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Costa Rica Zipline at Ba-Ri

July 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Canopy Tour: Turu Ba-Ri,

Nature & Adventure Park

Location: 30 miles west

of San Jose, Costa Rica

Price: $105

Avg. persons per day over year span: 50

Included: Transportation to/from Costa Rica San Jose, Zipline tour, buffet lunch, super-tarzan, superman zip, aerial tram & horsebacking

Examined the aspects of this Costa Rica canopy tour that it is near Bocas del Toro.

Introduction: Turu Ba-Ri is a well developed Costa Rica zip line park and is situated on 600 acres of beautiful rainforest. Costa Rica has diverse topography that features a steep ridge-line, large hills, the Tarcoles River, and small creeks. Large, healthy trees are plentiful and are perfect for anchors and platform locations for these costa rica zip lines. The Costa Rican park has many activities which include: an aerial tram, 1.5km superman-style zip, canopy tour, super-tarzan swing, off-road tours, horseback riding, and nature viewing. Other nice features include: a countryside farm, medicinal herbarium, cactus collection, palms collection, butterfly garden, iguana and crocodile pond, and Costa Rica’s largest 3D map.

Check in: Upon arrival, I was directed by my Taxi driver to go to check in desk. There, I was asked if I wanted to add any more activities to my tour while staying at this Costa Rica location. I asked how much it would be to do the superman zip and was initially told $30. I agreed but the front desk person said “let me make a phone call.” After a few minutes of waiting, the price was $10. So I agreed, again. I received a wrist band for each activity I signed up for including the most important… the lunch buffet. Lockers were available for free and I put all my valuables in them and carried the key myself.

Costa Rica Canopy Tour: Myself, four others, and two guides (one non english speaking) began the zipline with a very short walk to a practice line where we were given a pre-zip line safety talk. The physical demonstration was very good, but the verbal aspect was quite vague and left out much detail and overall scope of the tour. Our guide mentioned that our helmets are “very important in case we fall 300ft to the ground”, but reassured us that, that would be very unlikely to happen. The 3 girls on the trip were quite nervous, and seemed very apprehensive about what they were to about to embark on. They asked our zip line guide giving the demo if they could practice on the line first before going, but the guide either did not understand it was a question or was just trying to get the tour going. Either way, our equipment was fitted and the tour commenced. I was very surprised by the condition of my pulley. The aluminum was significantly worn away from the important and most vital connection point. From the practice line, we walked about 100ft to a large metal tower with stairs that brought us to the first Costa Rica zip line. The first zip was very fast and long. I was first to go because everyone in the group was very scared and/or nervous. During the next 6 zip’s I observed the following:

Super Tarzan: Before the last zip, the group was left with the option to come and watch me do the super-tarzan swing or wait at the platform. The group decided to come watch. Upon the arrival, the guide spent 5 min trying to figure out the ascender device he was using to connect me to the swing with. To his credit, he did know what was the wrong and right, and is difficult to set up quickly without regular use. The girls observing this occurrence as well, thought I was “nuts” to try the swing. After being fitted into a special full body harness and attached at two points, I was launched from the platform. A small freefall and a very high swing to the top of the canopy brought quite a rush. I was impressed. The last Costa Rica zip line ended with a very long zip off to the canopy floor.

From there, we took an arial tramride back up to the lodge.

Superman Zip: After the Costa Rica canopy tour our group headed up to the same tower we initially started on, however, we went one story higher to the superman zip line staging area. There, we were fitted and given a brief safety talk. We were instructed what is proper body position and to look for a waving red flag that means we should extend our arms out to slow our decent to the landing platform. The line attachment process takes place on a padded table where you lay on your stomach and are attached by two guides.

• Multiple times not being clipped into any safety line while at great height

• Near misses. (2 of the girls zipping would let go of cable with their braking hand, spin out of control and sometimes try and put their hand back on the cable, nearly sucking their hand into the pulley

• The guide, without asking, shaking the line up and down to create a scarier zip ride for the nervous girls and an interesting ride for me

• The guide encouraging me to run and jump off of the platform on one of the zips causing me to swing the cable side to side and missing a tree by inches.

• One of the Costa Rica zip line guides was zipping upside down with his feet up and over the pulleys

• I was not deterred form handling my own equipment, attaching and detaching myself from safety lines. Upon launch, I was overtaken by the beauty and amazement of flying through the air like a bird. I was looking for crocodiles as told, in the river below and enjoying the feeling wind rushing past my body. The flight lasted for 45 seconds and was thoroughly impressed. It offered a completely different experience and feeling than just a normal zip line. The ending approach was exciting for me, but was quite an  impact. The braking system was very jarring, as I entered very fast and was stopped abruptly.

Lunch: An incredible array of typical costa rican style food served buffet style. Juice, deserts, fresh fruits and vegetables. Again, very impressed.

Media Kiosk: During both the canopy tour and superman zip we were notified that there were  hotographers in certain areas and that we should smile for them as we flew by. During lunch I saw the photos of myself and was offered a print out of each individual photo for $7 and as an add on, allowed to download a full quality version from an email link for $3.

Horsebacking: Myself and one other in my same group departed after lunch. The five other individuals that were transported from San Jose in the same taxi as us were relegated to hanging out in the lodge during our tour. I was not informed that the horseback trip was leaving until last minute so I ran up to the staging area and was greeted by two Costa Rican guides. I hopped on the horse with not a single word of instruction or a question of experience and got right to trotting. The tour was slow-paced on a well-kept and mellow looping trail that brought us to a ridge in at the exact moment as lighting/thunder storm rolled in. Spectacular lightning was displayed. As we approached the stables, heavy rain began to pour. After the tour, myself and the other guest walked 200ft or so back to the main lodge where we loaded into the taxi and departed back to San Jose.

Conclusion: This Costa Rica zip line experience for $105 + $10 for the photo package, I was extremely impressed with the value I received. The overall zip line experience was quite amazing. Turu Ba-Ri has a very well-developed park with diverse activities for young and old, offers quality amenities and is equipped to handle many tourists and levels of adventure.

Likes:

• Super-Tarzan

• Superman zip

• Lunch Buffet

• Nice seating areas & hang out spots

• Views

Dislikes:

• Overdeveloped disneyland feeling

• Metal platforms and suspension bridges (un-natural feel)

• Caged animals

• Safety standards

Filed Under Costa Rica

Boid Hamas!

December 15, 2009 By DigaMe Leave a Comment

Isla Bastimentos variant spelling

Und wieder einmal sag ich Hola, diesmal aus El Valle de Anton (Im Tonital sozusagen), Panama!
Costa Rica haben wir gut ueberstanden, sind jedoch nur 10 Tage oder so dort gewesen weils doch etwas teurer ist als der Rest Mittelamerikas. Im Hostel in San Jose haben wir den Ed, einen Ami, kennengelernt und mit dem sind wir an die Karibikseite nach Puerto Viejo de Talamanca gefahren. KARIBIK: Weisser Strand, blauer Himmel und Reggea feeling…..auf der Postkarte. Das Wetter dort war nicht gerade einladend zum baden. Wollten dort eigentlich eine Fahradtour machen und Schnorcheln gehen; anstatt desen war ich einen halben Tag am Strand und den Rest haben wir im Hostel vorm Fernseher oder Herd verbracht bzw. in den Bars dort runderhum. War sehr witzig dort mit einigen Erlebnissen aber davon soll der Markus erzaehlen …

Nachfolgend also eine kleine Premiere – Markus schreibt zum ersten mal einen Eintrag! Es liegt vielleicht am Wetter, wie der Stefan schon beschrieben hat – Regen, Regen, Regen. Dieses Wetter motiviert aber nicht nur zum Schreiben sondern auch zum uebermaessigen Alkoholkonsum. So wars zumindest in den vergangenen Tagen im Rocking J´s in Costa Rica.
So geschah es an zwei aufeinanderfolgenden Tagen, dass ich wieder einmal
Bauchfleck im Aqua Lounge Pool
Bauchfleck im Aqua Lounge Pool
meinem vergessenen Hobby – Schlafwandeln – nachging. Nachdem ich mich also nach einigen Bieren schon muehevoll ins Bett schleppte, hatte ich dann wohl doch die gute Idee mich lieber ins Freie, auf eine Holzbank zu legen. Als ich dann um 5, dort liegend in meiner Boxershort, aufwachte un der Rausch sich etwas verfluechtigt hatte, beschloss ich schliesslich in mein Bettchen zurueckzukehren, da die Holzbank nun doch nicht mehr ganz so gemuetlich schien wie 3 stunden zuvor.
Nichtsdestotrotz vollzog ich den ganzen Vorgang am darauffolgenden Tag noch einmal wobei mich gluecklicherweise Stefan aufgegabelt hat und wieder ins Zimmer zurueckgebracht hat.
Ich, an dieser Stelle, bin also dafuer das bald mal wieder die Sonne scheint, damit ich des Naechtens nicht mehr herumstreune …

Das Hostel wo wir waren ist echt saugeil – Rocking J’s!!! Hat ca. 50 Haengematten, genausoviele Zelte und einige Dorm-Raeume zum Pennen….wir haben natuerlich die Luxusvariante genommen, das Dormitorio. Das Areal dort war riesig wo jeder seine Mosaiks machen konnte bzw. Malereinen auf den Spints und den Mauern….leider war schon fast alles voll (und wir auch meistens) weshalb wir dann nichts gemacht haben dort. Im Hostel haben wir auch noch Katha aus Deutschland und den Sven aus Belgien
Fantastic 5
Fantastic 5
kennengelernt. Mit denen und mit Ed sind wir nach Puerto Viejo weiter nach Panama auf die Inselgruppe Bocas del Toro….naja sie sind ein paar Stunden vor uns gefahren und wir haben sie dort dann wiedergetroffen.
Die Ankunft in Panama war nicht sehr einladend weil wir an der Grenze ein Busticket kaufen musste das bestaetigt, dass wir wieder aus dem Land ausreisen….nur leider kann ich dieses Ticket um f***in 11 Dollar nicht gebrauchen!!!! Fuer den Typ hinterm Schalter schien es aber billig zu sein wie er immer wieder gesagt hat…..naja bin ja hier um Spass zu haben und nicht um mich zu aergern also war die ganze Sache schnell abgehackt.
In Bocas angekommen sind wir mit dem selben Wetter wie in Puerto Viejo konfrontiert gewesen nur hat der Koerper nicht die selbe Energie gehabt wie in Puerto Viejo weshalb wir hier nicht fort gegangen sind sonder um 10 ins Bett und um 11 wieder auf…..naechsten Tag. Nach 2 semi-geilen Tagen haben wir die Insel gewechselt und sind weiter auf Bastimientos….dort haben wir dann eigentlich wieder die Crew vom Rocking J´s getroffen also Ed, Sven und Katha. Vorher haben wir noch eine kleine Bootstour gemacht mit Delfinbay, Schnorcheln und einen Red-Frog Beach.
Vorher mit Haarpracht
Vorher mit Haarpracht
Die Delfin-Bucht war ein totaler Griff in den A weil dort haben ca. 10 Boote mit 50.000 Touristen auf 3 Delfinge gewartet. Sobald sich was geruehrt hat, hats ein Blitzlichtgewitter gegeben und Ahhh und Ohhhh laute und alle Boote haben sich 5 Meter vorwaerte bewegt. Schnorcheln hingegen war sehr fein!!! Sehr geile Korallenriffe und viele verschiedenste Fische. Der Strand war Medium….nicht aussergewoehnlich aber mit winzig kleinen roten Froeschen die ganz interessant waren.
Bastimientos, die Insel, ist der Karibikort schlechthin. Nur schwarze Rastas (ausser die Shopbesitzer die, wie es scheint, in Panama alle aus China sind) mit Reagge den ganzen Tag der von einen Haus auf einem Huegel gespielt wird und dort das ganze Dorf beschallt (das ca. so gross ist wie Adersdorf).
Am letzten Tag in Bocas haben wir nochmal die Insel gewechselt und sind auf eine kleine Insel in das Hostel Aqua Lounge. Dort gibts ein Trampolin im Meer, einen Meeres-Pool im Hostel (das ganze Hostel is ueberm Meer) und Schnorchelequipment zum Gratis ausleihen. Der Tag dort war sehr geil mit 30 grad im Schatten oder so. Da dort unser letzter Tag mit der ganzen Rasselbande war, sind wir dort nochmals fortgegangen und haben so RICHTIG auf dem Putz
Nachher mit Knackpracht
Nachher mit Knackpracht
gehauen…die Partynacht war wild. Angefangen hats mit 2 Liter Cola-Weiss aus einem Refresco-Plastikbeutel. Danach haben uns ich und der Max noch Russisch Tequila reingehauen. Wir waren in einen Club direkt am Meer und was macht man in so einen Club…..natuerlich baden gehen, rutschen und von anlegenden Booten springen!!!! Sehr, sehr witzig alles!!! Den Rest der Nacht haben wir getanzt und gefeiert wie Gott in Frankreich.
Nach dieser Nacht gings dann weiter nach David ins wohl schraegste Hostel bis jetzt: das Purple Haus – Nomen est Omen. Dort ist ALLES vom Taschenrechner, der Couch bis hin zum Spuelmittel Lila, alles ist von der Besitzerin fein beschriftet und wenn du sie was fraegst wird alles bis ins kleinste Detail beantwortet. Von dort aus haben wir eine Wandertour durch den Vulkan gemacht die sehr fein war. Haben auf den ganzen Weg niemand getroffen ausser ein Haufen Voegel. Nur am Schluss sind uns ein paar Ranger entgegengekommen die einen verschwundenen Japaner gesucht haben. Fuer uns waers auch schon fast zum suchen geworden weil wir kurz vom Weg abgekommen sind, haben aber gleich wieder nach 10 Minuten den richtigen gefunden.
In David hab ich mir einen neuen Haarschnitt zugelegt….einen Mega Vokuhila :)
Von dort aus
Iwok Markus im Dschungel
Iwok Markus im Dschungel
gings weiter nach Isla Boca Brava, kleine feine Insel auf ders genau 1 Hotel gibt. War alles etwas teuer dort mit Tours um 80 Dollar fuer 2 Personen. Wir haben zwar Zeit aber kein Geld und sind deshalb gleich wieder abgehaun. Der eine Nachmittag auf der Insel war trotzdem recht lustig … ich (Maxl) lag gerade am strand als ca. 8 Meter neben mir eine fette Kokosnuss von einer Palme fiel. Zuerst musste ich wieder daran denken wieviele Leute diese Dinger jaehrlich umbringen … es ist angeblich wahrscheinlicher dass man von einer Kokosnuss erschlagen wird als von einem Hai verspeisst zu werden. Aber wurscht, zweiter Gedanke: Die kann man trinken bzw. essen! Innerhalb weniger Minuten verwandelten wir uns in zwei instinktgetriebene “Wuede” (i hoff ma versteht des ohne ue-strichal) und machten uns daran die Kokosnuesse mit unseren Steinwerkzeugen aufzubrechen – mit Erfolg. Gierig tranken wir das Kokoswasser um anschliessend noch das Fruchtfleisch zu verzehren. Ja ja, wir haben ihn noch in uns … den Ueberlebensinstinkt … echte Maenner hoit!!!
Momentan sind wir, wie bereits erwaehnt in El Valle de Anton, eine sehr geile Huegellandschaft die vor 1000en Jahren mal ein Vulkan war. Hier werden wir wohl ein bisschen Wandern gehn
Dort oben auf da Oim
Dort oben auf da Oim
und danach weiter nach Panama City fahren wo wir dann hoechstwahrscheinlich eine Faehre nach Kolumbien nehmen.
Lassts euch gut gehn daheim, faehrst schonmal den Schnee ein und bauts ein paar Kicker sodass ich nur noch mein Board anschnallen muss wenn ich heimkomm (auf das freu ich mich schon!!!!)
Hasta luego Stuffo

http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Cocle/El-Valle-de-Anton/blog-457575.html

Filed Under Costa Rica, Panama

Bannana Brige

December 15, 2009 By DigaMe Leave a Comment

Isla Bastimentos variant spelling

A Banana Bridge forms the border between Costa Rica and Panama. For miles and miles on either side of the border there are vast banana plantations with blue plastic bags covering the bunches of bananas hanging on the trees to ensure that they reach our supermarkets in pristine condition. Going down to the border there are container depots everywhere including the Man from Delmonte – its the first real industrial area we have passed for weeks, everywhere else has been pristine, green tropical countryside and little villages.

The banana bridge is what it says – basically a bridge across the river to carry the train that carries the bananas. Being a railway bridge its got train tracks down the centre and a couple of planks on either side – well there are planks most of the way down, every now and then one has rotted away and there is a big hole instead. Its these planks you ride along sounding your horn to encourage pedestrians and bicycles to get out of the way – stopping on the bridge is tricky as the planks are raised up above the rails so when you try to put your feet down they just don’t reach the ground and you topple over. It seems odd really, given the Americanisation of Costa Rica the border is well and truly 3rd world with just two tiny huts at either end for formalities.

When we get into Panama we don’t really have a lot of time to see it. We have 1½ days to cover the 460 odd miles to Panama City as the bike is booked on a flight from Panama City to Bogota. This is due to the Darien Gap a 100 mile stretch of swampland between Panama and Colombia. There are no roads through the Darien Gap. Some adventurous soles have crossed it but it takes months using little local boats. And at the moment there is a lot of guerilla activity there so we have wimped out and taken the easy option of flying over it.

The countryside we do see is typically green and tropical and we have to cross the continental divide again going up and over the mountains from the north to the south – this means lots of twisty mountain roads that motorcyclists enjoy so much. The village houses here are mostly wooden huts with thatched roofs, all very smart looking and they seem much more at home in the jungle than the shabby concrete houses. As we came down from the mountains we ran into another tropical rainstorm with the typical torrential rain that turns the roads into rivers. We were approaching our overnight stop at David but the rain was so heavy we couldn’t even see the road signs let alone read them so we overshot the town and had to do our usual asking of locals for directions. Despite the heavy rain the locals are more than happy to stand there are give us directions – this has been true for the whole of Central America. In some places they just say follow me and go out of their way to lead you to your destination – they always seem so proud to be able to help you and take you where you want to go.

Rather bizarrely you have to ride north from David on the Pacific coast to get to Panama City (have a look at a map, Panama runs west to east rather then north to south like the picture I have in my head). It feels wrong to be complete with blue bags to make sure the bananas reach us in tip top condition
going north after all these weeks of constantly heading south. We were supposed to ride into Panama City (big place with lots of traffic) as a group following expedition leader Kevin who had been there several times before. We were at the back of the group when a lorry decided to execute a 15 point turn directly in front of us and go down the road in the opposite direction. When we eventually got past the lorry, and ensuing traffic chaos the other bikes were nowhere in sight and we were alone on the outskirts of Panama City. So we just trundled along following the directions; over the Bridge of the Americas with views of the sea front and ships queuing to go through the canal, along the waterfront with nice views of the city’s modern skyline, turn left up towards a big church, a few more turns along busy road, drive through the casino car park and arrive at hotel. Only when we got to the hotel there were no other bikes there – strange. The very excited bell boys assured us that we were in the right place and that they were expecting lots of bikes and the receptionist had a big list with our names on it. About 20 minutes later the others turned up – they had taken 2 wrong turns (due to new road layouts apparently) and taken the “scenic route” to the hotel. We felt rather proud of our navigation skills.

Edwin spends a whole day at the airport cargo terminal filling out forms and handing over dollars before finally waving goodbye to the bike. Hopefully we will see it again in a few days time in Bogota. Now we have 1 free days to explore Panama City. Although our site seeing was curtailed a bit by the death of ex-president Endara (the first president after Noreiga was ousted) as the whole country went into a day of mourning followed by a national holiday on the day of the funeral. Luckily this didn’t stop the wheels of international commerce from turning so we went off to see the Panama Canal. Its a well impressive engineering feat with 3 locks at either end raising and lowering ships 26 meters above sea level. Its amazing watching a fully laden container vessel being raised up in a lock just like a canal boat back home. The brain just cant quite get to grips with the scale. It takes the ships 10 hours to travel the 48 miles from the Pacific to the Caribbean and they pay around US$100,000 for the privilege but I suppose its a hell of a lot quicker and easier then going round Cape Horn..

After lunch, with the funeral over and road blocks gone, we were able to venture into Casco Viejo, the old city, with its old colonial buildings and lots of character. Its certainly a contrast to the new glitzy cosmopolitan areas that make the city so popular with European and US ex-pats looking for a warm and sunny retirement spot. The new part is totally different to any other city in Central America. With the new city come nice restaurants so off we go for a really nice Italian meal (we have survived on refried beans for the last few weeks so we don’t feel at all guilty that we are not eating local food) and some nice Italian wine. Only there’s a problem as its the day of the ex-president’s funeral you are not supposed to drink alcohol, the restaurant gets around this by serving the very you used to have to cross this but a 2 months ago they opened a brand new road bridge
nice wine in plastic cups!! A very central american solution.

http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Panama/Panama-City/blog-451170.html

Filed Under Costa Rica, Panama

Arrival from Costa Rica

December 15, 2009 By DigaMe Leave a Comment

Isla Bastimentos variant spelling

I had absolutely no idea what to expect from Panama City as coming to Panama at all on this part of the trip was a very spur of the moment decision. I arrived after a 15 hour night bus journey (surprisingly comfortable which it should be for 40 dollars!) into the biggest bus terminal I’ve ever seen! I couldn’t find any internet access and, as my guidebook is out of date, i went to the only hostel listed in there which turned out to be less than lovely. I was shoved into the corner of a huge dorm onto the lowest, most uncomfortably bunk bed ever and my request for a shower was met with the answer that that part of panama had no water due to ongoing worse so no shower was possible! You can imagine my response to that after a 15 hour bus journey! I was wondering what to do with myself when i got an online message from my friend Pablo (who i met at safe passage in Guatemala) saying he and Santo were in PC as well, so we arranged for me to go over and see them at their hostel and go out for dinner and drinks. As it turned out, there was a local music festival in the old town so we headed off there after dinner at a Chinese where the portions were huge and the prices were not! The festival was in a bit of a run down part of town but we were in a big group so it felt ok and not too scary. The act that was on when we got there was dire but the one that followed it was excellent and it finished by having loads of African style drummers on the stage, making everyone in the audience dance like loons!

When the music finally finished at one, everyone went home except me and the party hard south Americans Santi and Pablo and we heade doff to Calle Uraguay, the cities party heart. We arrived a at a very cool looking club which had a 20 dollar (?!!) over charge but the lady killing latinos managed to persuade some girls outside to give us their wrist bands so we were able to get in for free! We had a great night and danced away til 4 when i fell into my bed, exhausted.

The following day i changed hostels to the boys place and chilled out for the day. We decided that we were going to head out to the san blas islands together but the boys had to sort out shipping their car to Columbia forest which would take a few days. fortunately the hostel was fantastic so i didn’t mind sticking around. that night, at 1am when i was just falling asleep on the sofa, everyone decided to go out so we went to a little rhumba bar and danced again until 4am. The following day was a write off and all i wanted to do was sleep! (not a problem as w had 2 days of constant torrential rain anyway!)

On the fourth day in Panama i decided i had to actually leave the hostel as it was finally sunny so i headed out to the local low cost mall and somehow ended up buying 3 dresses i didn’t really need (they only cost 15 dollars all together so no budget loss!) and some other clothes. After that i took a cab to the old town and looked around for a few hours. It is a really beautiful area which juts out into the sea and you can sit on the high walls and look at all the ships in the distance queing to get into the canal- quite a sight. There are also some fantastic old buildings and quaint little parks and squares as wel as great surround views of the old side of the city contrasting to the skyscrapers in the distance marketing the banking district. Following a glass of wine in a lovely little square, i headed back to the hostel and got ready for another night out. We ended up playing drinking games with Tristan, a 19 year old English gap yearer, Zoe, another English girl and Victor, a Panamanian who works in the hostel. It was hilarious and we couldn’t stop laughing for hours! Following that, Pablo, Tristan and I headed out to a bar, only to be thrown out by a hugely arsey bouncer when i reacted in an annoyed fashion when someone knocked out table with 6 expensive drinks on it over and refused to apologize or accept responsibility! We were most unimpressed!!

I dragged my sorry self out of bed at mid day on y final day in the city and caught a taxi to the miraflores locks to see the famous canal in action. I was really excited at seeing the eighth modern wonder of the word and i wasn’t let down. The locks have a museum and cinema but the highlight was sitting on the viewing platform and seeing the ships come through. Here are some random facts about the canal that i learn from the commentary whilst watching. It is 80km long and takes the average ship 8-10 hours to get through. The average ship pays a a whopping 90,000 pounds to get through the canal but the highest payment was 369,000 pounds made by a huge ship in 2005! The biggest users of the canal are the Americans, Chinese, Koreans and Chilians.

It was an amazing sight to see these massive tankers and cargo holders come through as most of them barely cleared the sides by 2ft either way! The captains have to relinquish control of their ship during the time in the locks but i’m pretty sure most of them wouldn’t mind as i should imagine it is quite hairy at times to navigate! The water levels rise and fall so quickly to take the ships through the locks and it was really cool to watch the ships sink before my eyes onto to be raised up again after clearing the lcok gates. I was really glad to have had the opportunity to see it all in action and it definitely made the trip to PC worthwhile ( as well as all the partying and the cheap dresses!)

On my return, i learnt that the boys were offered a too good to miss opportunity to sail to Columbia the next day so wouldn’t be able to join me in san blas. Fortunately, Zoe and Tristan are also going t san blas so i know I’ m going to have an amazing time anyhow, I’m just sad not to have the boys with me.

http://realtravel.com/e-287831-panama_city_entry-party_hard_panama

Filed Under Costa Rica, Panama, Panama City

Tremendous Tortuguero

December 15, 2009 By DigaMe Leave a Comment

Isla Bastimentos variant spelling

Tup and I were picked up from our hostel and 9am and were taken of in a mini bus. It was rather cool being the only two passengers on the tour as we had loads of space and were able to take in the lovely scenery that unfolded pretty much as soon as we left San Jose. There are national parks all over costa rica and each seems as green and beautiful as the next. We stopped for breakfast and then continued down a very rough and bumpy road for a good two hours before arriving ata river where we were to take a boat to our wilderness lodge. I was in love with the area as soon as we got on the boat as it was so green and lush and we sighted so many birds as well as lazy crocs basking on the river banks.

I was further delighted when we got to our lodge- we were the only ones staying there and i got my own private room with the towel in the shape of a swan- posh hotel territory! The lodge was right on the river and had beautiful gardens full of butterflies (inclusing the blue morpho which is just amazing to watch) and trails to see nature firsthand. We headed out on the boat again and visited the Carribean Conservation society where we (and lots of college kids) watched a video to learn about the turtles that migrate to the beaches of Tortuguero every year. We then went for a stroll on those beaches (turtles only come out at night to lay eggs) and visited the tiny and very quaint town of Tortuguero itself. We then had dinner at the lodge and got taken on a night walk of the trails. we didn’t see any mammals but to my great delight we saw lots of tiny red poison dart frogs which were so intricately patterned. We also saw lots of sleeping butterflies and many many insects! We fell asleept the great noise of howler monkeys, something we saw plenty of, along with their spider moneky counterparts over the next day or two.

The following day we got up early and went for a boat ride through the national park. We saw so many birds, including the tiger heron and the toucan as well as monekys galore and an otter fishing away fairly near our boat. I could competely see why te are is called the mini amazon as it felt like a different world and i felt so lucky to be there and share it with all the animals. Sadly it started to rain heavily (quite the theme in costa rica!) so we chilled out for the earlyafternoon and then headed back to the national park to walk the trails later that day. I saw a HUGE turkey like bird and a large rabbit like mammal but overall not much that i hadn’t seen before.

That evening Tup and I decided that, even though it was very early in the season, we\d hire a guide and try and see turtles on the beach. It was quite the experience as we weren’t allowed any flashlights (they confuse the turtles) and i have NO night vision at all! I was literally stumbling along in the evening humidity, holding onto Tups rucksack and falling over everything! I think if there had been turtles i probably would have steppedin one! We walked at least 4km down the beach without success and then, on the last bit of the return journey, our guide spotted tracks. We were so happy until they stopped suddenly, indicating that the turtle had been there within the lst hour but had been taken and killed by poachers. This startling reality of life even in the protected national park was quite the eye opener for me and we felt really sad that these beautiful creatures are still being taken for their eggs and meat.

The next day was our last and i spent it chilling out before making the long journey back in the pouring rain. I had made the decision that i couldn’t possibly leave panama out of my trip so waited patietly for the 11pm bus from san jose at a lovely restaurant with a nice bottle of wine. Panama here I come!!!

http://realtravel.com/e-287538-tortuguero_national_park_entry-tremendous_tortuguero

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