Panama!

First Caribbean impressions in Bocas del Toro, Panama! It is beatiful! Bocas is an archipelago on the western end of Panama, close to the boarder to Costa Rica. Beatiful beaches, a great diving destination, good surf when the saison is right and a nice place to learn a proper backflip.

Postcarad-Caribbean at Redfrog Beach on Isla de Bastimentos!

The swell season usually starts in december and so we were lucky to get some waves. We surfed at Caraneros, a spot with a lot of Indonesia-atmosphere! A boat takes you to the reefbreak, crystal clear water which results in nice see-through waves and a good view on the reef only a couple of feet below...

No worries, just a dolphin!

In contrary to the photos above it also rained a lot in Bocas. A good game of leaf-poker can bring you through a rainy afternoon and maybe the whole night. Leaf = 50, toiletpaper balls = 100, 5 dollars buy-in, let´s roll!

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Panama City! The Miami of Central America. 

Of course we visited the locks of Miraflores at the Panama Canal and got to see a couple of huge ships. 

77km long and constructed between 1904 and 1914 the Panama Canal replaces a long route around Cape Horn. It´s considered one of the most difficult engineerng projects ever, the French had to give up their attempt started in 1880 and in total around 30.000 workers died during construction. The passing of the canal costs up to 300.000$

The skyline of Panama City. It´s raining a lot and we´re waiting for a boat to Colombia. Unfortunately there´s a storm in the Caribbean, telephone lines are down, roads are blocked and no one knows when boats are leaving.

Casco Viejo with a touch of modern art...*

*this comment was contributed by Laura Soizig Langlois

The Museum of Contemporary Arts.

This is not the cleaning girl, it´s still the Museum of Contemporary Arts.

One night on the Partybus! 15dollars for entry, free alcoholic drinks. It was devastating...

Hey fellows!

Stuck in Panama. Worse things can happen in life. While I´m finishing this blog I have already reached Colombia and it has been quite an adventure to get here. More about camping on deserted islands in my next entry! Cheers!

Costa Rica!

Bienvenido Costa Rica! After a grand time on Isla de Ometepe we left Nicaragua and proceeded to the Peninsula of Nicoya in Costa Rica in search of more good times and good surf!

Probably one of the most beatiful sceneries on my trip I witnessed on the ferryride from Puntarenas to Paquera. The sun was setting and we just came in time for the last ferry of the day. Beforehand Tino had forgotten his guitar on the public bus and had to chase it down with a taxi, an obscure moment that resolved smoothely thanks to his emedeate reaction. Got the guitar back, made it to the ferry, everything good. So as Sarah, Dave Tino and I sat there on the upper deck of the ferry, watching the sun go down over the peninsula, turning the beautifully calm sea into a gigantic mirror we saw a group of dolphins jump out of the water in the distance. A pure moment of live, no longings, no thoughts, just watching, enjoying that present moment, what better can it get?



We made it to an Israeli-owned hostal in Santa Teresa that same night and got some sick waves the next day and throughout the week! I can tell you the surf in Santa Teresa was awesome! Our timing was good as always, the week before it had been raining hard, causing landslides and blocking roads. When we arrived it was already over and everythang had been cleaned up. Besides people told us there haven't been any proper waves in ages. Oh well... Thank you Sarah for taking this picture on a peculiarly good day! Nothing beets the feeling of the moment, but good memories  always put a smile on your face!



We stayed in that hostal for a couple of days and then finally fulfilled our wish of moving into a proper house. This is Magnus  from Sweden, enjoying the hammock on the first floor! Once lying in the most popular spot of the house, you won't give it up too quick...



Since Costa Rica is kind of expensive we did a lot of cooking ourselves. We reached the zenith that one night when Tino and I prepared the famouse traditional dish called SPATZLN! Don't worry, we didn't make them in the wok, that's just the onions...



A good meal with good friends! Sarah and Dave from Canada, Magnus from Sweden and Tom from New Zealand.

Near the village of Montezuma you can find some nice waterfalls, definately worth a daytrip!

Watching a waterfall get's boring after a couple of minutes, so we got creative...

It was actually kind of high!

After almost two weeks we left Santa Teresa and headed twoards Panama. On our way we stopped by a place called Monteverde. It's up in the mountains of Costa Rica on about 1400m sea level and you can still see the Golf of Nicoya from there. It's well known for  ziplining and night-tours in the jungle. You can see a zipline here, the end of the cable is on top of the hill on the other side of the valley. Link on to the cable and enjoy the 'flight'!

The tour is as touristy as it ever get's but nevertheless a lot of fun!

Nothing to add...



After the thrill of ziplining we did the nighthike, which promises sights of the many residents of the jungle. Armadillos, Raccoons, Owls, a big variety of insects and the infamous Sloth presented itself to our flashlight beams!



The sight of the Tarantula made my day! From time to time you see some big spiders in Central America, I definately prefer seeing them in their natural enviroment over encountering a Tarantula on the toilet wall...

So that was Costa Rica! I never planned to stay as long due to it's reputation of beeing americanized and expensive. Depending where you go, Costa can be a touristy place but Santa Teresa is pretty much off the shot and having good friends makes kind of every spot a good place to hang out! Next stop will be Bocas del Toro in Panama. The swellforecast predicts some waves in the Carribean, so we're going for it!

Nicaragua!

A warm welcome was awaiting Tino and me in Nicaragua! A hot Halloween-Party with the hot people we met up in San Pedro, Guatemala. It wasn't exactely a planned meeting, we just ran into each other in the streets of  San Juan del Sur. A common phenomenon here in Central America; you meet the same people on different occasions due to similar travelling routes, which can lead to drinking more than one beer on the same occasion.

Getting from A to B can be an exhilarating experience in Nica and is definately a big part of the travel adventure here. In order to get from El Salvador down to San Juna del Sur we took a pickup truck to the border, went through Honduras with a shuttle, crossed the border to Nica on rickshaws, took a chickenbus and a shuttle to Managua, a chickenbus to Rivas and a 2nd Class bus to San Juan del Sur. We made it in one day and on no other occasion could you buy the same experience for 25dollars...
On the picture above we are discussing the possibility of fitting seven people with backpacks and surfboards into this car. A local taxidriver saw a lot of money in us, we just didn't see it happening and finally a second taxi could be oraganized.

On the way to Popoyo we passed this oxcart in our two taxis. A common sight here, people collect burningwood from the beach and transport it with the help of these impressive animals.



Popoyo is a gathering of a couple of restaurants and hostels on the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua. Mainly known to surfers for it's quality beachbreaks and all-year offshore winds, created by the great Lake of Nicaragua. If you don't surf, there's not much to attract you there, except for a desire to escape zivilisation and society for the time of your stay. It might take you a day of traveling to cover a distance of 30km to get there. Talking of bad roads...

Our desire of course was pointed twoards surfing 'till the break of dawn every sinlge day.

Ometepe is a magical little island in the great Lake of Nicaragua, featuring two volcanos and lots of beatiful nature.

 

And a good way to get around is by hiring a proper motorbike.

Free as a bird. Going down the line on the Northern Islands paved roads.

Sometimes words just can't express a bikers true feelings. Alan reveals his deepest soul in a single and simple gesture!

The Crew. Bike Gangsters of Ometepe.

The mission starts on the South Island were paved roads are non existent and rising levels of the lake sometimes make passages a little bit sketchy.

Having mastered two hours of steep mountain dirttracks nobody was up for turning around and going back. Not even at the sight of hip-deep flooded roads.

Heimhuber once again makes it look so easy!

Made it! Rewarded with an unforgettable day on the Isla de Ometepe I close my blog entry. Next station Costa Rica!

El Salvador!

Hello! I reached El Salvador and experienced great coastlines, friendly people and the best surf! The reputation for beeing a dangerous country, full of robbers, highjackers and gang violence caused second thoughts about coming here when I was back in Guatemala. Fortunately it turned out that reality doesn´t meet up with the rumors and safety was never an issue, so far. Surely, beeing out in San Salvador at night or walking beaches alone after sunset asks for trouble, but that wasn´t a good option neither in Mexico nor in Guatemala... Around Central America one developes a feeling for safe and less safe places and we never had a bad feeling ´round El Tunco or Las Flores.

Here´s little Jefferson, rockin´on Tino´s guitar at Playa Las Flores near San Miguel. In the background Kane from New Zealand with he´s self-painted board!



My first stop was Playa El Tunco, close to La Liberdad. I experienced a warm welcome by Tino, my surf-buddy with whom I had already surfed Zipacate! Together with him, Noel from Canada and Daniel from Sweden it was big-time-surfing from the first minute! This is the place we stayed at, the casa McCoy, living together with the locals who own it. 5 Dollars per night were affordable and we cooked most of our meals ourselves.

That´s the boys!

There´s a good surfspot right in front of El Tunco called Sunzal, but the really good spots are Cocal and Km59. To get there you either ride the chicken bus or you get yourself a car. We thought a proper truck would do the trick too.

That´s the crew! From left to right Noel from Canada, always motivated, always pushing hard. Tino from Bavaria,  always chilled, always fun when he´s around and therefor my constant travelmate. And Daniel, the swedish ripper, always ten points for style.

Sunset in El Tunco. I never was a big fan of Yoga, nevertheless Noel headed us to one, sometimes two Yoga sessions a day. I definately changed my mind, stretching your entire body and focusing your mind in a 30-40min session is one of the best things you can do after a day of surfing. Definately a valuable experience on this trip!

After two weeks in El Tunco we decided to proceed to Playa Las Flores and had no regrets so far. The bay is small and peaceful, the living is very basic and the wave breakes just out the front door. No need for a car, no need for electronic devices of any kind. Just a hammock and a surfboard! The closest town is El Cuco, a ten minute walk across the beach, but only accessable on low tide. The perfect setting for reading Eckhart Tolles ´The Power of Now´ ISBN 978-3-89901-301-6. Go ahead and have a read, you might like it.

I don´t want to bore you with sunset pictures, so this is the sun rising at 5:15 at Las Flores. If you see the scenery in real live it means you´re all set to have an awesome surf-session, no wind and just a couple of blokes in the water!

We met this little fella´ in El Cuco at the best place to eat around.

And finally little Jefferson was rewarded for his playing skills, impressing all the local chicas! Que hombre!

El Salvador has been a great experience, if the waves stay as they are now, we might just stay a little longer. Next stop is Nicaragua, I´m already a bit late on my scedule, but don´t feel the need to push myself to any stress. Colombia and Perú can wait for now. See you in a bit!
Harry