Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Continuing on our epic journey... On a brief stop-over on a different island in Bocas del Toro, we joined forces with a chipper Californian man, Tino. (Hi Tino!) Bastimentos is a much more chilled out place so we split our time between the beautiful Red Frog beach and addictive games of Taboo (next years Christmas game please!)
Craving a bit more adventure, together with Tino, we devised a plan. Lost and Found is a lodge off the beaten track between Bocas and a large city called David. Armed with a warning from fellow travellers about the small hike to get there, we jumped off one of the most packed buses we have had the pleasure of, in the middle of nowhere. The view of the cloud forest between the mountains was spectacular, quickly disappearing behind us as we followed the dubious yellow signs to get to the lodge. On arrival we were greeted by an angry little fella with bad teeth ( who on closer inspection turned out to be a monkey called Cloud) & then by a lovely gentleman called Nico who appeared to be dying! He tried to show us around the grounds but weren't fully attentive as we were all having mild heart attacks as the "small hike" turned out to be a 30 minute uphill climb which (including backpacks) pretty much destroyed us, but the view made it all worthwhile.
Lost & Found was a trully amazing place, very beautiful & overun with all kinds of wildlife (in a good way!) On a clear day you can see for miles, including to the tallest mountain in Panama. They are a hiking lodge, so among the various trails they have mapped out there is the famous 'Lost and Found treasure hunt'! After an awesome homecooked meal and a good nights sleep (with some happy hour rum & cokes in between!) we awoke ready to take on the challenge! Bug spray, granola bars, water, check. To cut a long story short - we got lost. We overshot the second clue by the whole map and ended up right at the end of the trail. By the time we found ourselves again we were running out of time before dusk, so defeated we headed back home. Aside from the failure of our navigating team (Ahem, Tino, Ahem!) it was an incredible trek, leading us through twisted hollow trees and along awesome river rapids.
To totally change the pace, the following day we spent 3 hours debating & making the greatest breakfast of all time™ then having an exhausting game of cards (Tino taught us high soceity), then 3 hours creating an amazing dinner! For the record, Maple Syrup in curries totally works!
From there, we spent a very underwhelming day in David, which it turns out is a sprawling dull city, but a major transport point which we had no choice but to go through. The 'youth hostel' was more of a retirement home for Americans getting away from the cold during winter. Highlight - dinner at a Lebanese restaurant with a 67 year old man called Jim. You meet all sorts of people travelling!
Onwards... next plan is back into Costa Rica, where we will zip up the pacific coast before entering Nicaragua where we plan to spend Christmas!
- comments