Arrival

I retired to Portland because there are four seasons, but it never gets too hot or too cold.  The winters are usually in the 40’s with some rain, i.e. time to get out of town.  My trip to see the Mayan ruins last year was great and I looked forward to another trip to Central America.  I wanted to go to Nicaragua but it had become quite unstable in the past year. Costa Rica is the cheapest trip OAT offers and I had an almost $900 credit that I could use.  I decided to throw Panama in too, and found out I would be there for Carnival. 😉

The Alaska flight was uneventful, but longer than I would have expected, 10 hours with an hour layover in LA.  I stayed at the Hotel Kekoldi, a pleasant 3 star right in the heart of San Jose. I was beat when I got there and asked about a beer and they sent someone down the street to fetch a couple.  The room was large, very clean, and $63 a night. Breakfast, included, had loads of fresh fruit, eggs to order and great coffee, in a pleasant garden.

San Jose

Eric, the OAT guide, stopped by to welcome me to the country and gave me a map and a free ticket to the Gold Museum.  As I headed out walking, I passed a hardware store and picked up a roll of duct tape for the balky latch on my $600 German suitcase.  I bought it in Spain three years ago and have had the locks replaced every year since, arrrgh. At least it is covered by warranty. The Gold Museum is underground and operated by the national bank.  It has a stunning display of pre-columbian gold jewelry and artifacts. The workmanship was exquisite.

I was getting hungry so I walked down to Delfines con Amor, a local place specializing in ceviche.  I had the mixed shrimp and fish, fried plantains, and a watermelon refresco, $10. Right outside they were celebrating Chinese new year with a band and show.  I could see them setting up for a beauty contest, who knew there would be so many pretty Asian girls in San Jose? Well I did not come to Costa Rica for Asian culture, so I went on to the Jade Museum.  It has the largest collection of pre-columbian jade. Jade is not local so they traded for it and then carved it. Along with that they had an extensive collection of pre-columbian pottery. All in all it, was a world class exhibit.  I asked about a place for dinner at the hotel and they walked me a block and a half to Cafe de Amom. Beautiful place, great service, great cocktail and okay food.

Sunday was again sunny and bright.  Somehow I had left my hat, and my itinerary, on the table at home so I was on the lookout.  At a small souvenir shop I bought a hat with a big floppy brim embroidered with Costa Rica. I looked like a tourist, but I was a tourist, and it looked good on me, so what?  I stopped at a couple of parks and read a bit. I was feeling puny and thought maybe I was dehydrated. Eventually I made it to the National Museum. It was built into an old Spanish fort and very well done.  It traced Costa Rica from prehistory to the present day. The part about William Walker, an American, who wanted to turn Central America into a series of slave holding colonies was illuminating. Aftera few hours there, I stopped at Nuestra Tierra for lunch, whole fried fish stuffed with shrimp, yum yum.

Monday I felt punier and decided to start a course of antibiotics.  After packing my bags, I wandered down to the main square to watch the world go by.  I had lunch at Delfines con Amor, ceviche again. As I meandered down some side streets, I felt a small tug on my shoulder bag.  I stopped and looked down, the bag was partly unzipped, and two women in white tops went past. They stopped at the corner like they did not know which way to go.  I turned right, went half a block, jay walked across the street and stopped. Sure enough they had followed me down that street. When I held up my phone to photograph them, they left like a shot. I guess that is the downside of a floppy hat that screams tourist.

Eventually I found the National Park which is a beautiful urban oasis filled with families, lovers, and buskers.  I took a shady bench and read for a bit. Mid afternoon I went back to Hotel Kekoldi, picked up my bags, and got an uber to the Holiday Inn to join the group.  There was a mini mart across the street and I just grabbed a couple of beers and a sandwich for supper. Being puny while traveling sucks. At least the local beer, Imperial, is pretty tasty.

The Tour Starts

The group was 14 people, 5 couples plus 4 women, all retired.  A typical slice of white middle America. One woman, traveling alone, was 89 and said her great granddaughter was pregnant!  The day started out with a city tour; government buildings, monuments, yada yada. The highlight was a tour of the national theater.  A late 19th century gem that any European capital would be proud to have. Gorgeous woodwork, Carrara marble statuary, great acoustics.  Lunch, unfortunately was at Cafe de Amom; the worst rice and beans of the whole trip, meh chicken. After lunch there was a visit to ”Lifting Hands”, a place that helped poor and addicted people.

Interior

The next day we headed to the interior of the country.  We stopped at a coffee finca (farm) and after the obligatory tour of the fields,  drying beds and antique equipment, all run by Nicaraguan refugees, we got down to sampling.  They brewed coffee three different ways, french press, chemex, and using a special local pot. They take coffee brewing very seriously here.  I still like french press best but the local pot was a close second. The price was right, $10 a kilo, so I bought some. We had a lovely lunch with the farm family and headed down the road.  Our next stop was a flower farm. It had been abandoned by American Floral and the workers had used their severance pay to take it over. The growing process was quite interesting; in the nursery they keep it light 24 hours so the stock plants never bloom.  Since it was Valentine’s Day they gave each lady a bouquet with 30” stems. A little further down the road we passed a couple of really pretty waterfalls. When we stopped for pictures there were coatimundis everywhere. They are related to raccoons but look like a cross with a lemur very cute but still scavengers.

There was some issue with the lodge we were supposed to stay at so we checked into the Selva Verde eco resort, that was proud of not having hot water, HA.  My room was 20 feet from the highway and the big rigs rumbled by all night. Even though it was straight and level they hit the engine brakes and backfired by, sometimes adding a little air horn for a chorus.  The seat on the commode was broken and I almost sliced my butt. The bathroom door was wedged part way and would not open or close, fortunately I could slither around it to get in. They were full so I was stuck.  Then in the morning there was no water in the shower. The manager blamed it on the drought but the drought was only in my room. It may not have been the worst room in the world but it was a contender.

The next morning it was white water rafting.  I was sceptical but game as we trouped down to the river.  Five to a raft plus the guide. The water was quite low and the guide had to get out and drag the raft off the rocks a lot.  The rapids were more like ripples but we did manage to get soaked. They cut the trip short due to the low water and we went back for a nice lunch of tilapia and beer.  The afternoon was a trip to a pineapple finca. I was not expecting much but the owner could be on SNL, he was a riot. We trugged the fields and he cut up several, each sweeter than the last.  As he promised, we did get the best pineapple in the world, however, I don’t know how I will ever be able to settle for less so I may never eat pineapple again. He gets $.50 each and they go to Whole Foods where they sell for $8.

That night we went bats.  The local refuge had a program of capturing bats for research.  The decline of bats has serious consequences for crops and insect control.  Based on what they eat there are six kinds: insect eating (especially mosquitos), nectar (pollinators), fruit, carnivores, fish eaters, and blood suckers.  Some of the latter also run drug companies. I never thought much about bats but really enjoyed the program. They had four different species for us to touch and photograph before they released them.  As we checked out the next day I complained to the manager about all the problems until he wrote off the two drinks I had.

The next day started with a very nice walk in the rainforest of the Tirimbina preserve.  We saw lots of birds, iguanas and sloths. Sloths are just inert fur balls in the trees. Maybe they move at night, but never during the day.  The highlight for me was the really long suspension footbridge. After lunch we visited an indigenous woman. Costa Rica has more retired Americans than indigenous people, the country is mostly mestizos. Disease, slavery, and random killing has decimated the indigenous population.  This woman had the most beautiful red bronze skin color. We learned about her family and her life. I bought a carved coconut shell for my display. A stop at a local grocery store got me a sack of passion fruit, avocados, and mangos as well as a liter of Flor de Cana from Nicaragua, voted the best rum in the world three years in a row.

Chachagua

Chachagua is a five star eco resort listed in the book of “1000 places to see before you die.”  It was set in the rainforest with lots of trails and birds. The only off note were the peacocks?  What a change from the last pit. Day 9 was OAT’s signature event; “A Day in the Life” total immersion in the local culture.  We started at an elementary school that was actually nicer than the one I went to in the 50’s. The kids did the same folk dances I learned in elementary school.  After the morning at the school, we picked up some groceries and were dropped off at several different local houses. We fixed and ate lunch with a family and chatted with their kids.  This stuff doesn’t excite me but it does put things into perspective. We checked out a local cassava processing plant on the way back and were awed by the worker’s knife skills. Back at the resort, the guide and driver fixed boccas (like tapas) and we had 2 for 1 drinks.  A nice day.

Los Lagos

We started the day with a visit to an organic farm.  It was hot and I kept looking for shade and eventually saw the stump of a banana plant. Unfortunately banana plants are 90% water and when I sat on the stump it disintegrated leaving me on the ground in a pile of crumbs.  The most interesting thing was when they ran one stalk of sugar cane thru a hand press. They ran it thru six times and came out with two quarts of juice which was quite tasty though sweet.  The local moonshine was even better. We stopped in La Fortuna which was 100% tourist town and totally skippable. After that we went for a hike in Arenal National Park After about a mile we climbed an observation tower for a great view of the volcano and the largest lake in the country.  It used to empty into a river to Nicaragua but now runs thru turbines to the Pacific providing hydro power.

Los Lagos is a huge all inclusive resort with a myriad of volcanic hot pools which felt great after the hike.  The only minus was no WiFi in the rooms. In the morning we drove north and boarded a boat for a cruise on the Rio Frio.  It was a wonderful wildlife cruise with uncountable birds, howler monkeys, white faced monkeys, and spider monkeys. We saw a cayman and an emerald basilisk which ran across the water.  It is also called the Jesus Christ lizard because that is whet you exclaim when you see it running on top of the water. We snuck thru the fence to pose for pictures in Nicaragua. That night we could go to town for dinner or eat at the resort.  I did not like the tourist trap feel of the town and had low expectations for the resort, but the cassava croquettes and grilled octopus was the best meal of the trip so far.

The Highlands

Shortly after heading out for the northern highlands we stopped for coffee and horses at a small roadside cafe.  The coffee was excellent and Alex, an overweight but attractive caballero, showed off his horses. They were all rescue horses that he had treated himself.  When the music started, the horses could not stand still. They danced better than I do or at least kept better time. The performance was a walking horse type of show and a lot of fun.  He droned on a bit too long about the horses but it was a great stop. We stopped for lunch in Liberia (not the one in Africa) which was a hot dusty town with the ugliest cathedral I ever saw.  It’s only claim to fame is an international airport where most of the Europeans arrive. From there we climbed many, many kilometers up gravel roads to Bella Vista del Rincon, a working ranch – resort.  The rooms were nice but no AC and the food was only okay.

The next morning was horseback riding to a spa. A few people took the tractor but the ride was pleasant enough.  The spa featured a sauna, hot volcanic mud for a skin treatment, and a series of hot spring pools. It was okay. Only four of us rode back.  I always looked at horses as transportation and never rode just or the fun of it, but wanted to get to feel comfortable on a horse again and after an hour each way I did feel fine with it.  The afternoon had zip lining which I have tried a few times and found boring, There also was a canopy walk on suspended bridges, meh. The beef tenderloin for dinner was surprisingly well cooked but flavorless.

The Pacific Coast

We stopped to visit a fishing coop on the coast at Tarcoles and learned about how they negotiated a restricted zone for local fishermen and brought back the big shrimp that had been wiped out by the giant trawlers.  They actually make their own boats out of fiberglass by making a mold from an existing boat. Watching them prepare their nets and long lines reminded me how hard people have to work in much of the world. They get pretty good prices for the larger fish when they catch them.  We were treated to some great spanish mackerel ceviche. Our destination was another huge resort, Punta Leona. The power was out when we arrived but came back shortly. We walked down to the beach which was quite nice but hot as hades.

The next day the group was going to a famous beach.  Wait in line to get in, walk a mile in the sand, lay on a crowded beach, walk back.  I laid by the pool and caught up on my reading. That evening a few of us went into Jaco for dinner at la Ostera.  I had the tuna tartare and a whole grilled snapper; with drinks wine and some 23 year old rum it came to $61 but when they converted the currency and charged my card in dollars it came to $69.  I know better than to let them charge me in dollars, dumb!

The last day we went out on outrigger canoes.  It was way more fun than I expected. 45 minutes out swim, explore the beach, have a picnic, and 45 minutes back.  Just as we turned to paddle to the beach a school of sun runner fish breached. About three dozed silvery fish all in unison, neat.  I am finally getting my energy level back a bit. A farewell dinner, goodbye to the group, and I was ready for Panama.

Costa Rica Summary

Costa Rica is a relatively prosperous developing country.  They have two seasons rainy and less rainy. They gave up their army in 1949 so they could spend the money on education and health care.  They have gone thru several industries coffee, pineapple, outsourcing, all of which have moved on to lower cost markets. Agriculture is still a major part of the economy but is very focused on organic specialty items.  They have really embraced the green ideal. Eco tourism is a big part of their economy. They have more preserves and national parks for their size than just about anywhere. The entire country is very clean, safe, and friendly.  The country is so Americanized that it does not seem very foreign. The tour seemed to be more of a resort tour than an adventure tour but I felt that I did get a good feel for the history and the current state of affairs.

Panama

The flight to Panama City on Copa Airlines was orderly and they even still had free food and drinks.  Unfortunately security confiscated my roll of duct tape. We were only in the air for about an hour and there was an hour time change. Immigration included finger prints, photos, and showing that you had a reservation to leave.  I found the company that was supposed to give me free transport to the hotel and they said to wait 20 minutes. It was 40 before they put me on a mini bus that was past its useful life span.  The driver made a Chicago cabbie look timid. The Innfiniti Hotel (sic) was supposed to be 4 star but was a hair off. The facilities were ok but the WiFi came and went, mostly went. They did not have a concierge to help with tours so I was on my own, as usual.  They do have a gorgeous infinity pool and bar on the roof.

After a bit I was hungry and got an Uber to a well reviewed restaurant.  It was in the Casco Viejo, the old city. The streets were barely wide enough to get down, everything was under reconstruction, and there were loads of people out wandering.  Just as the driver pulled away I realized the place was closed. Next door was a place called Diabolicos, which had a floor show. The tout outside promised me good food. The decor was strange, the food was terrible, the music was painfully loud, the floor show was tacky, the bill was too much, and I enjoyed the whole thing immensely.  Later that night I had a bout of vertigo so bad I thought I would fall out of bed. That had never happened before and it must have been the bad food.

I woke up to the sun rise.  My room faced ESE and I was looking over the Pacific?  I had to look at a map to understand how Panama writhes like a snake and the Caribbean is actually NW of me, and I am as far east as Miami.  I went to breakfast at 9 and all the food was gone, more showed up in a bit. I took an Uber to Miraflores Locks and the canal visitors center. The Ubers are dirt cheap here and everywhere. The visitors center was interesting and I got there just as the last ship of the morning was clearing the locks.  The film was probably the least informative one I ever saw. After that I went back to the old town and visited the church of San Jose which has a huge gold altar which is the only artifact to survive the raid by the pirate Henry Morgan in 1671.  Lunch was late and at Nazca 21 a Peruvian place. The ceviche was to die for, the Peruvians always have the best ceviche. I wandered about the plaza a bit and then gave it up because of the heat.

Tuesday I decided was museum day.  I started at the Bio Museum designed by Frank Gehry, $18.  The structure looked like a jumble as one would expect from Gehry.  The inside was very well done but there was not a lot of it. Next I went to the contemporary art museum which featured only Panamanian artists.  The Uber driver kept driving in circles so I just walked the last two blocks. Admission was by donation and the quality was very good. The streets make it impossible to walk from one place to another, plus the heat and the ugly slums, made Uber very needed.  I had lunch at Tio Navaja (which was closed the first night) ceviche and some fried plantains topped with black beans and avocado, both were delicious. My last stop was the canal museum, $5. It was great, in an old restored mansion, right on the main square.  There were three floors and described all the attempts at a canal with a lot about about the French effort in the 19th century.

I always love a boat trip and Wednesday I took the fast ferry, $20 round trip, to Taboga Island.  20 kilometers off shore, only one street, beautiful beach, old church, home to the biggest colony of brown pelicans, and many fish stalls for lunch.  I mostly wandered around the village and read a bit. Lunch was garlic octopus, fried plantains, and beer, $15. As I ate, I watched the pelicans have lunch too.  They would wheel and soar and then suddenly fold their wings and hit the water, head, first with a big splash. Then they would pop back to the surface probably with a nice fish in their gullet.  When I got off the ferry back, Uber said no cars available, so I took a taxi. It was a wreck, the windshield looked like someone’s head had hit it and the whole car was filthy. I immediately put my seatbelt on.  I had to navigate and it cost almost twice what Uber did, just like in the states.

When in Panama you have to do the canal, so that was next on the agenda.  I took Uber to the same marina I left from the day before. The trip included breakfast and lunch but I passed on both.  The fare, $145, for a partial transit seemed high but there is the toll. The highest toll is $1.2 million for a ship with over 14,000 containers.  The lowest was 36 cents for a guy that swan it back in the 1920’s. We learned some fun facts, and went thru three locks lifting us 85 feel. Each lock takes 26 million gallons and fills in eight minutes.  The traffic goes north in the morning and south in the PM because they don’t want ships passing in the narrow parts. We got off at Gamboa where the Chagres river, the main water source, flows into lake Gatun.  My Uber driver back to the hotel, Daniel, also was a tour guide. I asked about what to do the next day and we came up with a plan. I needed a good dinner, so I dressed up a tad and went to Segundo Muelle. It was a modern place with mostly local patrons.  The wine list looked priccy until I realized they were bottle prices. I knew several of the wines and the whites topped out at $29! Ceviche, char grilled octopus, a bottle of Portuguese white, coffee and a nice tip; $67. I like it here.

My plan for the next day was a cruise on lake Gatun.  Daniel picked me up at 7:30 and we drove to Gamboa where a boat was waiting for us.  It had a huge outboard motor and we sped off toward monkey island. Along the way we spotted lots of birds and a tiny cayman.  The howler monkeys were singing their songs and munching leaves as we went by. Eventually we came upon some capuchin monkeys. With a little encouragement, they came down to the boat for bananas, they were almost tame.  We stopped at a few more families of capuchins and then looked for some tamarin monkeys. They are very shy and tiny, 8 to 29 ounces. It took Daniel a while to call them down, but eventually they came to the boat. At one point, four of them were eating out of my hand.  On the way back we passed a monster LNG ship. In total it was a delightful morning on the water. The next stopped sounded really cool, a cable suspended tram thru the rain forest. Unfortunately it was only a 10 minute ride and then we had to climb a 300 foot observation tower.  The view was good but the highlight was meeting a nice couple from Canada. On the way back we found many streets closed off for Carnival. I got Daniel to drop me close to the Mercado de Mariscos (main fish market). It is open 5-5 everyday and is surrounded by seafood restaurants.  I picked the first one and had ceviche, of course, and a monster bowl of clams in garlic sauce, maybe four dozen. With two beers it was $23. Since so many streets were closed, I decided to walk the ¾ mile bach to the hotel. The heat certainly hit me but many vendors let me sit for a minute.  Most of the activity was setting up booths. For a while I watched six guys try to set up a frame with a canvas top. It was hilarious but I figured advice from a gringa would not be appreciated.

Saturday the guide from Yala tours picked me up and we headed back to lake Gatun, again.  This time we (me and a couple from Toronto) got into a dugout canoe and motored about 30 minutes to an Embera village.  These indigenous people came from the Darien provence by the Colombia border. They are allowed to live in the national park by hosting these tourist events.  We had a session where they explained their culture and life style. They are and exceptionally attractive people. We then walked around the village and learned about some of the native plants.  The central hut is huge and has an opening at the top so there is always a natural draft. They have a one room elementary school but it is only in session during the rainy season, April thru December.  After our walk we had a dance demonstration and then they dragged us out to dance with them. Lunch was wild caught tilapia from the lake, caught that morning, and fried. It was absolutely the best tilapia ever, accompanied with fresh fruit.  Finally there was the shopping for handicrafts. That evening I tried Seven Seas for dinner. It looked like a 1970’s kind of place. Noone was there at 7 but it slowly filled up with locals. The service was perfunctory. The eggplant stuffed with lobster au gratin was amazing.  Their signature dish was a fish melange in a cream sauce, tasty but dated. I asked for the best Panama rum and it was called Abuela (grandmother), smooth and pleasant but not much complexity.

Sunday I decided to take it easy and maybe see Carnival.  I spent some computer time and dozed by the pool. In the late afternoon I tried to go to Carnaval but they said it was closed for a couple of hours.  About 5:30 I went back, all I took was some cash and my camera. They wanted to see my passport, they were checking everyone. A little begging and I got thru anyway.  I got some shrimp ceviche, yummy, beer was only $1.25, I tried a beef skewer but it was so tough I wound up pitching it. Just as it got dark, the parade started. The floats were nice and the music was up beat.  A small fireworks show ensued. The music and dancing lasted almost all night but I did not. It was a nice family oriented event but not very special.

Panama Summary

Like most central American countries, Panama’s history is intertwined with American intervention, starting with US backing of the separation from Colombia.  Since the canal was turned over to Panama in 1999, the economy has done very well. There is a large expat retirement community in the higher elevations. They have set aside numerous national parks and are working on developing an ecotourism business like Costa Rica, but they still need to learn to pick up their trash.  They use the dollar for currency but also mint their own coins which are used interchangeably. Panama City is awash in new high rise construction and as well as restoration of the old city. Money laundering is still big business. The seafood is excellent and ceviche is ubiquitous. There are 6000 Uber drivers in the city and rates are dirt cheap.  There are still a lot of slums but the country feels relatively safe. People are very friendly.