The Last Time We Used Our "Lonely Planet CA"
Trip Start
Oct 11, 2006
1
18
25
Trip End
Apr 25, 2007
Santa Marta,
Colombia
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
The next morning, with little rest, we left the Pacific Ocean for the Carribean. We eventually arrived in Puerto Viejo after 13 hours of bus rides. Around a campfire that night we got to talking with yet another fellow Vancouverite (It's amazing how many we run into!). After talking to John for awhile, we found out that he also lived near The Drive last summer, the same area in which Kyle lived. Somehow the topic was probed deeper, and as it turns out, he lived on the corner of Victoria and 11th Ave, ON THE SAME BLOCK AS KYLE. So ya...
01 Surfers in the Sunset at Santa Teresa
now Kyle can say he met someone from across the street while in Costa Rica! Our Hostel, Rockin' J's, was ornately covered with mosaics and paintings, all done by visiting travellers. It featured a "hammock hotel" with dozens of hammocks lined up side by side, unfortunately without bugnets. We spent two nights in a hammock before taking off to Panama in search of a better nights rest. After yet another problem-free border crossing, we took a short boat ride to Bocas del Toro, it sure was neato! The ride took us through a series of canals, originally dug by banana farmers. Along the way we passed the Chiquita Banana plantation, where we saw bundles of bananas moving along a coveyer to be bagged, and eventually to be loaded onto freighters and shipped home for all you to eat. We kept our eyes peeled, but unfortunately didn't see any girls with big bundles of fruit on their heads. Bocas del Toro is actually a string of islands, but we only went to the largest, Isla Colon. It was rainy for the duration of our stay, so lots of time was spent reading and drinking hot chocolate. We managed to escape the rain and get out on two dives, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Bocas will be remembered for the lovely gourmet grocery that served delicious sandwiches made-to-order!
We left the rain of the islands, and headed cross country to Boquete, a cold and windy mountain town. The Bocas-Boquete drive is one of the most scenic and memorable journeys yet.
02 Us on a Bus
In Boquete we went for a horseback ride through the mountains, and had a very good time. We both agree that we would like to do more riding in the coming months. We woke up one morning to hike to a viewpoint from which you can see both oceans, but it was very cloudy and rainy, so we turned back. Panama City was our next stop, and our final destination in Central America. The city's skyline is sculpted by massive skyscrapers, yet the city itself does not have the same rushed highways and dirty streets that we have come to expect from a Central American city. The first night we went downtown, amongst the tall posh hotels and bustling casinos. After asking the clerk at our hotel which was best, we descended upon the Casino Venetto. Kyle entered into a high-stakes cash game, at a table with some very intimidating players. While Kyle spent three fun hours slowly losing his money, Fran enjoyed the luxury of free drinks.
The Panama canal lived up to all our expectations. We visited in mid morning, to witness an enormous cargo ship slowly proceed through the passage, with inches to spare on either side. It took just over half an hour to raise the ship from sea level to the 85 foot mark. We watched as the various locks filled and emptied, and as the cable cars patiently pulled the freighter clear of the first set of locks. All the while we witnessed the crew members casually chatting and eating their lunch on deck, reciprocating the gazes of the hundreds of tourists in the crowd. We learned that beginning in March of this year, ground will be broken to start the enormous job of expanding the canal.
03 Joking in a Hammock at Rockin´ J´s
The two new larger locks will enable the passage of larger ships, thereby allowing the Panamanian government to collect more from tariffs (The highest paid tariff to date is $249,000US!).We spent the rest of four days touring the city with our Nova Scotian friends Dave and Nicki; we all enjoyed taking in the sights of colonial architecture in Casco Antiguo, and basking in the sun on the peaceful beaches of Isla Taboga. One very fun night the four of us headed downtown to find a good dance spot, only to be denied since Kyle and Dave were in shorts (somehow they didn't mind the sandals though!). We did find a place, and we proceeded to buy, and finish, a bottle of rum between the four of us...who's idea was that anyways? Thus, our travels in Central America came to an end, and Kyle put the 'Lonely Planet: Central America on a Shoestring' to the bottom of his backpack.
A short flight took us to Barranquilla, Colombia, a place of little interest, and we made it by bus to Santa Marta in 3 long hot hours. We took in what there is to see of Santa Marta: The oldest cathedral in Colombia, a beautiful central square, and a nearby Aquarium. Kyle said it best, "Anyone who scuba dives shouldn't visit aquariums". Enough said. By now we were ready to leave, and headed to the small, nearby town of Taganga. Taganga is a small pleasant bay, loaded with fishing boats. We found a real score, and stayed in a backroom of a Colombian family's home.
04 Fran With Some Niños
Taganga houses many little dive shops, all offering day trips to sites in Parque Tayrona, a short boat ride Northeast. We had two full days filled with mediocre dives, good sites with poor visibility. We had a chuckle at our divemasters as they snoozed in hammocks for a few hours during the surface interval. The next three nights were spent in our new mansion of a tent, in Parque Tayrona. The park entrance is only an hour busride away, and from there it is a significant hike onwards. This two hour hike was the first time we have done any sort of a walk with ALL of our gear. Needless to say, we were mucho sore, and ready for an early night in Arrecifes. The morning brought more hiking, onto Cabo San Juan, where we slept two more nights. That day was spent at a nude beach down the way, where we got minor sunburns in new places! This beach, along with all in Tayrona, are new challengers in the battle for the nicest beach. The next day we took a long hike inland (finally without our stuff!) to the ancient Tayrona settlement at Pueblito. Since three-in-a-row seems to be our limit in the tent, we continued back to the park entrance the following day. This time, however, we splurged and spent $4 for a horse to carry all our stuff.
Despite the endless negative media hype poured into all of our North American minds, we are realizing that Colombia is not the lawless anarchy it is built up to be. However, we are being sure to stay prudent and aware as always, but no more than in every other country. Colombia is beautiful, with extraordinarily friendly people, and has a lot to offer. The one bonus of Colombia's bad rep, is that only a certain type of traveller passes through it's filters.
As always, we love and miss you all; we are staying safe and happy every step of our journey. We have noticed we are looking at the calendar more often now that we are past the halfway mark of the trip! YIPES!
Love, Kyle and Fran
Crib Score To Date: Kyle - 50 Wins; 10 Skunks Fran - 40 Wins; 6 Skunks
