So far in Costa Rica and Panama...

I arrived in San Jose a week ago, it was grey and rainy yet again! As I arrived quite late, I didn´t actually get the chance to see much of the city although we did a quick tour of the main sights in the morning. We arrived at our first stop in the afternoon. It was Puerto Viejo on the Carribean coast, we sat by the beach for a while and went for a swim before having a quick drink before dinner. The next day was a busy, active one. We started off taking a boat to several snorkelling spots, where there were so many different types of fish! Afterwards we took a tour of Cahuita National Park and were shown lots of wildlife including snakes, sloths, spiders, lizards and howler monkeys. After lunch we drove to another park and went canopying on zip lines across the Costa Rican tree tops. Initially I was a bit preoccupied with how to brake but once I got the hang of it, it was fantastic! So much fun soaring across the cloud forest. There were around 15 lines so it took us a couple of hours to complete the circuit around the forest. The next day was spent chilling by the beach and admiring the beautiful surroundings. Our next stop was Bocas del Toro in Panama. After crossing the border on a rickety old bridge we took a taxi to the port and then boarded a boat to take us to the islands. It was so beautiful! Our hotel was set right over the water on the quieter island of Bastimentos. After we had checked in we took a boat to the main island of Colon, Bocas town and had lunch at a restaurant on a boat. The view was gorgeous! There was a guy playing Bob Marley and the Beatles. It was so peaceful and relaxing. After wandering around town we went to a bar/club called the Sunken Ship which was also set over the water and had cut out decking with lights illuminating the "sunken ship". It was really cool and the drinks were free for ladies - even better! The next day I decided to take a horseriding trek to the beaches. It was an experience to say the least. The guide was really sweet but the horses were just impossible. They didn´t want to go anywhere and as the hills were really steep and slippy - they refused to go so I had to walk up and down them! When we were actually on the beach they refused to canter or even trot and mine actually sat down in the water with me still on it! I was afraid it was going to roll! The rest of our time in Bocas was spent relaxing by the beach. Yesterday we took a boat to Red Frog beach and actually managed to spot some poisonous red frogs which were tiny! Today we drove to Boquete up in the mountains, its much cooler here. Tomorrow we are renting quad bikes and taking a tour on them around the mountains to the hot springs.

I will try and not leave it too long until my next blog, but like I said before, I make no promises!
Take care. Love Charlotte
x x x