Los Balcones Hotel Bocas del Toro

... and 2 separate half-bath (toilet and sink). The cuisine is also spacious and well equiped. There is a covered deck right on the water making for a perfect spot for sunset dinners or drinks or just hanging out.
The place offers rooms with A/C, free Wifi, television, DVD player, hot water and most importantly, the most gracious service.
In a town where price-gouging seems to be the main activity, this was very refreshing.

... complete with an impromptu jam session- which involved coconut percussion and beer can maraca- we headed back to town and hit up our favorite fruit smoothie stand. I don´t know what else to say besides THEY ARE DELICIOUS!
Pineapple and banana, mango, and coconut and banana are among our favorites so far. Keep in mind we´re only on day 4, and you can´t really go wrong!

Hopefully the sun will be shining again tomorrow so we can ...

... had not been able to shower. I decided to rectify this by standing in the rain washing my hair using the rainwater that had collected on the plastic sheeting outside our hut. As they say back home, "A boer maak ´n plan!" The rest of the day was spent reading Marching Powder in my hammock with our usual fish and rice dinner later that evening. Our night´s entertainment was the lightning lighting up the sky and surrounding islands like a Vegas light show. I could ...

... saved when we mustered the energry to take a boat trip across to the other islands in the bay. The water here holds some of the most spectacular and colourful coral I have ever seen and we loved it. We also spotted dolphins and relaxed on a wonderful beach called Red Frog Beach where there are indeed tiny little red frogs. However this land has been bought is being developed so who knows how long it will remain an easy day tripper beach to relax on.

... I wobbled across... and was promptly sent back for forgetting to get my passport stamped on leaving CR. So I had to do the bridge again! Twice! Anyway after a little faffage where the immigration person made me buy a bus ticket out of Panama (apparently this is the only border crossing to enforce this rule) I met some other gringos who were also heading to Bocas del Toro, a group of rainforest-clad, white sand beach-fringed tropical islands on the Caribbean coast of Panama ...

... kai voi olla eksyksissa jos ei tiia minne on menossa. mutta han meidat opasti macysiin ja kyseisen herra kanssa ilmeisesti juttelimme pitkaankin ja vaihdettiin jopa yhteystiedot. ja seuraava on lainaus jo seuraavana paivana talta korkeasti koulutetulta miehelta tulleesta pitkasta meilista: "I enjoyed talking to you and your friend and hope you keep in touch. I thought you were intelligent and attractive, and your English is probably better than 95% of the Americans I meet ...

Hej alle. Så er der lidt nyt fra Costa Rica. Jeg har valgt at skrive en masse om vores tur til Panama, så I får kun lige en kort update om hvad der ellers er sket :) Billederne i denne entry er bl.a. fra en katamaran tur jeg var på for et par uger siden med nogle fra skolen. Det var en super dag med masser af sol! Der er også billeder fra en fest vi holdt med skolen, hvor vi spiste på restaurant, og bagefter var der fest. Ellers går det stadig godt her, jeg er færdig på skolen nu p ...

... bugs away, soothe itchy skin, and other remedies all made locally. They also have a cafe with local coffee and teas and of course they sell hot/cold chocolate beverages and chocolate cookies and brownies that are outrageously good. We spent an hour with Javier and Jeanette sipping lemongrass tea, eating brownies and talking about growing and processing cocoa beans. We bought a brownie to go and also some shrink wrapped balls of cocoa. We were dreading the ...

... dokazali predstavit, jedna se o ostrov v Karibiku, kde jeste neradi turisticky prumysl v negativnim slova smyslu, takze se uz hodne tesim na zitrejsi den. Jinak po skoro mesici jsem se rozloucil se svym norskym kamaradem Magnusem, ktery miri do Kolumbie. Tot vse, pratele. :) Prijemny den ci noc.

Nach Santa Catalina gings dann weiter zur Isla Bastimentos, das ist die kleinere und viel unberuehrtere Insel von Bocas del Toro. Dieser Ort ist ja (eigentlich) einfach paradiesisch, doch seit November regnet es in Stroemen und es hat etliche Ueberschwemmungen gegeben. Dies bedeutete natuerlich fuer mich, dass ich diesen Ort nicht in seiner eigentlichen Schoenheit kennenlernen durfte... Die Straende waren zum Teil verschwunden, voll von umgefallenen Baeumen und Palmen, viel Schmutz wurde ...