Bocas Paradise Hotel Bocas Town

... hard beds. The humidity was ridiculous. We both took a cold shower to cool off and attempted to get some sleep. Puerto Viejo offers a great nighttime soundtrack of cat fights, dogs barking, roosters, and late night partiers. This is when the food poisoning kicked in. We both woke up and felt like we just got our butts kicked...nausea, upset stomach, aching all over...Brutal. Bryan and I stumbled out of the room and went to buy the first bus ticket outta here. With a bus ticket ...

... bike ride th*t evening, using the free bikes th*t the hostel offer for getting *round. Well, I thought I w*s using * free bike. Turns out I h*d "stolen" the h*ndy m*n *t the hostels bike. I did wonder why its br*kes worked so well considering Al's bike didnt h*ve *ny to st*rt with! He c*ught up with us *t the *irstrip *nd I he*ded b*ck red f*ced to the hostel to put it b*ck. He w*s very C*ribbe*n *bout it, just s*ying I should put it b*ck when I w*s done with it ...

... spent only 4 days there. It also could have been for the fact that it rained for two of these days and Bocas, as all beach towns, is BORING when it rains during the day. <br>In conclusion Bocas gets a meh only because of the sick parties the islands knows how to throw. Perhaps that is the strategy: "Drink away the pain of your burning skin and foul tasting mouth from our town´s ability to squander its natural resources by dumpings its waste where you surf!" <br>

... cats and dogs. The one day we did manage to get going was a bit of a disaster all round: our scheduled departure time of 10am was delayed until 11.30 by - you guessed it - rain. Then, on arrival at the landing point for Red Frog Beach the heavens opened once more, so we decided to bring forward our departure time, leaving us with just an hour and a half to do our thang.<br><br>Ploughing on despite the rain, we made it to the beach after about ten minutes only to find ...

... not looking on the cushioned chair. ; ) As soon as he hears us approach though, he jumps down and sits and looks up at us like, nope, not me, wasn't me in that chair.<br><br>there is a movement here to help the strays, and we hear that things are 190% better than they were, but if you're interested in helping out....check out this site:<br>http://www.spaypanama.org/inde x_en.html<br>

... of some of the dogs. Some are skinny, some are more taken care of, it really is interesting to see the differences in them. This vacation has become one of relaxation. I am can't complain a bit as the area is so pristine, I don't feel I want to leave, even for a minute. Some people would be bored, no itinerary, same routine but we have not found one moment of bordem pass through our minds. We are planning on going to the Sloth Rescue Center in ...

... We met another really nice family from Minnesota that was travelling with their 5-year-old Juna. So we kind of merged together for a while and let the kids enjoy some kid time...a well-needed respite from all the adult interaction they had been getting. Then on the second day, we booked a trip with Erwin, a Belgian naturalist who is something of a local expert on the ...

... on january 25th i flew home from san jose and spent a week at home in arlington, mostly avoiding the nasty icy snowy weather outside!! that was definitely a shock since i left before it really got cold at the end of october! it was nice to catch up with my friends and family and eat all my favorite foods (including rice and beans, doused in the secret sauce from crisp and juicy though!) i flew back to costa rica january 31st and met up with chris ...

... of swimming in shoulder deep water, we realized we were being pulled to the left and further out from the beach. Julia was already back at the beach checking on our stuff, not wanting to be too far away form it. After we could no longer touch we were aware that there was definately a strong current and it was pulling Kevin, Joey, and me out quickly. We yelled to Joey to follow us and swim parallel with the shore. Kevin was the first to get footing on a sand bar ...

... so helped us with our first try. We were not sure we would see any dolphins as all along our trip there is always promises of dolphins and whales but it really depends on the season, etc. However the dolphins seem to live in this bay all year round and they love to jump on the waves produced by the tour boats...so the show was magnificent (see video) We then moved on to Islas Zapatilla (flip flop or sandal islands ...