No trip to Panamá is complete without a visit to the Panamá canal, so we got burnt waiting three hours in the hot sun for a large Japanese car carrier to pass through. The fee the ship paid for passing through the canal was USD 180,000, but that's 10 times cheaper than it costs in fuel to go all the way down and around Patagonia!
We had planned to go to Bocas del Toro, a relaxing hippie retreat on the Caribbean coast of Panamá. Unfortunately, the Banana plantation workers were going bananas over their pay and conditions, wielding machetes, blocking roads and throwing anything they could get their hands on at the police. We were compelled to continue north to Costa Rica and stick to the Pacific coast. Dominical was our first port of call and here we found a great little surfer town with a hilarious bar called 'Thrusters'! We watched the world cup final here and a free shot was offered for every goal. Obviously we were disappointed with the single goal Spanish victory!
Embracing the main purpose for Domincal's existence, we grabbed a surfboard and paddled out to the breaks. A surge of adrenaline and joy overwhelmed me when I caught my first wave, from that point on I was hooked. Unfortunately, Lydia's enjoyment was cut short by a bad fall which caused her foot to resemble an eggplant and kept her bedbound for the next couple of days.
16 years ago Lydia visited Costa Rica with her Mum and Sister. Keen to see how things had changed we stayed in the exact same hotel they had stayed in all those years ago, 'El Plinio' on the road to Manuel Antonio (Costa Rica's most popular nature park). The hotel was as lovely as she remembered it but the surrounding villages had changed dramatically. It can be summed up by saying that there is now a gentleman´s club five minutes from the park gates amidst a slew of condos, fancy homes and restaraunts.
The Park itself was rich in wildlife despite the plague of tourists, strippers and the sound of unstoppable construction. During our visit we saw Capuchin, Howler and Squirrel monkeys, sloths, iguanas, coatis, agoutis and extremely entertaining hermit crabs. After working up an appetite we dined at perhaps one of the most unusual restaurants of our trip. 'El Avion' was created from the carcass of and old American military transport plane, which was used by the U.S. in Costa Rica to aid in the Contra affair with Nicaragua. However, when the Iran-Contra affair broke the plane was left unused and remained in Costa Rica's capital, San Jose, until finally being purchased for USD 2,000 by an enterprising restauranteur. It makes a very atmospheric backdrop for a sunset dinner!
Our final stop in Costa Rica was in the commercial town of Jaco. It left a bit of a sour taste in the mouth as the town represented everything that is wrong with Western influence. Prostitutes preyed on the fat wallets of desperate old and young North Americans on vacation, while drug dealers fuelled the fire with their menu of narcotics. We did enjoy a very tasty Mahi Mahi burrito, however, which filled our bellies for the onwards march to Nicaragua....
In summary, Panamá and Costa Rica made us realise that we were getting closer to North America all the time. We hoped that the droves of retirees and expats had not afflicted the entire Isthmus and that we would more authentic countries further north.
The search for the 'REAL' Central America continues...
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