Sixaola at sixaola, we stopped by the supermarket to get some snacks. then we crossed the road to leave costa rica. we filled out a form and got a stamp in our passports. to cross the border, we need to walk on a bridge across the river. sometimes, there is a sidewalk for us, sometimes we had to walk on wooden planks that we share with huge trucks. when chris and aine were here, they almost got run over by a truck.
Panama on the other side, josh and i were separated from the Germans because we had to pay a $5 entrance fee. we went to immigration and got another stamp. i started talking to two girls also in line. they were volunteering in san jose in a children's hospital with a program by travel cuts. they learned spanish for a month and will volunteer for a month. they were canadians too. one's from windsor (jess), and the other is from guelph (Mallory). Mallory is coming to McMaster in September for OT. The girls were going to Bocas also, so we decided to stick together.
lost an hour it's 9 costa rican time, but 10 in Panama. to get to Bocas, we had to take a taxi to the port past changuinola. it cost $5. we met two australians: lisa and lirun. at the port, they told us they were booked until 12:30 pm. we decided to take a 40 minute taxi ride to another port. that cost us another $5. the taxi ride reminded me of the one we took back from manzanillo. the bites on my face from last night got bigger. it was a $4 water taxi at the port. the water was very calm, so the boat could go really fast. it was super windy even with the windshield and tarp. we saw mangroves and huts built right on the water.
into the harbour i saw my first star fish. the water was very clear but the angle of sunlight prevented me from taking a picture.
hostel heike right away, an unofficial boat tour guide came to help us out in finding a hostel. he wanted to befriend us so we would pay him to take us around the islands. the first hostel we tried had internet, but they were full. we went to hostel heike (pronounced like my name) and got put into two different rooms of 4. i got room 7 with joke, the two top bunks. janek and josh got room 4 and lirun had room 11. there was no room for Mallory and Jess so they went to the sister hostel down the street. the lobby had a guitar, but it was missing a string. we set off to find an ATM to take out money. it took a while to find. the directions the locals gave us were confusing.
Hotel bocas del toro for lunch. i ordered a basic hamburger with fries and a coke. the hamburger was so big. i wasn´t able to finish it. everyone else had really big plates too. the restaurant is built right on the water. it had an open wall concept. we had the edge table and i saw two star fish in the water right beside us. the food was so good. i haven´t had a burger in so long. we split the bill and all paid the same amount.
J & J sports we shopped around for boat tours that would take us snorkeling. first, we went to another store, but they didn't do tours on sunday. they sent us to J and J sports. they offer essentially the same tour but no towels or fins. next door, they had tons of spots and the 5 of us signed up. we signed up for tour 1.
internet cafe it´s $2 an hour and i paid $9.50. i spent the time to blog and read my emails. i really enjoyed transcribing my journal because i was able to review my trip. i didn´t make any changes apart from grammatical. my feelings have changed a lot during the trip. i have more experience in what to expect and how to take care of myself while on shift. i still get bit by tons of bugs, but my body does not react as vehemently now and i´ve learned to ignore the itching and sting. i still complain about my bites! but even though Chris complains about me complaining, he says ¨to be fair, you do have a lot of bites. it is justified complaining¨. i am learning how to communicate better in spanish. i really love it here and i´m already making mental plans to come back soon. i want to travel the world and i won´t be able to do it if i just keep going to the same places. However, Costa Rica is the first place i´ve traveled to fully alone, without friends or family from home. i think it will always have a place in my heart.
VW Van we saw Janek's car in panama.
drinks and dinner at 7, we went to Mondo Tai Tu hostel and bar for happy hour. we all had coupons for 1 free shot from our hostel. josh did a tequila suicide. we stayed till 9:30, then walked over to the golden grill for dinner. i had a hamburger again. this one tasted even better than the one i had for lunch. i was still hungry afterward so joke and i shared a slice of chocolate cake. i bought an ugly necklace and no one stopped me.
bedtime we were planning to go to Aqua lounge, but only the boys went. joke and i were too tired. there were still no hot showers when we got back. we went to bed at 10. our roommates came home at 3am.
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