SAN BLAS TO CARTAGENA, Sailing trip

The boat was due to leve from Puerto Lindo which was where we spent the night. A pleasant little hostel (Wunderbar); it was a hot and sticky Caribbean night. In the morning the 4 of us -Geoff and Rose, Ben and myself went down to the dockside at 7 a.m.. Our 5th member, Cecilia, would join us the next day from one of the San Blas islands.The San Blas is an extraordinary archipelago strung out along the eastern caribbean coast. They belong to the Kuna people who manage their own territory.
Our captian, Oliver, met us dockside and we loaded up our launcher to take us to "La Esmeralda", a 42 foot yacht. She was made in China and has a lovely bow (and big backside) and teak decks. With a name like esmeralda, she had to be green (well, the hull was). Geoff and Rose's bikes were securely strapped on the foredeck and our big packs stowed in the hold. There was hardly a whisper of wind so we left under motor.The sea was a lovely blue with gentle swells and we looked back on the coastline with its pretty little bays and rocky islands. It took a while to get my sealegs but for the most part my appetite ws undeterred. I found I was better as long as I didn't go below decks. Late afternoon we arrived at one of the San Blas islands that was home to a small community.Oliver was on good terms with the village and we were invited to walk around the island. It is a lovely way of life, with the community at its heart. Whilst we were waiting for our freshly caught yellow fin tuna, the children played around us and seemed highly amused by our attempts at spanish. Back on the boat we retired to our berths after a nightcap of red wine. The night was humid but it was so peaceful waking in the morning hearing the dinghy squeaking against the boat and the water gently lapping.The sounds of village life and the Sunday service drifted across. Cecilia joined us and after breakfast we set off for about 2 hours to a set of islands sparsely inhabited: turquoise waters surrounded white sandy beaches. There were one or two Kuna houses set amongst the coconut trees. We anchored in a protected spot: between two islands and near some refs, rocky and coral. This was an idyllic seting for the next 2days - we swam and snorkelled and sunned ourselves. The snorkelling amongst the coral refs made for beautiful viewing: different shapes of coral, colourful tropical fish. nearby were cone shells and on the sandy sea bed very large starfish (dinner plate-sized). I caught a glimpse of a ray skimming along the bottom. On our 3rd day, the captian took our passports to immigracion on the Island of Porvenir. ( A slight mishap when my passport was baptised in the sea - but no matter it dried out and makes me look like  a seasoned traveller). We chose to remain at anchor where we were and enjoyed more time snorkelling.
On our 4th day we sailed for Cartagena. Initially we sailed east and for most of the day could see the coast. By late afternoon we could no longer see land. From 9 p.m onwards we shared watches of 2 hours each. The capatin was readily available should we need him e.g change in wind or seeing other vessels. My watch from 9 p.m to 11 p.m was peaceful and enjoyable - a halfmoon flitting in and out of the clouds and a scattering of stars. On our 5th day we saw a school of dolphins. For a while they swam in the wave from the bow. Lat afternoon the sea was choppy due to the meeting of 2 currents. the captain was anticipating a rougher night and so it was. I admit I was feeling seqsick and looking forward to arriving at Cartagena! Late morning on the 6th day we entered the calm waters in the bay of Cartagena. It was great to see the old city and the high rise towrs of la Boca Grande. We disembarked and booked into a hotel in the old walled city. Later that evening we met up with Oliver who had arranged our entry into Colombia - all was well.

PANAMA

I arrived in Panama the middle of last week. I got a bus from San Isidro, Costa Rica to David, Panama,about 6- 7 hours. The scenery was pleasant, driving along the coastal plain with plenty of tropical forest. The border crossing at Paso Canoas into Panama was hassle free. Soon after we arrived in David, the capital city of Chiriqui province. It is a big, bustling town with not much to do except shop. I get the sense that Panama is a great place to just that - I´ll wait until I get to Panama city. I spent 2 nights in David - it is so hot during the day that even when standing still, the sweat pours off you. It was quite a relief to arrive in the little mountain town of Boquete, just an hour´s drive on the bus(old school bus). I found a nice hostel to stay at, Mamallena´s. It´s a big, old wooden house with a lot of character. It´s right on the central square. Weekend nights I discovered can be a little noisy due to loud local music (esp sat night when it was disco until the early hours). I discovered that Panama produces some of the best coffee in the world. I did a coffee tour yesterday with Cafe Ruiz (roasted offee for local use) or Casa Ruiz(exports green beans). The coffee farm was beautiful with the cloud-draped background of Volcan Baru. Arabica coffee is grown here - they have other trees growing with the coffee: these provide shade for the coffee trees, some are fruit trees and others provide shelter for birds which feed on insects so that they don´t eat the coffee.It was fascinating to hear about all the different varieties of coffee plants and the progress of the bean. We visited the plant where the beans are washed, dried and packed ( a bit more complicated than that). The beans are exported unroasted  green. After our tour we did some coffee tasting, every bit as complicated and fascinating as wine tasting (does it smell like citrus or chocolate or...) Smells like coffee to me but I think I will appreciate  it more when I drink it now.
Today I went white water rafting on the Chiriqui river. Chiriqui means valley of the moon. We drove about an hour and a half - up near the Costa Rican border - to access the river. At the moment it´s about grade 3 (when more rains comes it will be 4 or 5). It was a nice size group - 5 of us and our guide, Jorge (Jorge of the River/del Rio as he kept making jungle calls). Pepito was in his white water kayak, accompanying us as a safety measure. We were kitted out with life jackets and helnets and had a briefing on how to paddle. Then we were off. It was pretty exciting rafting down the rapids - forwards/backwards/sideways and then relaxing on the quiet stretches and taking in the scenery and wildlife. It was a lovely sunny day. After a few hours we stopped for a picnic lunch and then headed on down for another hour. Jorge and Pepito were excellent and I can recommend Boquete Outdoor Adventure.
It was several hours´drive to Panama city and i got there about 8 p.m. I have been staying at a pleasant hostel,
Mamallena (run by same guy as Boquete). On my first day here I headed staright to the canal, to the Miraflores Locks on the Pacific side, with 2 other people from the hostel. I was in such a hurry that I forgot my camera! The Canal is very impressive: we watched a tanker go through - it just fitted (Panamax size). The canal is being widened so it can take even bigger ships. We also visited Casco Viejo, the charming old part of Panama City. There are beautiful old buildings alongside dilapidated ones. The area is slowly being restored and compares favuorably to the french quarter of New Orleans.
Panama city is big and bustling, lots of colourful buses and plenty of yellow taxis that look as if they aren´t going to stop for pedestrians.
I am going sailing for a few days in the San Blas Islands: an archipelago on the Caribbean side. It is home to the Kuna indians who manage their own territory. A moment ago it was so hot and now the rain is pouring down - the wet season is on its way. I hope to find cooler weather as i head into the south American continent.

COSTA RICA

On Wed 24th March I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth my connections were, not something planned. I got the 7 a.m ferry from Ometepe island to san Jorge on the mainland. I caught a full taxi to nearby Rivas where there was a bus leaving for Pen~as Blancas on the Nic-Costa Rica border. I was there by 9 a.m. The border crossing probably took about 2 and a half hours. I did the Nicaraguan formalities by myself but whilst waiting I was made aware of the Transnica bus to san Jose. This was a good opportunity of which I availed myself. I got myself and my luggage aboard and we drove about 500m to the Costa Rican immigration offices. Once I had shown my passport (and my reurn bus ticket to Nicaragua), I like everyone else, had to collect my luggage and have it open for inspection (well, cursory glance). Finally the bus set off from the border but once in Costa Rica we were stopped twice to be boardede by police. The vendors took this opportunity to sell much needed cold-drinks and snacks. It was great to reach Costa Rica and after sveral hours the terrain began to change, being more mountainous and green. We stopped for a late lunch at a restaurant with sweeping views across a valley. It was well after 5 p.m when we arrived in San Jose. I got a  taxi at the bus station and asked for a destination I had chosen from my 6 yr old guide book (what, I hear you say, why don't you have an up to date one? Well, I am enjoying my 1p ebay special and for most of the info it's helpful). The taxi driver advised me that wasn't a good place to stay(red light district, drug users..) and he could take me somewhere else... I know, I should have just gone to a chain hotel... He took me to a place near another bus station. The plus side is that it was a family run place and it was quiet and safe. In the morning I found that it was next to an open lot and there were a lot of homeless people about. I did stay there two nights and found a backpackers hostel for the Friday night. In the meanwhile I managed to book a trip to Tortuguero National Park leaving on the Sat. My stay at Tranquilo Backpackers was good and they had lots of info available on places in Costa Rica, including other hostels. I thought I'd give hostels  a try as you meet other travellers and you can get useful info. Some of them also have good meals and trips.
Tortuguero was amazing. The tour bus picked me up around 7a.m and we were soon out of the city travelling once again through green mountains. About2 and a half hours later we stopped fro breakfast. The place was aptly named "Bocadito del cielo" or little mouth of the sky. It had a great view of a valley and dam. After breakfast we continued our trip towards the Caribbean. we were unable to take the main highway as it was closed due to a landslide. The rout we took was pretty, winding through the mountains which were thickly forested. As we descended into the valleys we encountered coffee planatations and vegetable farms. Closer to the Caribbean the banana planations began. At midday it was steaming hot when we got to Can~o Blanco where we got a large boat or launch to our hotel within Tortuguero National Park. (It was at this point, unbeknown to me, that I put my backpack on a boat destined for another hotel -well, there were different groups on the bus and I was stressed from San Jose). It was great travelling across the water although we were going fast; it took over an hour to get to our hotel. Before we did, we slowed down to look at the entrance of the river to the Caribbean.
At the hotel we checked in and the others got there luggage. We had lunch and then set off for Tortuguero village where the Turtle Conservation center is (The Caribbean Conservation Centre).Tortuguero is the seond most important place in the world for turtle nesting and conservation (1st place goes to Oz). There are a number of different species that come to lay there eggs in Costa Rica. It's not yet nesting season so we didn't see any when we strolled along the Caribbean beach. The sea looked rough and uninviting and there were lots of branches/trees washed up on shore. We had some time to walk down the one and only street in the town and shop at the souvenir shops and supermarket. I bought myself a T-shirt and underwear in case I didn't see my backpack again.
Howver it was there when we got back from our trip.
The following morning we were on the boat at 5.30 to start our tour. It was peaceful on the water and we saw a number of birds (lots of different herons) on the water and the occasional monkey swinging by.
After breakfast we put on rubber boots/wellies to go walking ona muddy route in the rainforest. The rest of the day I spent enjoying the pool. It was hot in the Caribbean (no rain which is unusual).
I spent another day in san Jose and then got an early bus to Quepos on the central Pacific coast.With it being Easter I chose somewhere that I thought would nopt be overcrowded with tourists or local visitors. It is a good jumping off point for doing trips and close to a National Park, Manuel Antonio. The town itself isn't much to look at and doesn't have a swimming beach (small docks). But it only takes 20 min on a local bus to some really beautiful beaches. The water is so turquoise and inviting;it looks dceptively calm but there are warnings about riptides. Even the sea is warm! You can't stay on the beach too long or you get fried.
I had a lovely visit to Manuel Antonio Park. It's quite safe to walk without a guide on the little  trails and some people head srtaight for the main beach to picnic for the day.There is a great little beach - hidden away- Puerto Escondido. The trail leads up and then steeply down to a rocky beach. You climb over some rocks and come to these beaches that look like desert island beaches. I had a much-needed cool off in the water. I wanted to stay longer but with the tide coming in and no other way out I had to cross the rocks fairly soon.
Yesterday I went kayaking on the mangrove swamps. It was late afternoon and the best place to be to cool off. On the way to the swamps we saw a big group of capucchins but didn't see more in the swamps. We finished off the trip by having a good meal with aview from the restaurant at the Best western Kamuk. I have had a relaxing stay at The Widemouth Frog (www.widemouthfrog.org);especially enjoyed the swimming pool.