Bocas del Toro, a set of islands of the northwest coast of Panama and setting for a recent season of "Survivor", was our beach destination for Holy Week. We arrived to the shore at 5:30 am, took a quick boat ride to the town bearing the name of the islands and desperately searched for a hostel. Unfortunately, this place was like Bethlehem during the census: no place to stay. We managed to secure a triple room for five people at a fairly nice hostel the first night, but spent the next couple nights at a hole-in-the-wall place with hammocks and periodic running water. Luckily, the company was great and it only cost $5 per night. We befriended a couple of Catalonians and a Panamanian and managed to explain in Spanish the rules for the card games B.S. and King's Cup (aka Circle of Death). Needless to say, it was difficult.
The trip itself was nothing special, just a basic beach trip. Some pretty places and some not-quite-as-pretty-but-I-don't-care-because-it's-still-the-beach places. The area was kind of cool because it had a bunch of buildings jutting into the harbor supported by stilts. Here's an example.
As far as beaches, we visited Playa de las Estrellas, which featured an abundance of starfish; Zapatilla, an isolated and environmentally-protected island outlined by pristine white sand beaches; and Red Frog Beach, overrun by both tourists and strong waves. We also saw dolphins in the bay and boated through a giant mangrove "forest".
The day before Easter, we woke early with the Catalonians, who guided us back to the mainland and to our bus to San José. I returned sunburnt and exhausted, happy to return to Costa Rica. I'll leave you with some random facts/observations about the country of Panama:
-Panama uses the dollar as its currency. The only difference is that it also mints its own coins, called balboas. After three months using colones in Costa Rica, it felt weird using dollars again. I actually felt more comfortable using colones again once we returned across the border.
-Panama's Spanish is pretty close to what you learn in American Spanish class. Nothing really stood out in the accent, and, like Spain, they almost always used tú to address you (as opposed to usted and vos in Costa Rica). The only idiosyncracy I noticed there was that many Panamanians used a la orden to say "you're welcome", as opposed to the typical de nada or the Costa Rican con gusto.
-The country seemed to me very different than Costa Rica. Panama is basically a mix of Nicaragua and the U.S.: more typically Central American than Costa Rica (like Nicaragua in terms of appearance) but with many English speakers, American restaurants and the use of the dollar. After having traveled to both Nicaragua and Panama now, I realize how unique a country Costa Rica is even among its neighbors.
Only three weeks left in my program now that I'm back in San José! Upcoming post on my thoughts on returning. Until then!
Pura vida,
Eric
No comments:
Post a Comment