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Dec 5, 2019: OSA Tucan, Agujitas, Bahia Drake ($20)
No pushing or shoving. Polite, smiling, unhurried people. Lots of kids. Lots of friendly dogs (4 in my hotel last night). Bus slow but pleasant; no complaints, no loud noises, everyone solicitous of others getting on and off. This is definitely not New York City.
Taxi from Palmar to Sierpe with Australian couple Jam & Dan ($20 split two ways). Tried to see the big stone spheres at the museum, but decided against it. Arrived at Sierpe in plenty of time for the 11:30 boat. Lots of people! Enjoying a maracuya (passion fruit) smoothie. Lovely day. Life could be worse.
Great ride ($15) through the mangroves (stopping briefly to admire some iguanas) and into the bay for the last several minutes. Found a place to stay immediately. Will get checked out for diving tomorrow later this afternoon. Maybe a stroll along the coast now? Or a bite to eat?
Still vestiges of my diarrhea, but I believe I’m over the hill. Bought some Imodium and popped a pill before the bus ride. Will keep an eye on it.
Oops - just heard thunder...
Oops - it just started raining (2:30 PM)
Drake Divers: Carlos
Checkout 4:30 PM, 6:30 AM
Anna: +50672702872
Dinner nearby: whole fried fish with coconut sauce and watermelon drink for $10. Not a lot of meat on the fish.
Dec 6, 2019: OSA Tucan, Agujitas, Bahia Drake ($20)
Up early for the hour-long ride to Isla Caños. Two fine dives: not much colorful plant life - mainly black volcanic rocks separated by level sandy clearings - but good show nonetheless: many white-tipped reef sharks resting on the bottom (four in a group at one point); turtles (I went close enough to touch one); large schools of fish; a small multicolored moray; some really tiny guys poking their heads out of rocks; garden eels; barracuda. Visibility about 25 yards. Quite comfortable in a very thin wetsuit. Island itself: nice beaches, rocks offshore, high headlands, the usual lush tropical foliage. Cloudy, but no rain. $240.
Palmar Norte > Ciudad Neily (every 4 hrs) > Paso Canoas (taxi, 20 min, $4-$6) > David (every 5 min)
Bahia Drake > La Palma (NO) > Puerto Jimenez: twice daily.
Palmar > Puerto Jimenez: 8:30, 1:00, 5:00
Puerto Jiménez > Dos Brazos weekdays 11am and 4pm (US$4, 30 minutes, minibus); it departs from in front of the Grupo Materiales hardware store.
Dos Brazos > Puerto Jiménez 6am, noon weekdays
Several fast ferries travel Jimenez to Golfito (US$6, 30 minutes), departing at 6am, 8:45am, 11:30am, 2pm and 4pm daily.
Not sure where to head next. Getting to Dos Brazos looks like a pain, and all for a day in the Reserve - and not the best part (Sirena). Best just to head for Panama (David): Bahia Drake > Sierpe (7:30) > Palmar >Ciudad Neily (11:50, 4; 1 1/2 hr) > Paso Canoas (taxi) > David (1 hr). Or, at Ciudad Neily, head north to San Vito (1 1/2 hr, 4 times daily), and see the Wilson Botanical Gardens and Finca Cántaros.
Dec 7, 2019: Hotel Rino ($26), San Vito, Costa Rica
Water boat to Sierpe ($25); photo of scarlet macaw in trees next to dock; taxi to Palmar Norte ($5); bus to Ciudad Neily ($3). One hour wait (delicious fish ceviche in the mercado ), then on to San Vito ($3.50). No hotel reservation, and very little info in Lonely Planet - here’s hoping.
No need to hope - found a hotel within a hundred yards of the bus stop; sitting in the adjacent heladeria right now, enjoying a good strong coffee and two scoops of ice cream. Rained for 5 minutes. then stopped, now just started again.
Ride here was lovely - rolling green fields with many crops, distant foggy mountains, narrow windy uphill road with the bus going very slowly. There were a couple of Ngöbe women (also known as Guaymí) on the bus in their long, solid-colo in red nagua dresses trimmed in contrasting hues.
Really coming down now - the street in front of me is like a fast-moving river.
Got an email sent by Tom to all condo owners: Javier wants to make illegal all rentals less than a year long. And started conversation with a tax lawyer recommended by Leti: we need to pay Mexico for our condo rentals. Lovely double whammy.
Oboy, more rain and noisy thunder.
Good dinner at Restaurante Nuevo Mundo (Chinese). But location way off on maps.me.
Dec 8, 2019: Hotel Rino ($26), San Vito, Costa Rica
Bus to Wilson Botanical Garden. Wonderful, especially the ferns. Many photos. Walked back to Cascata del Bosco for lunch. Slight sprinkles, but we’ll hope it is only temporary. Then on to Finca Cántaros, for another wonderful walk full of gorgeous ferns and flowers. Purchased some goodies for Emily and Maria, walked on back to the shop next to my hotel for another great coffee. Up next: shower and figuring out how to get to Boquete (or at least David) tomorrow: Panama!
San Vito > Ciudad Neily (7:30, 9): 1 hr 20 min > Paso Canoas: 29 min > David: 1 hr > Boquete: 45 min
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