That whole travel blog thing didn’t go quite as expected. I think if I had more time I would have kept it up a little more – in the 17 days I had, I felt guilty spending any of it in front of a computer. Next time, when I have a few months and don’t feel so rushed, I’ll keep track of things for you guys a lot more. Also, I just didn’t have internet access as often in the second half of the trip.
So the quick update:
After Bocas, I trekked down to Boquette, a small town nestled in the mountains of Panama. I took an old school bus to get there with a few friends I ran into from Puerto Viejo. We stayed at Nomba, a hotelito (very small hostel). I did a night in the natural hot springs under the full moon, walked the streets taking photos, and climbed a volcano. The volcano, Volcán Barú, was the most amazing – we started hiking at midnight and got to the top (15 km later) at 5:30. I was at the top alone in the complete (freezing) black for about 20 minutes before anyone else joined me. As the sun rose I could see both the Caribbean and the Pacific coasts. It was an amazing experience, despite the altitude headache (11,398 ft high), and though the trek down sucked just as much as the ascent, I loved it. 13 hours later I was back at the hostel, clean and ready to sleep.
After Boquette I went to Dominical on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, where I pretty much finished out my trip. I kind of forgot to get my passport stamped into Costa Rica, a mistake I thought would cost me. Nobody noticed. I meant to stay in Dominical only a few days, but after making friends, I spent several days just relaxing on the beach and having a great time. A bonfire was had under the stars, and the ghetto beach-front hostel held an amazingly tight group of travelers by day 3.
Tuesday I had to make my way back towards San José for my flight. I planned on bussing it, but as I realized I’d have to wait a few hours to get to San Isidro (on my way to Cartago), I decided instead to hitchhike. Several friends had done it the day before, and it was only a hour, so I thought I’d give it a shot. After hiking for about 20 minutes in the heat of the day, I was passed by a propane truck, to which I had greeted in Dominical that morning. The driver, Fernando, offered me a ride (without me even asking). Turns out he was going to Cartago, where he lived, so he drove me all 4 hours and helped me find my hotel. He was such a nice old man, and seeing the mountains of Costa Rica in the central highlands from the window of a propane truck is certainly something I’ll never forget. I will also never forget how I still couldn’t speak Spanish all that well and he’d be really descriptive with his hands so we could communicate.
The night was spent in a nice room to myself, in another city (which, thankfully, was not San José). I ate at a soda and watched the sunset over a plaza. In the morning I had one of the best gallo pinto meals ever and jumped on some buses. Our plane to Miami suffered a bit of a delay, causing me to almost miss my connection (several people did miss it due to customs), but I got home safe and sound and I’m laying in my bed, getting ready to upload photos and figure out what to do with my life now. I’m excited about my next trip, but that’s some time down the road. When that comes, I’ll try to be a bit better at blogging. Hasta.
