Whew it's been awhile. Sometimes circumstances make it difficult to get to a computer to peck away at the keys, even just for a moment. Time operates on a completely different scale when traveling, days can feel like a lifetime or fly by faster than you can rip pages off the calendar. Looking back at when I started, it feels like I've been down here quite a while, and sometimes I have to take a vacation from my vacation. Instead of waking up at the crack of dawn to go exploring or take some kind of tour, sometimes it's nice just to relax around the hostel reading a book or post up on a park bench to observe the rhythm of life in a foreign country.
As the sun rises at about 5:30am every morning, people are out and about from the first light of day or aurora till sundown (atardecer). Street vendors roll out their carts to sell fresh empanadas or quesillos, newspapers are sold to the shopkeepers rolling up their garage doors and sweeping out their tiendas and churchbells chime to tell you it's time to get your day going. The grind of blenders liquidating ice, fruit and milk into delicious batidos emerges from the comedores serving desayunos (breakfast) to those that start their work days early.
At about eight to 9am is when things really get going. The sun is now higher in the sky and the reddish hue of dawn has been replaced with bright and warming rays of golden light. The sidewalks are flooded with people heading to work in all directions; the streets with cars honking their horns, bikes and pedestrian overflow. The banter of shopkeepers chatting with friends passing by is punctuated by the street vendors who have started announcing their products over all the commotion with high-pitched, piercing calls of "quesillo!", "empanaditas!", "rosquillas!", "guineos!"...
One can learn a lot about a place by posting up on a park bench or in a cafe along a busy street. Sometimes the best thing to do is simply observe life over a cup of coffee from the lush mountains of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, or a delicious batido with your favorite fruits blended into one refreshing concoction. Once you find yourself in tune with the daily life of a city, your mind can play it back to you over and over in an endless, time-lapse fashion. Only then can you truly understand a place that was once completely foreign to you... I recommend trying it someday.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Nicaragua: Tierra de Lagos y Volcanes
Land of Lakes and Volcanoes. Within minutes of entering the Repulica de Nicaragua from the southern border with Costa Rica, one is confronted with the sight of volcanoes, which becomes commonplace as one travels north along the volcanic region that lines the Pacific coast. Of the first and most prominent Volcanoes are Concepcíon and Maderas, which form the fabled Isla de Ometepe and rise up like giant pyramids out of the glassy surface of Lago Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America. Concepcíon is still active to this day, with its most recent eruption in 2009. Sulfurous smoke and ash still billow from the pointed top of this volcano, which can be witnessed from the nearby colonial city of Granada.
Nestled along the western edge of Lake Nicaragua, Granada has amazing views of the lake, Isla de Ometepe and Volcán Mombacho, whose violent eruptions have left it little more than a gaping crater towering above the city. Just northwest of Granada lies Laguna de Apoyo, which is yet another volcano that blew its top years ago. It later filled with water and formed a clear, sparkling lagoon. Its depth has been estimated at around 250 meters (around 750 feet!) and some believe that it actually connects to the Pacific Ocean via a subterranean channel. Swimming in its warm, turquoise water, I was stunned by the abrupt drop-off in the lagoon´s floor, which gave me a sensation of vertigo when I thought about how deep it reached toward the center.
Near León, Volcán Telica is another opportunity to see an active volcano and even bubbling lava within its crater at night. The hike to the top crossed through fertile fields of beans and corn, before finally reaching a steep, winding climb through thick forest to crater. When our group reached the top, unfortunately, it was raining so hard that all that was visible was giant plume of white smoke pouring out of the gaping mouth of the crater. Luckily our lively expedition representing France, England, North America and Nicaragua had planned ahead and brought a bottle of Flor de Caña to warm our insides while we waited for the sun to set. We huddled together next to a large boulder for about 45 minutes hoping it would clear up enough for us to see the lava below, but the rain was relentless and soon we were all drenched to the bone.
While I have yet to witness any lava, Nicaragua has given me the chance to observe active volcanoes more than I ever imagined.
Nestled along the western edge of Lake Nicaragua, Granada has amazing views of the lake, Isla de Ometepe and Volcán Mombacho, whose violent eruptions have left it little more than a gaping crater towering above the city. Just northwest of Granada lies Laguna de Apoyo, which is yet another volcano that blew its top years ago. It later filled with water and formed a clear, sparkling lagoon. Its depth has been estimated at around 250 meters (around 750 feet!) and some believe that it actually connects to the Pacific Ocean via a subterranean channel. Swimming in its warm, turquoise water, I was stunned by the abrupt drop-off in the lagoon´s floor, which gave me a sensation of vertigo when I thought about how deep it reached toward the center.
Near León, Volcán Telica is another opportunity to see an active volcano and even bubbling lava within its crater at night. The hike to the top crossed through fertile fields of beans and corn, before finally reaching a steep, winding climb through thick forest to crater. When our group reached the top, unfortunately, it was raining so hard that all that was visible was giant plume of white smoke pouring out of the gaping mouth of the crater. Luckily our lively expedition representing France, England, North America and Nicaragua had planned ahead and brought a bottle of Flor de Caña to warm our insides while we waited for the sun to set. We huddled together next to a large boulder for about 45 minutes hoping it would clear up enough for us to see the lava below, but the rain was relentless and soon we were all drenched to the bone.
While I have yet to witness any lava, Nicaragua has given me the chance to observe active volcanoes more than I ever imagined.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Jump to the Nic
My time was up in Panama. I had spent a little over a month there and I was ready to move on to Nicaragua. Of course, there's a little bit of a geographical barrier between the two countries: Costa Rica. At the Panama/Costa Rica border I caught a bus to San Jose, arriving at about midnight. Passing through this city again I was disenchanted by the enormous shopping malls, Wall Marts and massive, illuminated parking lots. At 4am I caught a bus to Nicaragua and arrived at the border around 9am. When it was all said and done, my marathon voyage took me a total of twenty hours spread out over six sweaty (or freezing!) bus rides. Needless to say, when I arrived in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, with my hostel just a block away from the beach, I wanted nothing more than to throw down my pack, put on some trunks and jump straight in the cool, refrehsing ocean. And that's exactly what I did.
San Juan del Sur is another Central American spot that many foreigners have come to call home. Despite the amount of foreign influence and gringos flocking through the streets, the town seems to have a nice local vibe as well. Plenty of people seem to live there for reasons outside of tourism, although it's still the number one employer in this beach town. With a handful of great surf beaches nearby, including Playa Hermosa where "Survivor: Nicaragua" was filmed, one can spend numerous days catching waves suitable for any ability level. At Maderas beach the waves outside were hollowing out into tubes and breaking at close to 10ft, a little big for me to say the least, but the waves inside were just right. Regardless it was fun to watch the advanced surfers dropping in and catching some nice rides (even they get crushed sometimes).
In town the party is constantly hopping, with bottles of dirt-cheap but deliciously smooth Nicaraguan rum, Flor de Caña, available in stores on every corner and bars and restaurants lining the road that parallels the beach through town. And to top it off, this past weekend the town celebrated its días de fiesta for its patron saint, San Juan, that resulted in the standard all-day/all-night parties (this seems to be a theme in Latin America). Luckily these were only a block or so away from my hostel, so sleeping was pretty much out of the question. As the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
San Juan del Sur is another Central American spot that many foreigners have come to call home. Despite the amount of foreign influence and gringos flocking through the streets, the town seems to have a nice local vibe as well. Plenty of people seem to live there for reasons outside of tourism, although it's still the number one employer in this beach town. With a handful of great surf beaches nearby, including Playa Hermosa where "Survivor: Nicaragua" was filmed, one can spend numerous days catching waves suitable for any ability level. At Maderas beach the waves outside were hollowing out into tubes and breaking at close to 10ft, a little big for me to say the least, but the waves inside were just right. Regardless it was fun to watch the advanced surfers dropping in and catching some nice rides (even they get crushed sometimes).
In town the party is constantly hopping, with bottles of dirt-cheap but deliciously smooth Nicaraguan rum, Flor de Caña, available in stores on every corner and bars and restaurants lining the road that parallels the beach through town. And to top it off, this past weekend the town celebrated its días de fiesta for its patron saint, San Juan, that resulted in the standard all-day/all-night parties (this seems to be a theme in Latin America). Luckily these were only a block or so away from my hostel, so sleeping was pretty much out of the question. As the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Playas y Montañas
In Panamá, one can hop from the beach to the mountains and back again within a few hours on the autobús. The ability to switch it up every few days has kept things very interesting, as I´m able to enjoy the best of both worlds in this lovely little country. My first stop after Panama City was Playa Venao*, a remote little surf town on the southern coast of the relatively unexplored Península Azuero. A wide, sandy beach enclosed by rocky, jungle-covered bluffs at either end make it a perfect little cove for catching consistent, rolling waves. And that´s pretty much all I did for a couple days. One day, when I was finally getting back in the groove of surfing (it had been two years), I was fortunate enough to discover the beauty of surfing in a tropical rainstorm with smooth, glassy water that didn´t mind that it was raining at all. On top of that, I had the company of some lively, laid-back locals and an especially attractive chica from Argentina that quickly showed me up with her fluid turns and seemingly effortless rides.
*To see the kind of waves that hit Playa Venao, you can check out the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games starting June 25th - it´s an event that will bring this little surf town into the spotlight as a surf destination and could quite possibly change it drastically, for better or for worse.
From the beach I headed up to the mountains of the Veraguas province, to a little town called Santa Fé. There I discovered the tranquility of this rural town, where locals use machetes for almost everthing they do, whether it´s gathering firewood, trimming shrubs and bushes or harvesting crops. A few friends from the hostel and I went out exploring one day and ended up hitching a ride in the back of a pickup truck to the next town, Alto de Piedra. The truck driver was not only nice enough to take us up the steep and winding road, he even asked his ten-year-old nephew to take us to the waterfalls just beyond the town. This little guy, Ariel, willingly led us to each one of these cascadas (waterfalls) and waited patiently as we bushwaked arduously along the slippery, unmarked trail. At the end of the hike, he was happy to accept an ice cold Coca-Cola and a little tip for his hard work.
Can you guess where I went next? That´s right, the beach. This time I took the bus (well four, to be exact) to Playa Santa Catalina. A past surf competition was supposed to change this place for the better, with improved roads and internet access. But as far as the locals are concerned, nothing has changed. Although they´re paved, the roads are filled with axle-bending potholes and ruts. As for the internet, I didn´t bother for the four days I was there; it was slow as molasses and probably just as expensive, so I didn´t bother with that noise. ATM? Yeah right, I left with just $5 of my carefully bugeted cash remaining in my pocket.
Although there´s epic surfing in Santa Catalina, my major focus for this stop was to do some diving, which was a long time coming for me (it had also been two years). After earning my Open Water certification in Galápagos, I hadn´t gone since. So when I heard that Isla de Coiba was a hot spot for Pacific coast diving in Central America, I had to jump on the opportunity. About 75km from the coast, many have called this isolated island and former site of a penal colony the ¨Galápagos of Panamá¨. With all of the wildlife I saw, I wasn´t disappointed.
Along the way to our dive site we saw majestic Bryde´s whales surfacing for air and playful spinner dolphins that could launch themselves up to ten feet in the air (scroll to the bottom of this page to see a photo). But that was just the beginning. Under the surface we encountered white-tipped reef sharks, nurse sharks, huge moray eels, octopus, lobster, green sea turtles and massive schools of vibrantly colored fish. I was estatic to have my first dive with favorable conditions to see such an abundant array of aquatic life.
*To see the kind of waves that hit Playa Venao, you can check out the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games starting June 25th - it´s an event that will bring this little surf town into the spotlight as a surf destination and could quite possibly change it drastically, for better or for worse.
From the beach I headed up to the mountains of the Veraguas province, to a little town called Santa Fé. There I discovered the tranquility of this rural town, where locals use machetes for almost everthing they do, whether it´s gathering firewood, trimming shrubs and bushes or harvesting crops. A few friends from the hostel and I went out exploring one day and ended up hitching a ride in the back of a pickup truck to the next town, Alto de Piedra. The truck driver was not only nice enough to take us up the steep and winding road, he even asked his ten-year-old nephew to take us to the waterfalls just beyond the town. This little guy, Ariel, willingly led us to each one of these cascadas (waterfalls) and waited patiently as we bushwaked arduously along the slippery, unmarked trail. At the end of the hike, he was happy to accept an ice cold Coca-Cola and a little tip for his hard work.
Can you guess where I went next? That´s right, the beach. This time I took the bus (well four, to be exact) to Playa Santa Catalina. A past surf competition was supposed to change this place for the better, with improved roads and internet access. But as far as the locals are concerned, nothing has changed. Although they´re paved, the roads are filled with axle-bending potholes and ruts. As for the internet, I didn´t bother for the four days I was there; it was slow as molasses and probably just as expensive, so I didn´t bother with that noise. ATM? Yeah right, I left with just $5 of my carefully bugeted cash remaining in my pocket.
Although there´s epic surfing in Santa Catalina, my major focus for this stop was to do some diving, which was a long time coming for me (it had also been two years). After earning my Open Water certification in Galápagos, I hadn´t gone since. So when I heard that Isla de Coiba was a hot spot for Pacific coast diving in Central America, I had to jump on the opportunity. About 75km from the coast, many have called this isolated island and former site of a penal colony the ¨Galápagos of Panamá¨. With all of the wildlife I saw, I wasn´t disappointed.
Along the way to our dive site we saw majestic Bryde´s whales surfacing for air and playful spinner dolphins that could launch themselves up to ten feet in the air (scroll to the bottom of this page to see a photo). But that was just the beginning. Under the surface we encountered white-tipped reef sharks, nurse sharks, huge moray eels, octopus, lobster, green sea turtles and massive schools of vibrantly colored fish. I was estatic to have my first dive with favorable conditions to see such an abundant array of aquatic life.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Panamá
Quite possibly one of the most important cities in the world for global commerce, Panama city is far different from any Latin American capital I have ever visited. The skyline is filled with countless skyscrapers, many more than I could have ever imagined seeing in Central America. According to the locals, many of them are owned by foreign investors (Donald Trump is currently having one built in the shape of a "D") and suprisingly, few of them are fully occupied. Despite this observation, everywhere you look there seems to be another one going up and adding to the dramatic panorama of downtown.
In contrast to the modern vibe of downtown Panamá, the ancient barrio of Casco Viejo is a old colonial neighborhood with narrow, cobblestone streets with balconies looking down onto them. Half of the bulidings have been cleaned up, renovated and restored to their original colonial charm and design; half are crumbling, covered in graffiti or already lying in piles of rubble.
To move about the city from barrio to barrio, one has the pleasure of taking the public bus, el Diablo Rojo. These are old U.S. school busses that have been decked out (or, for lack of a better word, "pimped" out) with 80´s style airbrush artwork, depicting a slew of different religious, cultural and societal themes. Every bus driver seems to take pride in making their ride the most unique representation of who they are - with their favorite sayings, quotes and mantras written proudly both inside and out, and their preferred genre of music blasting nonstop. For $0.25 a ride, you have the opportunity to hop on board and enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime (and once is enough for some) ride on these Red Devils, which surley wouldn´t meet any U.S. standards for safety or pass even the most generous emissions test... and that just adds to the experience!
Of course the most important aspects of the city is the Panama Canal, which has not only shaped the history of the city but of the entire country. Every day giant cargo ships, as well as private vessels, pass through its massive locks that open and close like the doors to a fairy tale castle. To see the amount of manpower it took to complete such a feat (nearly a century ago!) is baffling. After visiting the canal and its highly informative museum, I truly understood how intertwined the U.S. was in Panama´s history, because of its involvment in the construction of the canal. I was also thankful for the fact that we finally did the right thing in turning over the canal to the Panamanian government in 1999.
In contrast to the modern vibe of downtown Panamá, the ancient barrio of Casco Viejo is a old colonial neighborhood with narrow, cobblestone streets with balconies looking down onto them. Half of the bulidings have been cleaned up, renovated and restored to their original colonial charm and design; half are crumbling, covered in graffiti or already lying in piles of rubble.
To move about the city from barrio to barrio, one has the pleasure of taking the public bus, el Diablo Rojo. These are old U.S. school busses that have been decked out (or, for lack of a better word, "pimped" out) with 80´s style airbrush artwork, depicting a slew of different religious, cultural and societal themes. Every bus driver seems to take pride in making their ride the most unique representation of who they are - with their favorite sayings, quotes and mantras written proudly both inside and out, and their preferred genre of music blasting nonstop. For $0.25 a ride, you have the opportunity to hop on board and enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime (and once is enough for some) ride on these Red Devils, which surley wouldn´t meet any U.S. standards for safety or pass even the most generous emissions test... and that just adds to the experience!
Of course the most important aspects of the city is the Panama Canal, which has not only shaped the history of the city but of the entire country. Every day giant cargo ships, as well as private vessels, pass through its massive locks that open and close like the doors to a fairy tale castle. To see the amount of manpower it took to complete such a feat (nearly a century ago!) is baffling. After visiting the canal and its highly informative museum, I truly understood how intertwined the U.S. was in Panama´s history, because of its involvment in the construction of the canal. I was also thankful for the fact that we finally did the right thing in turning over the canal to the Panamanian government in 1999.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Boquete
In the highlands of Panama, life is relaxing, rich and mellow. The lush valleys and mountains are constantly fed by a refreshing afternoon shower that leaves the foliage glowing with a vibrant green and the multicolored flowers blooming. Touring the rolling hills on quiet, winding roads outside of town by scooter, I whizzed past coffee plantations and breathtaking scenery. I felt like I was taken back to a time when people lived simpler lives; Indigenous families in their colorful dress walked down the roads and worked in the rich, fertile lands that sprawl in all directions.
Boquete has attracted travelers from all over the world, many of which have come to settle permanently. Although this has caused rapid economic growth here in Boquete, the foreign influence has made parts of the town very Americanized and the local culture seems to have faded significantly.
That being said, Boquete is a pollen-dusted flower for a bee that enjoys adventure. Volcan Baru looms over the city and is readily visible from my hostel, Mamallena. As soon as I arrived here I knew I had to see the views from its summit at 11,398ft. The best way to climb the Volcano is by starting around midnight and hiking up the steep 4-wheel drive road with headlamps. After ascending 5,250 feet in elevation over 8.5 miles (one way), I reached the top just before sunrise. Wispy, white clouds draped the wavy mountains and hills and within minutes I witnessed one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. Due to how narrow the isthmus of Panama is, we were briefly able to glimpse both the Pacific and Atlantic ocean at the same time. The sun appeared out of a horizon that was so faint that it was impossible to differentiate between the sky and the sea. On the Caribbean side, the islands of Bocas del Toro were visible to the west with the Costa Rican border lying just beyond.
In Boquete I also had the opportunity to volunteer at a wildlife rescue called La Jungla. I worked here for five days in exchange for a place to sleep in the incorporated hostel, helping out in daily operations like feeding the animals, cleaning and maintaining the cages, giving tours to visitors and children from local schools, and taking photos to be used for the website. At La Jungla I worked with parrots, macaws, toucans, coatis (a relative of the raccoon), goats, and four different kinds of monkeys: Capuchin, Squirrel, Tamarin and Spider. Daisy, the Spider monkey, had just been adopted by the rescue from an ex-pat owner (American) who had decided to give her up after being bitten numerous times. But this was likely due to how she was treated, which was less than ideal considering she wore a tight chain around her neck that had caused permanent scarring.
After only a few days at La Jungla, Daisy was already showing signs of improvement, as we were able to enter her cage to give her food and hold her. If anything her previous mistreatment has caused her to become overly affectionate, as she would wrap her lanky arms and dexterous tail around me for almost an hour at times. As I wasn´t sure how she would react to being pried off of me, I always had to wait patiently until she was content with the hug session, or find a way to distract her in order to leave her cage.
I had spent nearly two weeks in Boquete and had made some great friends at the hostel and La Jungla but alas, it was time for me to continue my travels and move on to Panama City. This was quite a change, to say the least... but that´s another story.
Boquete has attracted travelers from all over the world, many of which have come to settle permanently. Although this has caused rapid economic growth here in Boquete, the foreign influence has made parts of the town very Americanized and the local culture seems to have faded significantly.
That being said, Boquete is a pollen-dusted flower for a bee that enjoys adventure. Volcan Baru looms over the city and is readily visible from my hostel, Mamallena. As soon as I arrived here I knew I had to see the views from its summit at 11,398ft. The best way to climb the Volcano is by starting around midnight and hiking up the steep 4-wheel drive road with headlamps. After ascending 5,250 feet in elevation over 8.5 miles (one way), I reached the top just before sunrise. Wispy, white clouds draped the wavy mountains and hills and within minutes I witnessed one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. Due to how narrow the isthmus of Panama is, we were briefly able to glimpse both the Pacific and Atlantic ocean at the same time. The sun appeared out of a horizon that was so faint that it was impossible to differentiate between the sky and the sea. On the Caribbean side, the islands of Bocas del Toro were visible to the west with the Costa Rican border lying just beyond.
In Boquete I also had the opportunity to volunteer at a wildlife rescue called La Jungla. I worked here for five days in exchange for a place to sleep in the incorporated hostel, helping out in daily operations like feeding the animals, cleaning and maintaining the cages, giving tours to visitors and children from local schools, and taking photos to be used for the website. At La Jungla I worked with parrots, macaws, toucans, coatis (a relative of the raccoon), goats, and four different kinds of monkeys: Capuchin, Squirrel, Tamarin and Spider. Daisy, the Spider monkey, had just been adopted by the rescue from an ex-pat owner (American) who had decided to give her up after being bitten numerous times. But this was likely due to how she was treated, which was less than ideal considering she wore a tight chain around her neck that had caused permanent scarring.
After only a few days at La Jungla, Daisy was already showing signs of improvement, as we were able to enter her cage to give her food and hold her. If anything her previous mistreatment has caused her to become overly affectionate, as she would wrap her lanky arms and dexterous tail around me for almost an hour at times. As I wasn´t sure how she would react to being pried off of me, I always had to wait patiently until she was content with the hug session, or find a way to distract her in order to leave her cage.
I had spent nearly two weeks in Boquete and had made some great friends at the hostel and La Jungla but alas, it was time for me to continue my travels and move on to Panama City. This was quite a change, to say the least... but that´s another story.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
El Caribe
Life in the Caribbean is quite a change of pace for me. Days go by at such a slow rate that you loose track of time and forget when you arrived at the place you're staying. Sometimes it's even difficult to speculate where you were prior to arriving. Days of the week? Forget that, every day might as well be an endless Saturday in the middle of summer.
The neighbors in Cahuita were a rowdy group of howler monkeys whose wild uproars would wake me in the night. On the way back to my hostel one night I tripped over a creature the size of a house cat, that turned out to be a land crab with pinchers the size of soup ladles, raised and ready to take on anything. Geckos scamper across the ceilings and dart into cracks in the walls. I'm quite content with this company though, as I've seen more wildlife in just a week here than anywhere I've ever been. Sloths lounge in the trees and uncountable species of birds sing songs I've never imagined could exist. While snorkeling in Cahuita National Park I saw three nurse sharks, a couple sting rays, lobsters and a wide array of star fish, sea anemones and coral.
Puerto Viejo is a beach town with a laid back Caribbean vibe. Rastas stroll around the street to an unheard beat selling fresh fruit and tossing fishing lines in the water from the beach. The main drag only spans about five blocks but is littered with eateries serving delicious Caribbean dishes made with coconut milk and a wide array of spices. For breakfast and lunch I devour mangoes, guzzle chunks of pineapple and slurp the milk and scoop out the meat of freshly cracked coconuts. There's nothing more refreshing on a scorching hot day in the Caribbean where it hasn't rained for days and the sea is so calm that the water near the surface is too warm to be refreshing. But it makes for great snorkeling, which has been almost daily activity for me.
I've crossed the border now into Panama and I'm currently staying the Archipelago of Bocas del Toro. The lush, green islands that make up this archipelago are covered in mangroves, swamps and dense jungle. Picture the Everglades if you've ever been there. Motorboat taxis will shuttle you from island to island, some of which are so close that you could probably swim if you were daring enough. On Isla Bastimentos, beautifully colored clapboard houses line the coast and extend up into the hills.
The people here are lively, open and hospitable. At any given point in the night you can hear latin music blasting in the bars and restaurants; salsa, merengue, cumbia, bachata and reggaeton. The town of Bocas del Toro, which is the capital of the province of the same name, was celebrating its African heritage yesterday with festivities from 10 am to... we'll just say very late. Hundreds of people filled the streets and watched the performances on the stage, which happened to be right in front of my hostel. Dancers dressed in their traditional clothing put on a array of different acts that I enjoyed from the balcony above. As I got back to my hostel late last night, the party was still going on everywhere you looked in the streets.
But this scalding, humid climate is starting to wear on a man from the mountains. The sun wakes me abruptly every morning around 7am, and even naps are difficult in a town where the music never stops. Plus, I'm constantly covered in a sheen of sweat, which flows out of my pores at a steady drip, drip, drip. You get what I mean. So I'm heading to the highlands, the town of Boquete which is near Panama's only Volcano and highest point - Volcan Baru. Some of the country's best coffee is produced here, and I'm on a mission to get to the source.
The neighbors in Cahuita were a rowdy group of howler monkeys whose wild uproars would wake me in the night. On the way back to my hostel one night I tripped over a creature the size of a house cat, that turned out to be a land crab with pinchers the size of soup ladles, raised and ready to take on anything. Geckos scamper across the ceilings and dart into cracks in the walls. I'm quite content with this company though, as I've seen more wildlife in just a week here than anywhere I've ever been. Sloths lounge in the trees and uncountable species of birds sing songs I've never imagined could exist. While snorkeling in Cahuita National Park I saw three nurse sharks, a couple sting rays, lobsters and a wide array of star fish, sea anemones and coral.
Puerto Viejo is a beach town with a laid back Caribbean vibe. Rastas stroll around the street to an unheard beat selling fresh fruit and tossing fishing lines in the water from the beach. The main drag only spans about five blocks but is littered with eateries serving delicious Caribbean dishes made with coconut milk and a wide array of spices. For breakfast and lunch I devour mangoes, guzzle chunks of pineapple and slurp the milk and scoop out the meat of freshly cracked coconuts. There's nothing more refreshing on a scorching hot day in the Caribbean where it hasn't rained for days and the sea is so calm that the water near the surface is too warm to be refreshing. But it makes for great snorkeling, which has been almost daily activity for me.
I've crossed the border now into Panama and I'm currently staying the Archipelago of Bocas del Toro. The lush, green islands that make up this archipelago are covered in mangroves, swamps and dense jungle. Picture the Everglades if you've ever been there. Motorboat taxis will shuttle you from island to island, some of which are so close that you could probably swim if you were daring enough. On Isla Bastimentos, beautifully colored clapboard houses line the coast and extend up into the hills.
The people here are lively, open and hospitable. At any given point in the night you can hear latin music blasting in the bars and restaurants; salsa, merengue, cumbia, bachata and reggaeton. The town of Bocas del Toro, which is the capital of the province of the same name, was celebrating its African heritage yesterday with festivities from 10 am to... we'll just say very late. Hundreds of people filled the streets and watched the performances on the stage, which happened to be right in front of my hostel. Dancers dressed in their traditional clothing put on a array of different acts that I enjoyed from the balcony above. As I got back to my hostel late last night, the party was still going on everywhere you looked in the streets.
But this scalding, humid climate is starting to wear on a man from the mountains. The sun wakes me abruptly every morning around 7am, and even naps are difficult in a town where the music never stops. Plus, I'm constantly covered in a sheen of sweat, which flows out of my pores at a steady drip, drip, drip. You get what I mean. So I'm heading to the highlands, the town of Boquete which is near Panama's only Volcano and highest point - Volcan Baru. Some of the country's best coffee is produced here, and I'm on a mission to get to the source.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
A New Life Goal
It's been nearly a year and a half since I left the country. For some, that's no big deal. And really, it hasn't not all that long. But I recently found that everything seemed to fall into place for me to start another adventure. I was offered a World Languages teaching position starting in September in Estes Park and since I had saved up enough to fund some travel, I quit my part time job. But it's not just that I want to go play all summer and soak up sun on the beach, I truly see this trip as a need, a means to an end. One reason is that I've been out of the Spanish-speaking mentality for quite some time, so I need to re-immerse myself in that mode: thinking, speaking, dreaming and living daily life in that language. As I will be teaching Spanish in the fall, I want to be at the top of my game. Also, I seek the inspiration and sense of freedom that comes with traveling alone in foreign countries. Not to mention, this trip will bring me closer to attaining a new life goal that I've set: to visit every Spanish-speaking country in the world. Since my last trip took me all over South America, it was no surprise to some that I picked Central America as my next destination.
I'm starting in San Jose, Costa Rica where I arrived on Sunday night. As the sun brought to light my surroundings the next morning, I knew I was once again in Latin America, with memories of my past trip racing back to me. That day I hit the road straight out to the Caribbean coast to a small town/national park called Cahuita. From there I'll be close to Panama and Bocas del Toro, a small archipelago just off the northern cost of the country. Already I have that feeling of excitement that comes with being in constant motion, moving from town to town and not knowing what lies ahead.
I'm starting in San Jose, Costa Rica where I arrived on Sunday night. As the sun brought to light my surroundings the next morning, I knew I was once again in Latin America, with memories of my past trip racing back to me. That day I hit the road straight out to the Caribbean coast to a small town/national park called Cahuita. From there I'll be close to Panama and Bocas del Toro, a small archipelago just off the northern cost of the country. Already I have that feeling of excitement that comes with being in constant motion, moving from town to town and not knowing what lies ahead.
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