Every turn we take and every decision we don’t make,
even the decision we don’t make, will bring us into the secrets of their town.
Every corner we turn will lead us, every corner we turn will lead us down the labyrinths,
and every desire that we earn will guide us alive, living, loving & searching.
Today is wednesday March 14th. We are in Bocas del Toro, Panama and it is raining. We arrived the day before yesterday and had the pleasure of staying at a place called Mondo Taitu. From the outside it looks very artistic which at this point I immediately associate with grungy, even if it is unjustly so. Brandon had read reviews about it on Lonely Planet, and it seemed to have a lot of good points, free breakfast, surf board rental, bike rental, and a bar attached. Unfortunately our private room didn’t come with a bathroom so during the middle of the night, my pittle break woke me full up, after having to go outside to walk through the pouring rain to get to the bathroom. The following morning, both Brandon and I were very happy to find that we had received a plethora of bug bites during the night, this was of course despite the copious amounts of anti-bug spray we slathered on before bed and many times during the night. In the morning we figured it was due to the fact that the roof and the top of the wall didn’t touch leaving an open area for bugs to come in. That, combined with the fact that we had dogs as next door neighbors that would bark at the sound of a gnat whizzing by, as well as the arguing couple next door starting at 5 am. We, needless to say, got very little sleep.
The next day (yesterday), we decided to change hostels to one that we had scoped out the previous day, before our 9:45 am snorkeling trip was to take place. After walking there we found out they didn’t have a private room available, and with all our precious belongings, we didn’t want to take the risk of staying in a dorm so we ended up lugging all our stuff back to a place a couple doors down from Mondo Taitu. As soon as we checked in, our guide for the snorkeling found us and told us to meet outside of a hostel down the street in 5 mins. We ran. All for the low price of $15, we were able to go to a dolphin breeding site; where we saw mommy and baby dolphin swimming around, followed by Snorkeling adventure, as well as being taken to a place called “Red Frog Island” containing a very poisonous endangered species of red frog. There we saw many varieties of wildlife, from birds to fish to insects and amphibians. It was truly an amazing experience despite the constant rain that day. Though, due to the rain, all the people, (including us) on the tour decided to return from the venture 2 hrs early.
The rain didn’t clear up for the rest of the night and is still going strong today. When we got back from the tour we decided to take a refreshing i.e, cold shower, and then take a gander around town. We checked out various stores and stalls, and were surprised to find that the quality of vegetables here is atrocious, the lettuce especially. We are trying to stay healthy during travel and have both found salad to be a great way to do that, while also being very easy to make, so we were disappointed to find it in such poor condition. Afterward we decided to go out for dinner to an Indonesian restaurant where I ordered cooked veggies with peanut sauce and rice, and brandon got nachos. They both were very tasty.
The following morning we were elated to find that neither of us received any bug bites and promptly decided that we would stay at the same hostel again. There was only one problem, we had put a deposit on the second hostel we visited the day before, for a private room, and it was now available. We reluctantly left our hostel to the new one at 10 am this morning. On our way out, Brandon and I had been discussing what to eat for breakfast and were both undecided. Coincidentally upon entry to the new hostel, the front desk manager welcomed us and asked if we had eaten breakfast yet. We replied “No”, to which he responded, “Great! We have pancakes and fruit!”. Immediately, I wasn’t as somber about leaving the other place. When he took us to our room, we were delighted to find the bathroom much nicer that the last places’, as well as a TV, A.C., and a full length mirror! LUXURY IS OURS!! To top it off the kitchen is fully stocked and organized and the people are awesome!
The only downer has been that the rain hasn’t stopped yet, so outdoor adventure isn’t as appealing as it could be. It is also surprisingly humid here, like 70 degrees and 85% humidity. I guess thats rainforest island life for you. Today we have decided to take it easy, get laundry done, update pics etc. Thats all for now.
On Friday morning at 6 am we left our little surfing paradise and made our way by bus followed by ferry and then taxi to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. From there we caught a bus that took us to Puerto Viejo arriving there at 6:30 pm. After de-boarding the bus, a woman asked if we knew where Rockin’ J’s Hostel was, and as we were going to the same place, we decided to walk there together. Little did we know it was about a 20 min walk from the bus station. Finally after the long trek and asking multiple times for directions, we arrived, drenched with sweat. The woman accompanying us, was named Trinh and was from San Fransisco, California. She was meeting some friends in a band that were going to be playing at Rockin’ J’s bar the following night. Unfortunately she was unable to get a hold of them and as there was only one room available decided to share the room with us. We dropped our stuff off and went to town in search of a tasty place to eat some dinner. We settled on a nice looking restaurant in the middle of town, but after the food came we were slightly disappointed and made a verbal note to each other to look up good places for food, for the meals to come. On the way back home we were approached by multiple young people handing out flyers for various parties being held at the different bars in the area. We tossed the idea around, but once back in the room decided it would be better to get a good night sleep after the 12 hours of travel that we had endured that day. It was a good thing we did, because little did we know we would be awoken by a rooster at 5 am and of course during the night attacked by the biting bugs we’ve come so much to adore. I awoke with yet a new design of red dots all over my hands. The day before we had overheard a conversation about a restaurant called “Bread and Chocolate” and decided to give it a shot. That turned out to be a fantastic decision. For breakfast we all shared three plates. Roasted potatoes with homemade jerk sauce, a veggie sandwich with potato salad, and a grilled cheese sandwich with two types of locally made cheese with gespacho and a green side salad. DE-LICIOUS! After we finished the meal we glanced longingly at the various chocolate truffles on display, in the refrigerator case next to our table, and came to a unanimous decision that it would be a sin to pass up on homemade locally supplied delicacies such as these. We decided on five different flavors and cut each of them into 3 pieces so every person could have a taste. Another fantastic choice! After the bill, we all discussed whether we would like to stay at Rockin’ J’s again and decided against it. On the way back we all took an interest in finding any other hostels available. Trinh found the first and last one we would see. It was beautiful. At $40 a night for a cottage that had a loft, private bathroom, and four beds all tucked away in a peaceful tropical paradise 5 mins from town, we realized it was a steal and snatched it up. We walked briskly back to Rockin’ J’s, gathered our belongings and made our way to our new home. Trinh and I decided to go shopping after she and Brandon took a dip in the pool to cool off. We went to every shop on the mile stretch from one end of town to the other. Both Trinh and I fell in love with a dress shop that had locally designed clothes made from the softest, smoothest material in a luxurious variety of deep and rich colors. She got two beautiful dresses and I got one. We returned home a little before it was time to get dinner and cleaned up for the nights festivities. Around 7:30 pm we made our way towards Rockin’ J’s, to find a restaurant that Brandon had found on Lonely Planet, then it began to rain.. which quickly turned to a steady downpour. We had made an earlier trip to the grocery to get drinks so we didn’t have to pay retail and decided on coconut rum and pineapple juice, with the help of the man behind the liquor counter. Having started 30 mins prior to our departure, on the drinks, we were feeling a little buzzed and found the rain very refreshing and quite funny. We hadn’t realized we passed our destination until 15 mins into the walk that should have been no more than 5. Little be knownst to us the restaurant had changed its name, and we accidentally stumbled upon it as we were deciding to give up the search. We sat down to a delicious meal of muscles prepared in a thai sauce, fried pakoras and dipping sauce, fish tacos and pad thai. Again a major success in the food department! After the meal we went straight to J’s to listen to the band play. About an hour into the performance I realized my purse was missing and thought I left it at the restaurant, Brandon ran there followed by the hotel in search of it, which is where he found it, in the pouring rain. He came back wetter than a fish. We rocked out to a funky mix of electronic and jazz and 70’s music till the wee hours and came home and collapsed into bed. The following day Brandon and I had a breakfast together (Trinh was still sleeping) at Bread and Chocolate again, and ate every bite. We then decided whether or not we wanted to go to the Sloth Sanctuary we had heard and read so much about. While doing some research on the bus schedule, Brandon looked up to find in the tree overshadowing the pool, a very little sloth! It was then and there that we decided to go. We rode the last bus there and made it in time to catch another sloth trying to cross the road right outside the sanctuary! Brandon picked him up and put him back in a safer place while the bus drove away. He had the biggest smile on his face. We then watched a trained sloth care person pick him up and stick him on the tree across the street he was trying to cross. We made our way into the sanctuary and were greeted by friendly volunteers as well as the founder herself! After a very informative 30 min wait, we were taken on a tour around the grounds via boat which exposed us to a variety of different wildlife, followed by a short educational movie and then an introduction to the sloths themselves. Buttercup was the reason the sanctuary began, we came to find out, and is now 20 years old and loves to be held. She was suspended in midair, on a hanging wicker hammock chair and would reach towards anyone who would get close enough. SO CUTE. We both deeply enjoyed the tour and had a newfound respect for these precious and peaceful creatures. We caught the bus back and made it home by 6:30 only to find the sloth at our hotel had made her way down the tree and was now eye level with us. We were in love and took way too many pictures. Later that night we got a quick bite to eat at a restaraunt overlooking the main strip, and went home happy and full. We fell asleep to a movie after deciding it would be our last night there. The next morning Brandon and I got breakfast and made our plans for Bocas del Turo, we decided we would purchase a round trip ticket for a shuttle and after we finished eating, we returned to the hotel to say our goodbyes to our newfound friend. At 12 pm we were on our way to the border and made it there in less than an hour. We breezed through despite a little discrepancy with the amount of days we were allotted in Costa Rica, and the amount of days we actually spent there. After crossing the boarder by foot we entered Panama and were taken by mini bus followed by boat to our next destination. The Island of Bocas. That is all for now. PHEW! ~K
Santa Teresa Part 2 After the sad goodbyes to our best friend, we decided to stay in Santa Theresa for two more nights because of Purim and a surfing competition that we wanted to participate in. Oddly enough we were unable to make it to either. The problem with Santa Theresa was the relentless heat, the water shortage, and the endless supply of bugs, not to mention that the cost of everything seemed to triple the second we entered Costa Rica. The positives were the beautiful coast line, the wildlife, the food, and the people. Everywhere we go we find bunches of Israeli travelers that make our stay that much more comfortable and familiar. To explain why we missed Purim and the surfing competition; The purim party didn’t commence until 1:30 am, and the fact being that we are early birds now, we passed out long before it began. And as far as the surfing competition, it was at least 100 degrees outside with 50% humidity, no joke, and there simply was no way to go to the beach and sand out under the excruciatingly scorching sun. Instead, we spent the days sitting in the hammocks around the hotel grounds, playing cards interspersed with frequent quick cold showers, and 10 min games of pool. We ate lunch every day at a very tasty Israeli joint named Zula, and each day would get a different familiar Israeli dish. It was too hot to go there on the last day of our stay unfortunately so we stayed in and made food. The morning didn’t come soon enough because of the repressive heat, and we were very ready to be going to a more temperate location. Goodbye Santa Theresa, Hello BOCAS!
