Crossing to Panama

After aching, sweating, complaining and sleeping my way through another week in Puerto Viejo, we decided that it was time to leave. We certainly weren’t recovered from our mystery tropical illness but staring at the inside of the same mosquito net for days on end was giving me tunnel vision. Puerto Viejo was nice enough. Nice for a short holiday break. For any longer of a stay and it quickly becomes apparent that the place is 1. super shady! 2. COVERED in trash. 3. Full of either tourists or rude people. I wasn’t so enamored with the local spirit and found it more testy than welcoming. In its defense, being there over the holiday period didn’t help. It appears that everyone and their second cousin comes to this little Caribbean fishing port turned tourist trap for their holidays.

We left a hasty note to our landlord, as we still had time left on our apartment, and headed for the Panamanian border. We crossed the border on foot, over an old railroad bridge in which you could see the years of wear and tear. There were gaps the size of my leg between the huge wooden sleepers and even larger places to fall off near the edge! The river wasn’t that far bellow and so I nervously held onto my passport (which I had to have out for stamping on both ends of the bridge). We made it across, after dodging a few semi truck beds that were making the trip over the bridge in the opposite direction (it seemed the way to avoid these was to just run or hobble as fast as you could to one of the little (not so sturdy) metal platforms overhanging the river, as soon as you saw a truck bearing down on you). Trust me, doing this is fun when you are still dizzy and slightly hallucinogenic from illness. AND carrying a rather heavy pack on your back.

Trust me, doing this is fun when you are still dizzy and slightly hallucinogenic from illness.

An eventual water taxi brought us to Bocas town on the Isla Colon. The trip was beautiful, through canals, past local fishermen, across the ocean opening, around the fancy, luxury hotels. And me, the whole time scouring the crystal clear water for sharks and manatees!

The town here is nice, we got in last night, so, some more exploring is called for. We did take a stroll past the airstrip however, which appears to double up as the local soccer grounds/exercise track. Ingenious.

-Kate Coats