My first birthday in Costa Rica was amazing. Even though I had to work, I had many birthday wishes from my fellow teachers and the staff at Máximo. I was excited for the weekend because my friend Lori was going with me to the Monteverde Cloud Forest, which I had never been too. She decided to rent a car, and the two TEFL trainers, Chelsea and Iani, decided to come with us.
Santa Elena is a cute little town nestled in the hills surrounding Monteverde. We actually didn't even make it into the cloud forest, so that means I have to go back! We did go on a night hike (where we saw a bunch of cool animals), a ziplining tour (that included ziplining, Superman, Tarzan swing, and rappel), and we briefly stopped at the cheese factory for some ice cream...and I bought a huge hunk of feta cheese, since it's so expensive in San José.
It was such a quick trip...I'm definitely looking forward to going back and seeing more of Monteverde soon!
Semana Santa in Latin America is one of the most important holidays of the entire year. Most businesses take at least two days off, and all the schools and universities have the whole week off! I had to renew my tourist visa, which expires every 90 days, so I decided to go with some of the teachers to Panama. I'd heard very good things about Bocas del Toro, which is an island chain about two hours from the Costa Rica-Panama border. It definitely didn't disappoint!
It was so great to have 5 days off and relax! We stayed on an island called Isla Bastimentos, which is separate from the town of Bocas del Toro...you have to take a water taxi to get to it. Isla Bastimentos is home to one of the most popular and famous beaches in all of Panama, called Red Frog Beach. It was a great place to suntan and drink the famous pipas...not so great to swim too far out though. There are a lot of riptides, and I actually got stuck in one!
The first day was rainy and cold...we walked to the beach in the rain and even went in the water, but everything stayed soaking wet, including our clothes and towels, so we just hung out at the hostel for the rest of the day. The next day, we decided to go into Bocas Town and have some lunch, as well as get money out from the ATM (Isla Bastimentos doesn't have anything, so you have to ride the water taxi in to even get out money!). We enjoyed a delicious seafood meal on the water, which was a luxury, as the fish in San José can be hit or miss (and even a little sketchy at times).
We also got to go on a tour to two of the other islands a little further away from the actual town of Bocas. It was still overcast and windy, so the waves were really choppy, but we got to go to Isla de Pájaros (Island of Birds). It was beautiful...unfortunately we couldn't snorkel because of the rough surf, and we couldn't get out of the boat because the small island is only home to birds.
After Isla de Pájaros, we went to Isla de Estrellas (Starfish Beach). By then, the sun had come out and we spent most of the day at this beach hanging out with a lot of starfish! I got to hold two before some men came by and yelled at us for holding them.
The last night, my friend (and fellow teacher) Sonia and one of her students, Valeria, went out for a few hours to a bar in Bocas Town called Barco Hundido (Sunken Ship). It was nice, out on the water, with peepholes where you could see lots of different fish swimming below.
Overall, I was sad to leave Bocas, and I would love to go back in the future! I would highly recommend Panama to anyone...I had a great experience. The culture is definitely different from Costa Rica. The people aren't as friendly initially, but once you get to know them, they love you! Everything costs a lot less here too. Even though Bocas del Toro is touristy, the prices of food and lodging are much more affordable than most places in Costa Rica.
