The Tourism Effect

The last few days has certainly left its mark on all Of us here. Yesterday, we crossed the border from panama to costa rica... LITERALLY hiked a shaky bridge across two countries. We then proceeded, in an attempt to reach a rainforest, Venice-style town called Tortuguero, to the non-tourist destination of Puerto Limon. The city was quite a change from the gringo-packed paradise Bocas del Toros. Streets were empty, the parks were dark, and there was little to entertain foreigners. But I was able to find such a strange charm from a place that was completely off the beaten path, a place daring to show the ugliness of real lives and real citizens. We received a great deal of help from a generous taxi driver, hoping to get our business for a boat to Tortuguero, but that adventure has since been skipped.

Now, a day of travel later, we have spent our first night in the highly popular cloud-forest town of Monteverde, where on every block exists a dozen hotels, expensive restaurants, and adventure kiosks trying to scam you for canopy tours.

It is clear that this town lives and breathes the tourism industry. All signs and prices are in English and dollars. Food and activities are quite expensive, compared to before, and most people we encounter speak good English.

When in Rome, they say... so tour we shall! Tomorrow the group is leaning towards a three hour zipline tour through the rainforest, a waterfall hike, and a canopy tour. At night, a canopy tour to see night animals is very popular. So its possible my money will fly. Only it's worth it.

A Week in Panama

As a full week abroad draws to a close, the gang prepared to forge ahead to the next stop: Costa Rica! A recap of the week includes walking the skyline in Panama City, mountain-biking in the tiny town of Boquete, and sleeping in a tree house on the paradise island of Bocas del Toro.

While the Spanish is quite different from the lingos and lisps used in Spain, I'm starting to adjust to the carefree, relaxed manner that sometimes involves smashing all the words together. The rest of our group, totaling all seven of us, have vastly improved in Spanish in the past few days.

Now that my first week is nearly done, I look back and see such a humble lifestyle in a hardworkin country. Locals seem diligent in accomplishing their tasks (diligent but slow?) and it truly shows in the thriving city of Panama. Also the tourism industry is off the charts here. In some places, like Bocas, the community seems to survive on first-world tourists alone. Nevertheless, the white sand beaches, coral reefs, rainforests and volcanoes are definitely worth the visit.

Panamanian Skyline

Bocas del Toro: White Sand Paradise

Boquete from Above

Panama City and my New Companions

After a swift journey through a few familiar airports, I have landed in panama city and am now united with my travel partners, as well as some uninvited companions... Bedbugs on the first night.

As backpackers become more and more well travelled, the presence of bed bugs has spread all over the world. My suspisions of encountering these pests was dead on. Lo and behold, upon liftin the sheets, a visible array of bug trails can be spotted and one or two of the tiny peaks can be seen scurrying about. What else to do but to grin and bear it? While not particularly dangerous, bedbugs bites can be irritating and bothersome. Hopefully some bug spray will ward them off.

Central America: The Next Adventure

As I revisit my blog since the days of my study abroad adventures, the exhilaration of moving about and traveling the unknown slowly returns. The next adventure, commencing approximately 48 hours from now, is a journey from Panama City to Guatemala City, a journey spanning 40 days, seven countries and countless cities.

And with the traveling plans comes, of course, the chaos of packing. This time, I thought, surely experience would have served me well. This time, I'll know exactly what to bring, exactly how much of it, and exactly how to pack it. How wrong of me to think that.

Anybody who has ever traveled for five weeks on a student budget might know the same. Packing really is  dependent on plenty of variables: wealth, leisure, accommodations, activities. Unfortunately, my case will be the lowest wealth, the highest liesure, the slightest accommodations, and the most adventurous activities.

A few packing considerations of mine have already been the traditional obsessions among pre-traveled backpackers. Already, months have been spent selecting the ideal backpack, researching the weather. stocking up on random wet-season items like water-proof jackets and fast-dry shoes. Personally, I had to consider the consequences of taking my DSLR over a point-and-shoot, of which I choose to face. Nevertheless, less than two days prior to my departure, I'm still wondering how the hell I'm going to fit all my stuff into this bag.