Muddy poop, mangroves, and a 17 mile hike

Day 19:
Woke up to disappointment when we found our catamaran trip was postponed. We later learned that a private party that consisted of one Colombian drug lord and his five Colombian hoes,who reportedly got completely naked on the boat, had chartered. So we had been pushed aside to the next day, (since we were paying student prices for a school that we weren't enrolled in...) but the weather was nicer for us anyway.

So we abrutly decided to catch a water taxi to Isla Bastimientos to go to the lush Wizard Beach. We were dropped off in what looked to be the slums of the small city on the island, and were told to simply walk along the trail and go to the right. So we went straight and on the trail to the left, which we immediately realized was wrong because it lead us to a graveyard. We were thankfully pointed in the right direction by a German couple, who were quick to laugh at our choice in shoes, sandals, and told us that the path we were on was known as the "flip flop graveyard". We soon discovered for our own that what they had meant by that was hot, moist, gooey, muddy, horse poopy path. About 30 minutes into what quickly turned into a barefoot trek we heard the German man calmly state from ahead, "Hey girls, watch out for that huge poisonous spider on the right." Upon hearing this we demanded that he point out exactly were the spider was and wait for us to pass unharmed.

We soon got to the beach where Annabelle and Molly got really sunburned. We relaxed for as long as possible, only to delay the dreadful excursion back, which after hours of agonizing, didn't seem to be as bad as we remembered. We ate one of the best meals we have had at an oceanside Caribbean cafe called Roots; a delicious jerk-ish chicken with coconut beans and rice, a salad, and french fries for only $4.

Day 20:
Woke up to the most beautiful day we had seen on the island, giddey as school girls and ready to partake on ocean adventure. We met our fascinating German captain while aboard the catamaran, which the 5 of us shared with 3 other people. Our captain had a very diverse selection of music to say the least. We heard everything from Belle and Sebastian, to Xavier Rudd, to Justin Timberlake, to P. Diddy, to Sting. (his playlists contributed to his lived persona along with the fact that he had sailed across the Atlantic at least 5 times)

The first stop on our boat was a snorkel spot at what is known to be the second largest coral reef. We then continued on to a mangrove filled bay that was polluted with dozens of dolphins. (A mangrove is a type of tree that has its roots in the ocean) We snorkeled once more and saw thousands of different kinds of coral which came in the most beautiful colors we had ever seen. Oh captain, our captain, then prepared sandwiches that we washed down with a cold refreshing beer. (for the first time Molly ate mustard, but don't assume her irrational phobia has deceased.) Needless to say, it was a perfect day!

Our foul mouthed dutch friend Nard, who we had met at Rocking J's, surprised us by being in our dorm when we returned. So we all went out for a celebratory dinner on a boat called Riptide that has a 24 hour happy hour 7 days a week. There we drank $3.50 pitchers and ate yucca fries. On our way home we stopped at a party hostel only to run into our other dear friend from Rocking J's, Pike. All around a great day!

Day 21:
Off to a slow start after a night of drinking, we finally gathered ourselves and decided to venture to Red Frog Beach, a National Park on Isla Bastimientos. We were sadly  informed later that this beautiful and pristine beach will soon be littered with villas and private condos. MUY MAL! But anyway, we swam in water that is clearer than a bathtub and strolled along sand that was softer than silk. Because we were still recovering from the night before, we played cards that night and came to terms with the fact that we would be separating from the group the next morning.

Day 22:
We bid farewell to Annabelle, Anna, Kristen, and Nard, stopped at a bakery to pick up turkey and ketchup sandwiches, and let it sink in that it would just be the 2 of us from here on out. In total it took us 1 boat and 2 buses and a total of 7 hours to get to our next destination, Boquete. The first bus was interesting as we saw a young girl carrying her pet cat in a plastic potato sack and a little boy vomiting right next to us. On the second bus we were stuck directly behind a 13 year old couple in love. Gross. Enough said. We finally made it to Nomba Hostel, a quiet adventure hostel and were surprised to see an Ofersures sticker on one of the doors (our brother's friend's band from Manhattan Beach). From our arrival we took it easy and preped for the 12 hour hike we decided to partake in.

Day 23/24:

Did nothing all day on the 23rd expect dread the Volcan Baru hike that we had already signed up and paid in full for. We were informed to bring a bottel of water, a raincoat, good walking shoes, and a snack. This hardly prepared us for the unknowingly 17 mile hike we were about to venture on. Luckily we had enough sense to bring some warm clothes, because we had read that temperatures can drop to near freezing on the summit.

We were picked up at 10pm by our 51 year old guide, Eduardo, where we took a taxi to the start of the hike. There was light drizzle and a nervous swagger to our step because we were terrified, and rightfully so. One of our logical first questions was "Que tipos de animales estan aqui?" to which he replied, pumas, jaguars, snakes, and raccoons, (but not the kind that steal your lunch) however assured us of our safety. Needless to say this exponentially increased our fear because we were already walking through the dark jungle. The "trial" was rocky, uneven, muddy, and inconsistent. Our uneasiness grew as we approached hour 2, and were still very low in altitude, and wondered what the hell we were thinking. Mind games began kicking in when we realized we still had 5 hours left uphill so we could see the sunrise while standing on the summit of Panama's only volcano...and then would STILL have to turn around and repeat the hike going downhill! At least at the top of the summit we were able to see both the Caribbean and Pacific oceans, though we would NEVER EVER do this again.

Around hour 10 going downhill, Eduardo informed us that jaguars attack and eat horses and cows, but not to worry because they don't like humans....we both made a mental note to take what he says with a grain of salt. Anyway, we made, barely, and now we actually cannot move. We are paralyzed from the waist down. But don't mom, we are hoping it will pass.

We are off to Panama City tomorrow and are currently residing in the a really, really purple hostel in David.

Ciao!

Well here it is.... as promised

Day 18 of our trip... sorry for the delay. There was excitment before we even left the airport. For starters, we saw Nick Lachey at LAX, though he was trying to keep a low prof, we were quick to recognize him. But more important then that, we almost couldn´t leave the airport due to not having an exit ticket, so we just charged it. Thank god it is was fully refundable, or we would´ve been home on Oct. 10th.

San Jose was alright, not our fav. But there were some pluses, like Sarah Anne Pringle was born the day after we arrived. She´s beautiful, happy, and very very small, oh and she giggles a lot. All and all San Jose is a big city, but we were ready to leave. Although we were told that we brought the sunshine with us, because the rainy season ended the day we arrived! Well kind of...

From there we took a bus to La Fortuna on day 3 of our trip. From here we took a tour that led us to a look out point for Volcan Arenal, and we hiked to a beautiful waterfall in the pouring rain, and then shivered to wait for lava, which unfortunately we never saw. But it was still wonderful. Here, we also found our favorite food place. A local soda (small family owned restaraunt) that gave huge portions of casado, basically rice, beans, meat, fried plantains, tortillas, and potatoes all for around 4 bucks!

On day 4 we were pointed towards a local swimming hole, there were waterfalls and a rope swing and not as crowded as the rock slides. And for the first time, we were able to convince Annabelle to jump off a rock over a waterfall (though she was holding Molly´s hand).

On day 5 we traveled to Tamarindo, or Tamagringo, as the locals call it. We stayed on the beach near crocidilles, which the hostel failed to mention to us. However, we eventually learned the safe place to swim and got to surf. The next day was Annabelle´s birthday, we met up with a guy we met on our La Fortuna volcano tour who asked us to join him and his father for a fresh tuna dinner, which they had caught fishing that morning and were having prepared at a local french restaraunt. It was awesome! and probably the best meal we´ll eat in the next few months.

From there we took a private shuttle to Jaco due to poor public transportation. In Jaco we got to live like queens for a few days because of the condo Kristin´s family has there. Though she has failed to take advantage of it, college reunion trip anyone? We took a bus to Manuel Antonio, a national park, where we were able to see a SLOTH, monkeys, and mean raccoons that stole our bananas. All and all our stay in Jaco was lazy.



Day 12, we returned to San Jose to check in on Sarah. Here we pitched our tent for the first time and fell in love with it. It´s perfect for us.

SLIP N SLIDE!

Day 13 we took a bus to Rockin J´s hostel in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, it was our first time on the Caribbean side. This hostel is like a crazy zoo. No walls, around 200 hammocks, 2 stories of camping space, and the place is covered in mosaics and paintings. We pitched our tent for $4.50 a night here. On day 14 we saw a lightning storm that was spectacular, the lightning struck every ten seconds right over the ocean. We made 2 good friends here, a dutch and an australian, who taught us funny words, like kongazoid, which means cancer shit. A common swear word in Holland. We had the same breakfast everyday at a local soda, for $3 we got coffee, two eggs, gallo pinto (seasoned beans and rice), and a fried plantain or tortilla. Additionally we may add that we got to do slip in slide in the rain and it was AWESOME, though are bodies have been aching from it since!


Puerto Viejo was a favorite place thus far, but we were anxious to move onto Panama where the cost of living is less. Day 17 we crossed our first border, and what an exprience. The trip was relatively easy, but the bridge that we had to walk across connecting the two countries was super sketchy.

Once we got to the other side the shuttle driver tried to tell us that they were going to put our bags in another car that would meet us at our destination, but we immediately refused and said we´d sit on our bags if we had to. Luckily he just let us sit in the taxi that was carrying them. We took a boat to Isla Colon, one of the islands in the Bocas del Toro chain, it´s beautiful and we´re excited to see more!

Sorry for the laundry list of what has happened so far, we promise our future entries will be more entertaining, we just wanted to catch everyone up! Ciao!