Elenka and I had initially gone to Bocas del Toro on Panama's Caribbean coast with the intention of seeking out real estate. But we didn't like the place at all and beat a hasty path for Costa Rica. There are three border crossing points at the Panama Costa Rica frontier. All have their own particular quirkiness to them. After passing through border control at the Caribbean point of entry you must walk across a railway trestle that's been converted to a narrow bridge for cars and trucks. Throughout your walk you have to slide in behind one of a number of designated wooden posts whenever a vehicle approaches. 

This was the first time we'd been to Costa Rica's Caribbean side and we chose the beach town of Cahuita. It turned out to be a very mellow way to spend the balance of our journey. Good food, good beach/jungle hiking and and very friendly people.


 Sales and Marketing:

An interesting tidbit came to mind at San Jose airport. A Costa Rican rum producer has taken a page from the French in the marketing of its spirit. The third week of November each year, the French flood the market with their not ready for consumption Nouveau Beaujolais. So popular is this Kool-Aid type beverage that in recent years they've been able to sell more than they are actually able to produce. To achieve this they have to bump up the sugar content to hasten the fermentation process. Anyway, the Costa Ricans are doing something quite similar. The most popular rum in Costa Rica is called Centenario. It's also their high-end rum. The makers of Centenario have now come out with a new light or white rum with a new fancy label. They are even so brazen as to use the words "young" "challenging" and a "daring experience" to describe it. All words that definitely do not come to mind when sipping a good rum. Straight from the stainless steel vat and into the bottle. And for this you even get to pay a premium price. If this works for the rum people I'm going to get their marketing department to help me out with my hammock sales.