Reached Sixola and had to walk up a little road and across an old railway bridge with wooden planks over it to get into Panama. Got a shuttle bus to Bocas - a thrilling ride! Water was halfway up the hub of the bus, we had to drive on the sidewalk because the water on the road was too high and the rain was still lashing down! I don´t know how the driver seen out of that window! But he was zooming along! Had to cross another rickrty railway bridge to get to Bocas...

A long day of buses to get here. Were saying the day before how lovely it was travelling here as you see no other tourists on the buses - that changed on the way to Puerto Viejo! Lots of backpackers here! Town right by the sea. Reminds me of hippy Asian towns like Vang Vieng, but has lots of surfers. It rained and rained here. We explored the town in macs and pitched our tent on the top floor of a hostel! On the bright side, being stuck in the hostel lead to gre...

Had fun on our short visit to La Fortuna and met fun people! The town consists, basically, of shop after shop of tour centres and tourist souvenirs. All about the dollar here! We were here, like many, to see the volcano in action! Luckily, there was no cloud surrounding the volcano at night so we drove out lava spotting. At first, we only spotted tiny red lava sparks and I was severely disappointed. Then, we did see more lava come at once and tricke down the vol...

Our bus to San Jose was stopped at a randomn mountain stop, when a black jeep pulled up and we heard 2 loud bangs, like gun shots. I was ready to hide my goods and prepare for a hostage situation! The bus driver sped off with all the doors open... but it was ok, only fireworks being set off for a joke! San Jose is not really an enticing city - one day there was enough for us! Explored the cultural plaza and walked around some parks and shops... and were ready t...

Got a collectivo (open truck) to Matapalo. It was a bumpy ride, driving through 5 rivers and it had been raining heavily the night before! Upon arrival, we threw on our backpacks and went searching for a nice beach.We spotted a gorgeous, secluded beach and a local guy told us it was safe to camp there. So, we set up our tent and fell in love with our new home. Rainforest right down to the sand and rocky coves going out to the sea... and only us! The wildlife was...