Panama Part 1

So first I was really exited about Jay coming, and it was all I could think about. Then I literally ran out of excitement and also it was too physically unbearable to be that worked up about the future. And then: what if he decides not to come? What if I miss the bus? What if he misses the plane? What if the plane crashes and he dies and I feel guilty for the rest my life? What if he comes and we meet up just fine but we don't like each other any more and have a horrible time for two weeks?

As you guessed, none of these things happened. So far we have had a wonderful time. I have been incredibly remiss with my blogging efforts, so I will try to catch up the highlights.

Day 1

I wake up at 5am in San Pablo, and leave Turrubares forever. Now, I like to make changes resonant and emotionally weighty and feel moody and grave about things, and consider how they have changed me and how I feel being positioned between two worlds, etc, but actually none of this interested me. My attitude was very clearly one of good riddance.

I got to San Jose and found the hostel, which was a new one. See, before I had stayed at Pangea, which is a great hostel but only if you like dance beats everywhere, all the time. When Jill recommened a great article about hostels in the Tico Times, I found the Molino Rojo. Our rooms was...very red. Actually I have never been in a redder room. And neither has Jack Nicholson.

It was raining in the morning, which freaked me out a little bit, because it isn't supposed to rain in Costa Rica in March and it's definitely not supposed to be raining when I pick up Jay. This is a disaster I hadn't even remembered to worry about.

I had some churros for breakfast, and then I SOLD 3 BOOKS. This is always difficult. But to make it easier, the lady would only give me store credit, and so there was little I could do to prevent me from buying 2 new books: Quartet, by Jean Rhys, and City of Thieves, by some guy. It felt like heaven to buy new books. 7th Street Books in San Jose has the best selection. Really really cosmopolitan. So of course it took me at least an hour to pick out the books.

Then I went to a piercing parlour and had my nose ring put back in. And then I went to a cafe and read, and bought some very bad hash browns.

It took me a little bit of searching to find the right bus, but I did find it. I was frustrated because it looked like I was going to get to the airport really early, and have to wait for Jay for 1 to 3 hours, and waiting for people makes me self-conscious. Luckily, I made friends with this cool couple who were traveling around the world teaching chakra hoolah hooping workshops. I think I am going to have to start dressing more like the kind of people I like. I obviously dress too normal because I don't think you could pick me out of crowd the way I picked these people out. I could see, by their loose, hemp clothes and long hair and artistic body jewelry that they were my people.

The second good thing that happened was that Jay made it through customs and baggage wicked fast. His luggage was embarassingly light compared to my pack. I had gotten rid of so many things, and still it was so huge.

The rest of the day I spent being extremely shy and nervous and giddy. Then we went out for very bad Italian food and were asleep by 9 oclock.

Day 2

We woke up early to catch the bus to Panama. Then we got horribly horribly lost and I asked directions at least 5 times, and when we caved to find a taxi the taxi driver drove us all the way across the city to somewhere I totally didn't recognize. What upset me about this was that it was exaclty the right place, and there is no way we ever could have found it without the ride.

We missed the earlier bus so we had to wait until 11. Then we were on a bus for 6 hours which was too long. Even though Jay was willing to quiz me on Spanish flashcards for a long time.

We got to the border after dark. It was very hot and rainy and my bag was heavy and I was sweaty. We stood in the line to get our exit stamps from CR. Then we had to wait in another, even longer line to get our entry stamps for Panama. After at least 45 minutes of waiting it was our turn, and the man said, where is your onward ticket. Well, I don't have one. You need one. Well, I don't know my plans yet. It doesn't matter. You must buy a bus ticket.

I had heard about this. Because theoretically you can't enter Costa Rica or Nicaragua without a return ticket either, but those countries do not take this rule seriously enough to put it into practice.

I was very hot and tired and frustrated from a very long day. And now someone IN CHARGE was trying to TAKE ADVANTAGE of me by making me pay 38 dollars for a ticket I didn't want. This activated my "Someone is telling me what to do" sensor. So, I got upset. I informed the personel that it was not fair and I did not want a ticket. At one point the man told me to go speak to some bus boy who speaks English, and then I really got upset, because on top of being told what to do I was being INSULTED. I told the man that I speak Spanish and understand every word he is saying but that it was not fair. There are many times when I do not understand anything someone says to me in Spanish but this was not one of those times. And you have to understand that Costa Ricans are the most nonconfrontational people on earth, and I was picking a fight. At one point I almost burst into tears, but I told Jay that I needed a moment, which he respected, and I closed my eyes and breathed and centered and did not have a meltdown. We finally bought our tickets and got through the border just in time to catch the last bus to David. I of course felt horrible the entire bus ride because I had been childish at the border and my plan had been to be on my best behavior in front of Jay. It's just that when I feel like I am being taken advantage of I feel like I have to defend myself. But there are some times when I need to just be graceful and recognize that fighting will not get me anywhere.

We got to David so late, that we missed the last bus to Boquete, where we had made a reservation for the night from a bus stop pay phone. So we took a taxi there, even though it was expensive. The taxi got lost and couldn't find our hostel for a while, but then finally managed to drop us off. Then he left us in front of a hostal that was... locked and closed for the night! We tried knocking. We tried walking around to different entrances. No one. So we walked to the supermarket and called from a pay phone. No answer. I bought a Milky Way and a package of blueberry fig newtons as a consolation prize, then asked the cashier for a hostel recommendation. Across the park. We stumbled over to Mamallena, where the lights were still on and the door was still open. Do you have any private doubles? Actually, do you have ANYTHING? Luckily, they did, even though it was bunks in dorms. But the hostel was great, laid back, lots of young people to talk to. And a hot shower to take.

So, a good ending to the most frustrating day ever.

Day 3

ok, so now it is like 2 weeks later when i am writing this and there is no way i remember all the action blow for blow, day by day. in fact, i was so overwhelmed by how behind i was that i declared to jay that i was going to abandon blogging altogether. because he is magnificent in every way (joke. sort of.) he convinced me to do what i could. thus, the highlights.

Coffee Plantation Tour in Boquete

This was jay's thing, that he wanted to do, because after all when one has harvested coffee for over a week by hand, oneself, in the mountains of ecuador, you don't need to pay someone to tell you how it's done. How wrong I was. First of all, there were pine trees, which i honestly would have paid to see, all on their own. Boquete is at elevation and being out of a tropical climate was exhilarating. I learned a lot more about coffee than my ecuadorian host parents had ever been able to tell me because they were the kind of people who were averse to answering any questions whatsoever. Also Don Tito had used old car parts to build all of his machines, which was very cool. And we got to taste and make different roasts, and really it was just so interactive and fun.

We loved Boquete. It was for sure our favorite place in Panama. The temperature was comfortable, I got to wear my hat at night, there were hot water showers, and our hostel was fantastic.

Rugged Outdoors Adventure in Boquete

My thing was that i wanted to go to a waterfall. Actually, as many as possible. So there was a trail, and we went, but very late. Jay and I had a problem with getting out early in the day. You might assume this is a euphemism for, Jay and I could never stop cuddling in the morning and we stayed in bed most of the time. You would be wrong. While I can cuddle until I starve to death, Jay is a person who likes to DO things, which is one of the reasons we are a good team. Another is because I like him so much that I don't get really mad when he takes it upon himself to be my human alarm clock. I don't think he appreciates how special and unique this makes him.

Anyway the reason we had trouble getting out was because we had made no plans ahead of time. This includes hostel bookings.

Normally, this is fine. But when you decide to visit a country during THE BIGGEST PARTY OF THE YEAR, that is happening even though you had no idea it was happening, finding good lodging is an olympic challenge. It just so happened that it was Carnival. Add to that your own internal lack of itinerary, mix in some no habla ingles reception desks, and you have the entire morning.

So what I am getting at is that it was very late and so the sun was going to set and it was going to get cold. Swimming in the waterfall was not really that appealing. But we kept hiking. And then we saw a trail that was thin and dissapeared up the side of the bamboo covered mountain. Look, a trail! I said. I love little trails that I don't know where they go. And Jay said, let's follow it!

We climbed that mountain on a tenuous zig zag for probably 45 minutes. It was exquisitly beautiful. And when we got to the top we ate dates and brie on bread.

We walked part of the way back in the oncoming dark with two lovely kids who we met waiting for the bus. We didn't know if the bus was coming, although they assured us it was. We asked them how far it was to walk to Boquete. Oh, far, they said. That's Latin American specifics for you. How many hours do you think it would take? Oh, six?

Luckily, the bus came.


Before I get any further on what we did, I want to say what things were like. First of all, Jay and I got along just absolutely famously. This has been the case ever since we met, after we got over the awkward hump of being on a fairly blind date. He was an ideal travel companion: enthusiastic, curious, laid back, accomodating, funny, and real nice to look at. We were sort of 'that' couple, you know, the ones with stars in their eyes who are nauseatingly attentive, affectionate, and adorable. I never stopped feeling super grateful that he was there with me, that he not only tolerated me but continued to like me, and that he treated me better than I ever could have asked for. We had some really great, interesting conversations. They ranged from what happens when we die to what would happen if one of a pair of inseperable siamese twins committed a murder, how would you deal with jail because the other one had been tied and gagged and so it wasn't his fault? (Ok, I came up with that one. Also, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section)

Then there was panama. I didn't think much of it, after all, its name is sort of boring and i had never heard to much about travel there. But i LOVED it. It was amazing, really, because it is a more wealthy and developed nation than Costa Rica. This means that things were by and large comfortable, convenient, safe and user friendly. However, it had so much more culture and personality than Costa Rica, or even, dare I say, Nicaragua. There were indigenous women still wearing gorgeous traditional clothes, selling hand made tapestries. There were things for sale in gift shops that were way cooler than shot glasses that said the country's name. There was a feeling that this country had figured itself out and even adjusted pretty well to the 21st century. I would highly recommend travel in Panama, and I would love to go back.

Geisha Coffee

Is famous. It won a lot of awards. And Boquete is famous for cultivating it. As with all nice things, it is mostly an export good, and so there is only one cafe in town that sells it. Jay and I totally went because he loves coffee and i love nice things. We paid 9 dollars for 10 oz of this majestic coffee.

And I did not like it. Because what 'citrus notes' and 'fruity body' and 'sparkly' actually translate to is, this coffee is unbearably tangy and doesn't really taste like coffee. Banana bread and teaching Jay Rummy 500, which he procedude to woop my ass in for the rest of the trip, totally made up for the dissapointment, though. And anyway, I suppose its better that I like the cheaper stuff.

*Ok, so I am currently on Ometepe. Jay has gone home. I am leaving on a bus quite soon. So I am going to publish this post as is, and hopefully I will finish with the rest of the trip soonish. Where I am moving has very bad internet, so it may be a little while. Jay, please feel free to add any of your own anecdotes or corrections for Boquete and San Jose number 1 in the comments section*