Left Panama City at 8 am, leaving our friend Carlos from Venezuela who has become a Panamanian, and all it costs is $2400 including the lawyers fee's. Venezuela makes the rest of Central America look like a safe place. He said it is so dangerous there for any one, in Caracas they average 65 murders on the weekend and told us never to go there. Will have to head to Columbia Falls then.
Headed for Port Chiriqui which is on the Atlantic Coast and basically a shithole. Was a great road through the mountains, especially if you were a good biker. When I arrived I realized we had to leave and head up to the next town at the border which was an hour an half away and arrived in the darkness of night for a change at Changuinola . Got another fine hotel and we're up early in the morning to get to the border. I had 3 cups of amazing coffee at the supermarket which was better than anything star backs makes .
and only 45 cents.
The border crossing is real tiny and was a breeze to cross only took an hour and fifteen and we were in Costa Rica on the Atlantic Ocean, I think.
This is the home of Chiquita Bananas ! Went to Port Viejo which is a tourist town with nice beaches and we drove to the end of the road where we parked off for awhile. I played some soccer with the kids on the beach and Tom patrolled town and charmed the ladies at his coffee café. I went for a quick swim and we then headed to Limon which is another huge port and then 107 km to the capital San Jose which took 3 hours cause there are just hundreds of lorries with containers heading back and forth, slow going . Found a hostal where we were the oldest guys there and a unisex dorm, why, why, why ? The bathroom was a dandy an architectural masterpiece worth the hefty price ! Hopefully when I get old I learn from this, but I doubt it. After the Quinta Real life will never be the same.............
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
1 day ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.