Panama, 7 day countdown!!!

I said goodbye to Greg at the airport in Costa Rica and had my first jolt of how I was going to feel back in the States, culture shock wise. I had to leave the airport in a rush because I started feeling nauseous. It is hard to explain, well easy to explain, but I do not want to offend anyone. I headed from the airport to Cahuita, Costa Rica. It is a small town on the Southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. While I was waiting for the bus I befriended a man who was very interesting. He was the first person I have met while traveling this time around, that I have wanted to stay in contact with and wanted to spend the evening with. We talked for 5 hours on the bus (he was going to the same small town I was). He walked me to my hostel chatting and then I helped him carry his gear to his hotel while chatting and then we decided to go and get dinner and drinks. It was a blast and we talked for about 10 hours. He lives in Boseman, Montana and has traveled to 54 countries and all but 3 of the States in the U.S. He is a hard core outdoors man and does mountain climbing, mountain biking, skiing, cross country skiing, rafting, fishing, and much more. He was telling me story after story about his journeys around the world and his near death experiences. At one point I asked him if he had ever read the book three cups of tea and mentioned that he reminded me... Just then he cut me off and said that Greg Mortenson is his neighbor and racquetball partner! So then we began talking about Greg Mortenson. It was a crazy coincidence. I told him how much I enjoyed the book and how much respect I have for Greg Mortenson. We exchanged email addresses and he is going to set Greg and I up when we take our road trip to visit the national parks in the U.S. It made my evening.

After Cahuita, which was surprisingly lovely, I headed South to cross the boarder. I do not dislike the Caribbean, but I do prefer the the non-Caribbean parts to central America. Mostly because I enjoy practicing my Spanish. But Cahuita was lovely and the people were extremely nice. Especially Jose, the 70 year old man that ran the hostel that I stayed at. I went to pay and had to wait for about 5 minutes while he peed in a bucket right in front of my room. My room was right near the beach and it was all wooded up. With the window shut there was absolutely no light. I shut the window before going to bed and I woke up in the pitch black and I had no idea where I was. I mean no idea what so ever! I couldn´t even figure out what Country i was in. I had to go back and re-trace my steps. I remembered saying bye to Greg at the airport in Costa Rica, I remembered the bus and talking to John Rose, I remembered arriving in Cahuita, then I knew where I was but it took a good five minutes to orient myself. And then back off to sleep I went. I appreciated the two nights of sleep Greg and I got in a cheap hotel in Alajuela, Costa Rica, but not enough. One morning I said that I was surprised there was no noise at night nor in the morning at the hotel. No cars, no chickens, no roosters, no dogs, no people. But I didn´t appreciate it enough. First thing in the morning around 4:30 am in Cahuita I woke up to roosters crowing. It is making me slightly reconsider wanting to get farm animals when I get home...

Back to the boarder crossing. I crossed the boarder between Costa Rica and Panama easily and then took a bus, another bus and a small boat to Isla Colon of Bocas del Toro. I checked into a cheap hostel there and was in serious culture shock, about as bad as the airport in Costa Rica. I ended up in a hostel room with 7 other people that were from all over the world and they were all getting showered, dressed up, hair dried, putting on make-up, walking around in their undies (boys and girls) to get ready to go next door to drink. That is when I realized I have changed on this trip. Normally a good night out wouldn´t bother me, even when I was at the orphanage I enjoyed a handful of nights out. But seeing all of these people and hearing their conversations was way too much for me at that moment. I grabbed my book and headed down the road and found a quiet little bar with a local man playing his guitar where I sat and listened and read for about 3 hours until around 11:30pm, which for me is late! I walked back to my hostel and everyone was still up and being noisy and I headed to bed. The next morning I made my pancakes and checked out and took a boat to another island where there are much less people and tourists. Had I came to Panama for a week wanting a spring break atmosphere this hostel would have been perfect. So I am not knocking the hostel. But for me right now it was just not a good fit at all. But where I currently am on Isla Bastimentos, I love it here. I took a boat to a nearby beach where I spent the day yesterday reading and relaxing and today I took a boat back to the main island where I rented a bike and road across the island which was amazing! The vegetation was gorgeous. Some of the most beautiful plants and sights I have seen in a while. And tons of wildlife! Wild horses, cows, goats, pigs, all just walking around grazing, sleeping and bathing. Mark Wahlberg would be in heaven!

My trip planning has been great thus far, if I may say so myself... But yesterday I realized I was going to be traveling through Panama during their biggest Holiday week of the year, Carnival! I chatted with some people today that said buses, planes, hotels, etc are going to be impossible. So today I booked a room for my last 3 nights in Panama City and an old hostel that looks awesome and I am trying to make my plans for Boquete where I will be from Friday through Sunday. Hopefully it all works out. People are nice enough here though, I am sure if I couldn´t find a room a local would set me up. Hopefully it won´t come to that but just in case...

I am trying to think if there is anything else... I am alive and safe and enjoying life. It is amazing here, not just here, but in Central America. Beautiful. But I do absolutely love Portland and tell everyone how much I love it whenever I am asked about my home. I am and will continue to take tons of pictures and upload them when I return.

Stay warm, take care and be safe. I miss you all.