Day 53, Panama City beginning of Carnaval

Today we are just hanging around. Jerry and Al are going to go with a Taxi to get the oil changed and the valve stem fixed on a tire. Carnaval starts today and goes until Monday or Tuesday. Tomarrow we travel the canal on a tour boat. Carol

Day 52, Panama City to Colon on Railroad

Spanish Fort about 30 km outside Colon. Colon was the dirtest city we have ever seen. Kinda scary too! Rode the train to Colon and took the air conditioned bus back to Panama city. Carol

View of carribean ocean at Spanish Fort. Took us an hour by train to go from the Pacific to Carribean ocean.  Carol

Day 51, Balboa Yacht Club, Panama City, Panama

Cannot believe it, we made it! Tomarrow we ride the railroad to Colon along the canal. Friday maybe go downtown for Carnival, like New Orleans. Saturday is our canal trip.

Day 50, Las Lagas to Santa Clara beach

This is the worst road we have found so far, there where some holes that a volkswagon would have disapeared in. So cracked and rough we could not believe it. Pan American Highway in all its glory. Carol
Beach at Santa Clara, guard locked us in that night and promised to be back at 6am. As it got dark, a guy came by missing his wallet from that afternoon. Then awhile later in the dark, another guy wanted us to open the gate for his cattle! We could not, no key. The next morning no guard! We waited until 8:30 before he came along. Next time no money until the next morning if they are locking the gate! Carol

Day 48,& 49 Las Lagas, Panama

Beautiful beach!

It's a rough life!

Day 47 Boquette

Campsite at Pension Togas front yard. Carol









v

Day46, Neily to Boquette, Panama

WE MADE IT TO PANAMA ALIVE!  This picture is on way to Boquete, Volcan Baru, about 1 hour after border crossing.
Easy border crossing for the people, maybe 30 minutes, for the dog a full two hours. Guide didn't seem to know which step went first, so some office backtracking. Three offices and a bank and the officials in parting told us Molly was now not US, but a Panamanian! Cost $130 to the bank, $6 to Quarantine, $10 for the actual Aduana(customs)and Veterinarian. The last "doctor" actual looked at her and completed a form also. Now in Boquete. Carol

Day 45, at Nealy in Hotel

Drove to near Panama border today. Going to get up early to cross the border into Panama. Wish us luck, it is supposed to be the hardest crossing yet. We are trying to beat the heat by going early. Has been between 90 and 100 degrees for Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Carol
Al's picture of the Crocodile from OSA penensula, evening before we left our host at Puerto Jimenez took us out just after sunset to show these "pets" to us. Carol

Day 44, Sightseeing in the Jungle

Took a tour of the jungle and saw Blue Morph Butterfly's, several birds, a sloth, and these little guys!
Great day. Carol

Day 43, Penensula Osa

The guys are off in a Lunchera ( ponga or small boat) fishing today. We are close to the world famous Crocodile Bay fishing excursions. Something like $10,000 per person to fish for a few days. Crazy!
Ermila and I walked up town to drop off laundry, and to look for a place to fill our propane bottles. Turns out that they only exchange around here, and the nearest plant to fill is in the middle of the country near San Jose. I knew there was one there, but must have missed that that was it. Should have gone out of our way for it. Al and Ermela had a back up, and are on it, but I talked Jerry out of bringing the little 2 gallon tank. Woops! We are on electric right now, so the problem is delayed awhile.
I was thinking last night we have had the most interesting noises at our campsites (not to be mistaken with campgrounds). Last night we had airplanes until like 7pm, we are at the end of a runway near the beach. This morning the Macaws are arguing like an old couples. They are in the trees everywhere.
Before this we had Mexican music until  2am, trucks crossing the highway bridge with a bang, barking dogs at one spot, Roosters that don't know its' 2:30AM, and Howler monkeys that sound like a scary jungle movie! Just  a little of everything, tis a miracle we have gotten much sleep.  Carol

Day 42, Found Pto Juamenez on OSA Penensula

Crockodile Bay, expensive fishing outfit. We are camped behind Restaurant Delfines.
Good road from Cocos to here. Carol

Day 41, Canas to Dominical, Costa Rica

Found a great site at the near the beach, El Coco Restaurant & Bar. Carol

Day 40, Trip to Arenal Volcano Tram & Butterfly's, Costa Rica

We left Canas with Norberto our driver, of Tenorio Adventure and Tenorio Adventure Zone Restaruant. We drove around Arenal Lake and it took 2 hours to arrive. Our driver gave us detail about all the thermo/wind/electricity generation for all this area. This is a very clean tropical area. We climbed to the top of the volcano and took the sky tram to the top. Our tour guide, Miguel, was very knowledgeable regarding the rain forest and plant life of this area. We truly enjoyed watching all those young crazy people take the zip (canopy) line all the way to the bottom. Although, they do give lessons and a practice platform where individuals who decided not pursue the outcome  of the total zip experience can change their mind, and some rode down with us on the tram. We're thinking how can you enjoy such an adventure when you're screaming your lungs out with your eyes shut! Ermila

Day 39, Hostel to Canas, Costa Rica

Volcanos in distance on way to Canas. We drove to Jojoba Beach which was very beautiful. There was only a few people on the playa. The sand was white and beach very inviting. Prior to arriving at this point we passed the Jojoba Police Station and we were stopped. The police very kindly asked me if we were smokers since they've had fires in the past. He kindly asked if we participated in drug use. I said of course not but we do like our beer. He stated then he wouldn't mind joining us on the beach since that's his favorite drink. Costa Rica does not have a military presence but the federal, state and municipal police are very alert to surroundings and transporting of illicit drugs from the southern countries to the northern countries. We told him we didn't mind his searching our vehilces since we had nothing to hide. He was very pleasant and told us to enjoy ourselves and he hoped we enjoyed all of Costa Rica because it's a beautiful country. Ermila

Day 38, Border crosing into Costa Rica to somewhere East of La Cruz

Fording a creek after discovering no dogs at Santa Rosa National park. We finally wandered onto a Hostel about 5pm who would let us camp. Short walk down to the beach. Too tired to check it out. Took from 10:30 am to 2 pm to get out of Nicaragua and into Costa Rica. Dog was easy this time, one stamp did it. Took 30 minutes last time. Very hot, in the 90 degree range all day. Very disappointed we could not camp at the beach with the dog in the park. Jerry said it was not that nice anyway! So there. Carol

Day 37,San Juan de Sur, Nicaragua

Sunset over cruise ship at San Juan de Sur.  Spent the day trying to find the crew filming "Survivor Nicaragua". Evidently they film near Hermosa beach south of San Juan de Sur. Took pictures of the hotel and beach. Never know, maybe we will some scene from there. Carol

Day 36, Diriamba to San Juan de Sur, Nicaragua

Left La Maquina Campground with the waterfalls this morning and drove 10 miles to the ocean. The local market was filled up with fish and the beach full of fishermen unloading the night time catch. Found these oxen unattended at the fishing village. The stick must hold them in place! We then drove onward, with a continuous wind from the east toward the ocean. Decided a ferry ride was out of the question with the wind. Drove on to San Juan de Sur. Road was really bad to the campgrounds, so we found a Hotel that had room for our rigs. Hotel El Pacifico, owned by Clemens Gormaner of Germany. Carol
  We had the campground to ourselves since we were there during the week. It was so very quiet except for the wind and the wild animals cooing at night. The stars were out and couldn't believe it but we splent in so got a late start but we were only driving a few miles further south. It was a very pleasant evening. Ermila

Day 35, San Benito to Diriamba, Nicaragua

La Maquina Waterfalls close to La Boquete, Nicaragua. The park was very well laid out and we were the only campers. We had a nice evening and splent with windows and doors open. We felt very secure since there is a security guard present. Ermila

Day 34, Danli, Honduras to San Benito, Nicaragua

Spent the night at another gas station in Danli, Honduras close to the border. The border took the longest and was noisey. The dog's paper work took 30-40 minutes. Dozens of steps to go through. Took about 3 hours to cross.
This was a small town in Nicagrua that had a parade, or rodeo,  with many small children on horses. They were so cute! Carol
  The community of Danli was very progessive. We found a Pizza Hut and Americano Espresso just like being at Starbucks. The children all attend school for 5 1/2 days so Saturday morning they're off to school. This is the Honduran System and none of the children complain. Ermila

Day 33, Lago de Yojoa to Danli, Honduras

We left D & D Brewery at Lago de Yojoa to Danli. We climbed to 4800' and were in the pines. Although it the road was windy but it we ran into fog and then rain. A beautiful drive but we at least drove by the outskirts of the Honduran capitol and made it to Danli. The drive was nice but the drivers are something else in this country. Ermila

Day 32, still at Lago de Yojoa, Honduras

Jerry and I joined a couple from Vancouver Island, Canada to go to Pulhapanzak Cascadas (waterfalls). Nice couple, retired Banker (wife) and retired Milwright. Just like Jerry! We hailed a cab and it took us to the falls. Very preaty area. Did not swim, seemed cool at 10am. On the way back we caught a small bus and it let us off in town "El Blanco" to the super mercado! We split up then to do various things. I bought a skirt in hopes it would be cooler. Staying around 80-86, with low of 67 degrees in Honduras. Even up high was warm, not as much humity, like 66 percent rather than88-95 percent. Probably could use the swim now that it is almost 3pm.
Al and Ermila still recovering from colds. Jerry and I still recovering from the crazy drivers! Carol

DAy 31, D&D Brewery at Lago de Yojoa, Honduras

One of the best little hidden places at Lago de Yojoa near Pena Blanca, Honduras. It's owned by Mr. Bobby of Virginia. He makes the best beer and you can just sit under the shaded patio area with beautiful surroundings of great vegetation which keeps the temperature very cool. There is soft music playing all day and birds chirping in the background. Just wants to keep you here for at least another week. The food is great and the staff so very nice. Ermila

Walking bridge near where we are staying at the brewery. Carol
  We really enjoyed D & D Brewery. Mr. Bobby and Staff were  the best. The brewery parking area is set at street level then you walk down about 15 feet from the parking area to the restaurant, lodge and swimming pool. The foilage and beautiful plants make the area so much cooler during the day. It rained on us and yet you could hardly feel the raindrops because of all the foilage which was just pristine. They had the best beer and since they allow you to run a tab until check-out you never realize how much you've spent until you're ready to leave. Yikes! We didn't think we could drink that much beer and mix drinks. Ermila

Day 30, Copan Ruins to Lago de Yojoa, Honduras

 Here's Al fewing the staircase to the top of the pyramid & decided it's way too high to even try and climb it. We enjoyed our tour of the Mayan Ruins and pyramids which is rather amazing that they are still standing after an earthquake and bad weather. Makes you wonder how these bricks were placed and no mortar between them and yet still standing after all these years. Ermila

Day 29 Crossing into Honduras, Copan Campsite

Macaws at Copan Ruins. We toured the Copan Ruins and saw plenty of Macaws who love the attention and entertained us. Prior to arrival at Copan Ruins we went through grueling day of crossing from Guatemala to Honduras. Although there is CA-4 countries, which include, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. It was suppose to be smooth sailing except everybody needs double & triple copies of everything. We were told that everything would go smoothly & only be there a few minutes except... 2 1/2 hours later....luckly we arrived early a.m. and got out of there before they closed for lunch because everything shuts down at noon. Just a note per Carol, Ms Molly favorite dog cost more to get into the country then it did us. Ermila

Day 28, Rio Dulce to near Honduras

Yes there are MacDonalds in Guatemala!

• Who can tell me what is missing on this camper?
• 
  Two sides look different don't they? Everyone is fine and no one is in jail. More later on how this happened. Too tired tonight. Carol
•  

Day 27, Sunday Superbowl, Rio Dulce, Guatemala

Here we are relaxing, and waiting to watch the Superbowl in the Mar Marina bar. We had a really nice time except the Super Bowl was in Spanish which was not a problem for us as we were concentrating on the game and drinking plenty of beer with really good food. Surprising there were quite a few people in the bar watching the game from other countries who understood the game because they watch soccer. They do enjoy American Football as they call it because the ball players are so big and can run so fast.

Lessons learned so far

1. I can stay in a 8' camper and not kill my husband. Thank God for outdoor chairs!
2. Nice cosy carpet gets very dirty from wet ground. Especially carpet that was carefully installed underneath everything!
3. I over packed clothes. So far only used long pants to avoid mosquito's. The lightweight pants I bought at the last minute in San Felipe, are invaluable! But Jerry and I only needed two pairs of jeans not 4. Windbreaker has been invaluable. But not our hooded sweatshirts. I really needed those light weight pedal pushers I left home, have not used the jean pedal pushers at all. Glad I brought the light weight dress, but only have wore it once. Bought a skirt, that works well in the heat.
4.Had no problem with ants until here at Rio Duice. I managed to stand in ant pile, and get bit, first hour of being here. Now they are in the plastic bag I put my box sugar in the raw in! Insect repellent works on ants!
5.Maybe I will kill my husband, he keeps interrupting me and talking while I type this!
6.If you have a tall camper, stay away from objects that will damage it.
7. When driving one person looks close in (the driver) for topes and holes, the other looks way ahead. And pull over if you need to read those signs.
8. No one has the right away here in these countries, just push in and politely move over if three cars are passing. No one here gets too concerned about that, or people/bicycles/horses/taxis on road.
9. Taxis are wonderful. Stop in a gas station, find a taxi. Research where you want to camp, come back and get your vehicle. Narrow streets are not a place to try and find camping, and that way if there are several options you can decide which you like.
10. Use a plastic pan in your sink and toss the dishwater on the plants. That way your holding tank does not fill up.
11. Don't put a what you think is a not very hot frying pan on edge in the plastic pan you do your dishes in. Makes a nice hole!
12. Probably brought too much insect repellent. 10 cans maybe was too much.
13. Pencils with erasers and small paper tablets have been useful to give out to children.
14. Speed bump signs may be labeled, maybe not, may have paint, maybe not, may really be there when signed, maybe not. They are called viparos, reductors, topes, speed bumps and tumulos.
15. Hot showers, is something camping places say, but rarely exist. We have have hot showers here, but prior to this maybe twice. Cold is standard. My water purifier pitcher with a tea pot of hot water will mix for warm water for the shower. Jerry does not do this, he is tough!
16. Camping is very primative. Still costs. Hookups are what we figure will work.
17. Hand, battery operated fan with sprayer the best cooler.
18. The fantastic fan in our camper we installed is wonderful when we have electric, and we should have put the solar panel on the top of the camper.
19. Did not need the sleeping bag but two nights, and in the way after that.


Carol

Day 26, Rio Dulce river tour to Livingston, Guatemala

Small children in dugouts approaching our boat on the Rio Duice, Guatemala.

 

Spanish fort San Felipe on Lake.

We had decided to go on a tour, but turned out on 3 of us went as Al has come down with a cold. Spent a great day on a tour in a small lonchera(ponga). Saw lots of children and people living along the river. We floated by the old spanish fort from the 1500's. The Spanish were trying to protect the gold they were stealling from South America from the pirates. Very peaceful. Not just poor people, rich people had houses along the river. Lots of gringo's sail boats tucked into the side vegetation, with small docks alongside. Pelicans on tree limbs, no beach or shore or rocks to land on. White snowy egrants seating on nests on islands. Went all the way to Livingston on the Carriabean. Within a short distance was Belize, and Honduras along the coast. Ate lunch at a local place, about half way back at Agua Caliente. There were people off a board walk in the river in really warm water swiming. I and Ermila had a 8" fish with head and tail still attached. Very flat fish, tasted really good. Jerry ended up with a seafood coconut soup by accident. It tasted really good. They call soups "creama" not "sopa". We thought it was the sauce for on the fish. Then Jerry and I went to dinner at Backpackers paradise. A restaurant almost under the bridge, and set up over the water. Watched the boats go by, so peaceful and beautiful. Lots of gringos here living on their boats, even here at the Mar Marina Yacht club where we are camping. Mostly boat storage, nice restaurant and bar. They even have movie night, in English. Carol