Intern Vacation! - Part 2: Boca del Torros

Once we got off the boat in Boca del Torros, we were greeted by many locals who wanted to show up to our hotel and to offer us boat tours the next morning.  We got to the hotel, and were a little bit surprised by the quality of the accommodations.  It turns out there were no private bathrooms, there was no water one day, and while we were trying to fix our key into the lock (they had given us the wrong key), we listened to a lady yelling about how there had been 5 attempted murders and that we should cleanse the hotel and forgive him… What a great welcome to the city!

After most of us had gotten over the initial shock of our living arrangements, we decided to explore the town.  We talked with several boat tour companies and arranged to have someone pick us up at the hotel the following morning to go island hopping.  That night we went to a restaurant called The Pirate and Bethanny, Matt and I split a 3.5 pound Red Snapper.  We got so many looks from the other people at the restaurant (customers and waitors), but the fish was great!

The next day we set out on our boat tour.  We began by going to a bay where there are a lot of dolphins.  We learned that dolphins like to play in the boat’s wake, so our captain would drive quickly in tight circles so we could watch the dolphins jump behind us.  Other times, he would turn off the engine so we could get closer to the dolphins.

After that, we went snorkeling.  We got to see some very colorful coral and a lot of small, colorful fish.  I also saw a jellyfish…boo.  We got out of the water as it started to rain.  To escape the rain, we retreated to a cabana on a near-bye island.  We weren’t the only ones who decided to wait out the storm; soon the cabana and dock were full of locals and tourists.  The owners turned up the music and we had a little party.  It was fun to relax and hang out with the other interns and see how Panamanians party.

Once the rain died down, we went to yet another island where we got to relax on a beautiful beach.  Trees on one side, rocks on the other, and beautiful sand in the middle.  A little boy who lived on the island showed us a small red frog that the island is named after (Red Frog Island).  We had expected to get to hike on the island, so we talked to the captain about it.  He said there was no hiking on the island, but for a small fee we could go to another island where his friend lives. J

On to the next island.  This part of the adventure began by taking the boat up a fairly narrow river.  We saw some toucans and other birds on our way to the friend’s house.  We eventually got to a small dock, got off the boat, and walked next to a banana orchard to get to a thatched-roof hut.  There was a family playing horse-shoes with some bottle caps, and a dog and several chickens running around.  A man came out of the house and the captain explained that we would like a tour of his property.  Apparently this leg of the tour wasn’t very common.  The friend agreed, and we began exploring.  First, he invited he to see a huge rat/ant-eater thing he had just caught that was living in a cage in his house.  Just behind his house he pointed out a three-toed sloth that was just above head-level.  It was fun to watch the sloth try to escape as he slowly looked from side to side and climbed up the tree.  After trekking through a muddy forest, the friend found a huge centipede, and later an orange and then a red frog.  Finally, we came to a cave.  We stepped inside, took some pictures, and were about to leave when he asked if we wanted to explore it farther.  Of course we said yes, so on we went.  The cave was full of bats that flew all around the entire time we were in the cave.  We also saw some nasty spiders, some beautiful stalactites, and we even drank some mineral water from a stalactite.  After leaving the cave, we made our way back to the friend’s house.  He cut down some sugarcane, peeled it, and cut it into small pieces for us before we left.  Back in the boat as we were leaving the island, we saw monkeys!  The captain turned off the boat and we watched the monkeys run around in the branches and jump from tree to tree.

After braving the hotel another night, Alfonso and I went kayaking before it was time to leave.  Then we took the boat to the van to the boarder to the next van to the bus and arrived back in Atenas in one piece.

What a great vacation!

Intern Vacation! - Part 1: Puerto Viejo

Last week there was an EMI conference in the States, so you know what that means: Intern Party!  All of the interns, along with our friend from language school, Katie, and Bethany’s boyfriend, Matt, took a few days off of work and went to some of the most amazing beaches I have ever seen.

The trip began with a long bus ride from Atenas to San Jose to Puerto Viejo in southern Costa Rica.  We spent the rest of the day exploring the town, eating seafood, and relaxing on the beach.  I spent that night sleeping outside in a hammock just because I could (I was under a mosquito net, of course…not that it helped.  I had 5 mosquitos trapped in with me all night). 

The next day, we went to an amazing place called Bread and Chocolate.  I ordered a mocha and they brought out a cup of homemade chocolate, a cup of milk, and a coffee press.  I made the mocha “wrong,” and put all of the chocolate in the first cup, along with a little milk and a little coffee.  So good!

After recovering from our food comas, we hiked through the woods on our way to the most beautiful beach I have ever seen.  It was completely undeveloped, and the forest went all the way up to the beautiful white sand beaches that gently flowed into the crystal-clear perfect temperature Caribbean Sea.  Its off-season right now, so there were very few people at the beach, locals mostly.  We spent the day taking pictures, playing in the water, taking naps, and building faces and hearts in the sand.

That afternoon, we explored a beach on the other side of Puerto Viejo called Playa Negra.  The sand on this beach is all black because it is made of volcanic rock.  The sand is very fine and very soft.  The water at this beach was also perfectly clear, and the perfect temperature to play around in while enjoying the unique sand.  That night, we explored the town a little more and got to listen to some live Reggae music.

The next morning began with an attempt at catching sunrise at Playa Negra (it wound up being too cloudy to get any great pics).  After that, took a van to the boarder, made our way through customs (which seemed optional for many people), and made our way across a former railroad bridge with wood (sometimes) nailed across the railroad ties to keep people from falling through.  After going through customs and paying our $1 tourism fee in Panama, we got in the van and drove to a dock.  At the dock, we hopped in a boat and made our way to Boca del Torros.