midnight swims and we even saw a leatherback turtle. I'm not ashamed to say that I shed a little tear when most of us moved on after 4 days on the beach, and a week in Bocas del Toro. The owners are a young American couple who built this place from scratch and now live the dream... a glimpse of how life could be!

Costa Rica Caribbean Coast

So, after seeing an AMAZING 1.5m leatherback turtle laying its eggs on a beach in Costa Rica, then camouflaging them in sand and sliding back into the sea, in what was an incredible glimpse into another world, I left Tortuguero and ventured further down the Caribbean coast to Cahuita National Park. Leaving Tortuguero involved a 3 hour boat trip down rivers and canals, and some good company with some Norwegians and Americans that I'd previously met. Handy as we could then share a taxi further down the coast after the boat trip.

Cahuita national park is a beautiful jungle with mangrove trees lining stunning beaches, and I had an amazing early morning walk in the national park one cloudy morning.

Cahuita town, however, is pretty much a one street super laidback Caribbean town so after briefly checking out Coco's Bar, I decided to only stay one night and moved on to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. This town is famed as the party town on the Caribbean coast, and most people use it as a base to go into the jungle, go on snorkelling tours or just to check out the beaches. There are lots of Americans about - or 'gringos' - and probably even more Canadians. I've also met some Norwegians and French people, but absolutely no Brits yet - this is amazing to me. I'm told that there are some but I haven't crossed paths with any yet. Everyone is very friendly and I went out to eat a couple of times with some Americans which was nice, although as they were on holiday they were spending money like water. But hey, when in Puerto Viejo....

So I followed Lonely Planet's advice while I was in Puerto Viejo - 'Eat a little. Drink a little. Chill a little. You've come to the right place.' I spent an amazing couple of days hitting the beaches - the highlight was probably hiring a bike and cycling down the coast through a coastal/jungle road, stopping off at some incredible beaches.

The best thing about beaches in Costa Rica and Panama (more to follow) is the fact that there is so much space. There are other tourists dotted around but you're pretty much guaranteed about a 50-100m spot to yourself. There are no hawkers or hasslers and everywhere feels very safe. You'll be pleased to hear my tan is coming on a treat (I'm writing this about 4 days after the photo above was taken!) - I feel so brown and healthy :)

The other main reason people come to Puerto Viejo is to use it as a base from which to travel to the border with Panama and onto Bocas del Toro, a chain of islands where I am currently writing this. The post and photos are on their way and I am definitely in paradise.

San Jose to Tortuguero

Well I've finally arrived in Costa Rica after months of anticipation.. and my trip has got off to a pretty good start. My flight via Atlanta seemed to take forever and I arrived after 20 hours or so of travelling.. fun fun fun! My hostel in San Jose was in the good part of town but I tell you what, there were still plenty of prostitutes around! I didn't do much aside from lie by the pool and recover, but I did venture out to buy my bus ticket for my first stop - Tortuguero Village.

Tortuguero is a national park along the coastline, made up of canals and wetlands. It is possibly one of the more inaccessible places I'll be going to, as the best way there is a bus from San Jose to Cariari, a second bus to La Pavona, and then a boat (1.5 hours) along the canals and rivers. Having said that, the journey ran like clockwork - they are obviously used to tourists and even the public buses (i.e. not the tourist shuttles) make it very easy for tourists to get from one bus to the other. The boat trip was stunning, it felt like going into the heart of the jungle, where all the plants are supersized and prehistoric. You can see more of my photos by looking at the map.

I got to Tortuguero in one sweaty piece (it is hotter and more tropical at the coast, with temperatures of around 31 degrees) and found my way to my hostel, El Icaco, situated right on the beach, with hammocks and everything :) The guidebooks say that we shouldn't swim in the sea here because of rip tides but the locals say that it's fine to go waist deep, which is what I've been doing. Try and stop me!!

The first day here was active, to put it mildly, starting at 5.30 am with a canoe tour of the river. Stunning morning, and so peaceful - not your average Saturday morning! We saw 3 iguanas, 2 sloths, a caiman (mini crocodile) and a lot of howler and spider monkeys. Pretty amazing. Then I had a hike through the rainforest and leisurely lunch, followed by a swim in the sea. Tonight I'm going on a tour to see leatherback turtles laying their eggs on the beach. Very happy bunny.

Tortuguero village has no roads or cars, and everyone knows everyone, which sounds nice until the tour guide takes a fancy to you and there is nowhere to hide - he even came knocking on my door to ask me to join him on a tour of his 'private land'. Not to mention being approached at a riverside bar (mid afternoon) by 4 men - 2 fishermen, a boatman, and a businessman - in turn, each trying to chat me up. It has been heavenly and relaxing here but I am looking forward to moving on to Cahuita National Park, further down the coast.