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This morning we were up very early... departure time 5.20am. We piled into taxis and made our way to the bus terminal. Today we had a better driver who actually helped stack our bags in the under compartment of the bus!! We then set off.
The drive took us 5 hrs, starting in San Jose and finishing in the border town of Sixaola. We again drove trough some stunning backdrops. The most beautiful is when we drove through a rainforest that had been descended upon by clouds. There was a fine mist, that made this place look mystical. That was until the bus came to a screeching halt. I couldn't see anything as I was behind the driver, but Sue saw the whole situation unfold. A car skidded then started spinning and eventually came to a halt after it hit the embankment. Everyone seemed to be ok... But the bus driver drove a couple of hundred metres down the hill and stopped out the front of the police station to let them know. The driver did a great job to even stop the bus in time!!!
Our first stop was in a port town called Limon. This is the biggest port in Costa Rica, and a direct route to the Carribean sea. The town looks run down, and appears to be a bit of a shanty town, but there is something rustically beautiful about rusty corrugated iron buildings.
We then drove along the Carribean sea and eventually turned back inland and through some more beautiful forests. I was like a dog with its head out of the window for most of the trip. I just wanted to take the last of Costa Rica in.
Finally we arrived at Sixaola the border town and disembarked our bus. We grabbed our bags and headed towards the border. I'm so glad I wasn't doing this on my own, as I would never have found all of the places I needed to attend before I could leave Costa Rica and enter Panama.
The first place we hit was a Costa Rican cash office..... we had to pay our departure tax. I think this was one of those occasions where they choose on the day how much the tourist will pay. We ended up paying $8 to leave Costa Rica, however the receipt stated we only needed to pay $7. None of us complained though.... is one dollar really worth kicking up a fuss and not being able to leave the country?? I think not!!
We then had to head to the Costa Rican immigration office on top of a hill. I think the guy was trying to be funny with me.... he originally asked me something in Spanish, which as always I just looked at him like I was a moron saying nothing....even though I can say no hablo espanol (I don't speak Spanish). So he says to me in English where are you going.... Again I look at him funny. However this time I looked at him like he was a moron. Um, Panama. Considering I'm on the Costa Rican/Panama border being stamped out of Costa Rica - I don't really have too many options here. I think we both realised that we weren't understanding each other so he stamped me out and I was out of there.
Next leg, I had to walk the no mans land bridge. This bridge was about 50m long and crossed a huge river. It looked like it had previously been used as a railway or tram bridge, as the railway lines were still in situ down the middle of the bridge. Either side of the railway track was some rickety wooden sleepers. The main aim was not to drop my passport into the river, and not to fall down any holes. Let's just say the bridge is in need of some TLC.... A few of the wooden planks looked a little worse for wear, there were some decent gaps between some of the sleepers, others moved every time you walked on them. Finally we got to the other side. We then had to go into this tiny little office that looked like it had been converted from a shipping container. There a lady sat, placing a sticker in everyone's passport. No smile, no hello, just a stamp!! Granted her office was stinking hot. I would probably be grumpy too if I had to work in those conditions. We then went down to the minivan thinking... Is that it??? That was really easy. We were wrong. Just a minor office we missed... Panama immigration.... no biggy. I don't know how anyone is meant to find the immigration office, as it was located under a bridge, through a group of dicey looking men, over a road and behind a supermarket. But we got there eventually.
Finally after all our passports were stamped etc, we jumped into the minivan and we were off. We had another 50min bus ride to the ferry terminal. We got all of 5min down the road and we were stopped at a military check point. They took one look at our bus and decided to open the door and look at all of our passports. Phew we passed, although I'm thinking we were lucky that we didn't have to pay anymore money. On our way again.
The landscape looked very similar to Costa Rica, lush green forests on top of hills.
We arrived at the ferry terminal, and guys rushed to the back of the car to get our cases out....Lisa our tour guide was telling them in Spanish not to touch the bags, everyone will get their own. These guys were like honey bees to the nectar.... and thy were nuts.
There was one more crazy guy than the rest.... He was more than happy to flex his muscles to show us how 'strong he is', then with this crazy laugh!!
We piled our bags on a small boat and we all jumped on board. No moving until we all put our life jackets on. I don't know if that's a good sign or a bad sign?!?
The ferry ride took us about 50min to reach our final destination - Bocas Del Toro. This is an island just off the Panama coast located in the Carribean sea. The town is fairly small, with the majority of the buildings having an appearance of wooden shacks. It is actually a really cool looking town. Notice how I had to say cool looking town. I couldn't say that it's a cool town, as it's anything but. I think I was sweating from every orifice. It is just so hot and steamy. It doesn't help when you are carrying an extra 25kg of luggage on your back and around your neck, whilst walking from one end of island to the other to make to our hotel.
After a quick change in clothes, spray of deodorant and a cold drink we were ready to head out on our orientation walk. There wasn't too much extra to see, as we essentially had seen everything the first time we walked the length of the island!! However we did have to wheel and deal to try and organise a boat for tomorrow. Now I have to say this.... We were organising and negotiating on a boat, when it looked like a boat captain jumped up and started talking about what we could and couldn't do. He had a glass eye, and all I could think about was if only we added an eye patch he could be a pirate.
I spent the afternoon just exploring the town...taking some photos. Then we went out for dinner. We went to a really nice place over the water. Again, I had to be careful not to drop my phone into the water!! Success!! I didn't drop anything into water today.... passport and phone are still in my possession. Check!!
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