Sailboat to Columbia

OK, so I am heading back to Costa Rica, but doing it in an indirect way as I am going on a sailboat through the Caribbean to Columbia tomorrow. It's a bit of a last minute decision which Kate and I made last night (before any drinking at the casino was involved) and leave in the morning. It will take about 7-9 days to get there, stopping off at many tropical islands on the way. I will get to learn how to sail at the same time and practice my Spanish with the crew of three (and obviously top up the tan). There are 5 passengers going so I'll get to know them very well in such a small space!! WIsh me luck and I'll be in touch when I reach Columbia.

The Panama Canal

Bonnie, Hank, Me and Kate

Typical scene at the Miraflores locks


One of the panamax ships with 11 inches to spare

Another wow.....just got back from the Miraflores locks at the Panama canal and saw the massive cargo ships go through the locks, including a a big Panamax ship (305m long and 33.5 m wide) which are purpose built to pass through the locks with only 11 inches gap either side!! The visitor centre was excellent and covered all aspects of the history of the canal, the important ecosystem in the area and the current use of the canal.

The canal is one of the world´s most significant waterways stretching 80 km from Panama City on the Pacific side to Colon on the Atlantic side, cutting right through the continental divide. Nearly 14,000 ships pass through the canal each year, paying on average $30,000 to pass through. The most ever paid was $230,000 in 2001 by a french cruise ship and the lowest amount paid was $0.36 in 1928 by a guy who swam across.

I went to the set of locks at Miraflores which raise the ships two times by 54 feet in total, and using 52 million gallons of fresh water for each passage. It was a fantastic day out and would highly recommend anyone travelling near Panama to make the extra effort to visit the city. Off to another casino tonight which should be fun.

For more information on the canal go to www.pancanal.com or http://www.eclipse.co.uk/~sl5763/panama.htm#History

Boquete, Panama

Had a great few days so far in Panama. Met a 21 year old Norwegian girl called Kate and so we headed from San Jose together to a city called David. Not a lot there, except a useful guesthouse with lots of travel info, a kitchen, laundry and the biggest supermarket nearby I have seen for 6 months!!! Oh and a casino. Kate and I had thought it would be a good idea to go one night as neither of had been to one before. The guest house owner, Andrea, had told us that as long as you are appearing to 'play' then you get free drinks. David is the hottest city in Panama and so the air conditioning was almost as much of draw as the free drinks. Free to get in and then you can get 100 credits for $1, and so if you only placed 1 cent bet, then you could appear to be playing on the fruit machines all night and have a very cheap night out. We will probably try and do the same once in Panama City, although we have been told they are not so generous with the amount to free drinks you get there unless you are playing serious money.

The day after we slowly headed to Boquete in the mountains. It's only one hour from David but a completely different world. It is much fresher and has an alpine feel. Very pretty and we were lucky as we got offered an apartment to rent for $7 each a night.

Yesterday we went on a fantastic hike along a route called 'Sendero los quetzales'. It took us up to 2500m with great views across Panama. Then the route went through the forest and climbed up and up into the clouds. The diversity of plant life always amazes me and the canopy was as impressive as Costa Rica but without the masses of tourists. We had to take two different local buses to get to the start of the walk which took 3 hours. The walk itself was about 7 hours ending back in Boquete. The last few hours went on forever though as everytime we asked how much further to Boquete, we got the response 'una hora mas'....but one hour later we would still be told it was one hour more!! This went on for about three hours and in the end we flagged down a truck and climbed in the back to get back into Boquete before sunset. Was a fantastic day out and only came across 4 other tourists the whole day. It was lovely to come back to a cosy apartment, take a hot shower, cook a meal and enjoy a glass or two of red wine. You don't always get that same feeling in dormitories and so we are making the most of our temprorary home before heading off to Panama City tomorrow.

Now in Panama

Arrived in Panama yesterday and heading to the moutains near the Volano tomorrow in search of the quetzal bird (again). Will write more later.

Amazing wildlife in Costa Rica

View of Volcan Arenal

Managed to see more amazing things here in Costa Rica and even though it is more expensive than the other Central American countries and has far more Americans, it really is a beautiful country. I travelled on the very bumpy ride to Monteverde national park and managed to see the really dense cloud forest there. The canopy was so thick and tall - really amazing. Spotted a solitaire bird with an amazing song and watched it for ages bellowing out it´s tune. Also, huge numbers of hummingbirds. My appreciation of these amazing creatures increased tenfold as I discovered so many more varieties here in Costa Rica. They have such beautiful colours in their bodies and wings and dart about so fast that you often don´t get much chance to see them for long.

In the area around Volcan Arenal, I visited the hanging bridges and saw even more wildlife, including a three toed sloth, a blue jeans poison dart frog, a lizard with a blue tail (Central American Whiptail), more leaf cutter ants, spectacular coloured birds which I couldn´t quite identify, white faced monkeys (White-thoated Capuchins) that looked like old men.......the list goes on.

Volcan Arenal itself is a beautiful active volcano. Luckily the weather was fairly clear whilst I was in the area and so had great views on most days. I did another canopy tour which was far more daring than the last one, as the lines were longer and much, much higher - not the best thing for someone who is scared of heights. But even so, it was great fun and lots of laughs were had by all.

My birthday treat to myself was a day at the hot springs and spa and it was just perfect. The weather was beautfiul and there were about 15 or more thermal pools to chose to lounge around in and top up the tan at the same time. The sunset over the volcano was beautiful and then the day was finsihed off with a beautiful and very special full moonrise. Certainly a birthday I will not forget in a hurry.

Monteverde Cloud Forest

In summary, Costa Rica is the kind of country you could visit for a short time with a bigger budget, especially if you want to do lots of the activities on offer. On reflection, hiring a four wheel drive would be a cheaper option if there are a few of you as the bus system is quite pricey. Also, some of the quieter cabin style accommodation appeared to be out of the central areas, which would not be a problem with your own transport. It would be the ideal country to visit for a honeymoon with a difference.

Now I just have to decide where to head next.....

Costa Rica

Now in Costa Rica and planning to see some more wildlife in Monteverde and the surrounding area. I have been warned that it is more expenisve here and so will probably only stay for a few weeks, then either head back into Nicaragua or onto Panama.

The week leading up to Easter, Semana Santa, is crazy in latin america so I'm planning on keeping out of the way of the crowds and celebrating my birthday near a volcano. Due to a Costa Rican law, no alcohol is allowed to be sold on Thursday or Friday so it could be a dry birthday ....dont think that will happen though - where there's a will there's a way!!

Enjoy your Easter break and let me know what you've been up to.