For nearly 7 hours we were out on the perfectly flat Caribbean water that was the most vibrant shade of blue I’ve ever seen.  Our first stop was Dolphin Bay, where we cruised unsuccessfully searching for dolphins.  Most people we talked to spotted some on their tour, but I guess our group was unlucky.  Driving through endless mangroves, the next destination was Cayo Crawl.

Cayo Crawl wasn’t much more than an abused coral reef and an overpriced restaurant.  Still, we were able to see some interesting fish, sea cucumbers, anemones, and coral.  Later we went snorkeling at Hospital Point, which had much more marine life.  The parrot fish were my favorite, but there were several other schools of brightly colored fish as well.  I have no idea what kind of fish they were, you’ll have to ask the biology major.

The main attraction was Red Frog beach.  We rode in the back of a pickup truck from the dock, through the woods, to the beach on the other side of the island.  As the name implies, there were red treefrogs everywhere.  Going into the woods just behind the beach it was easy to spot strawberry frogs.  They’re safe to touch, but you probably shouldn’t eat them because you’ll either hallucinate or die.  After admiring the frogs we spent the rest of the afternoon on the beautiful white sand beach.

Hiking along the top of the mountain, we saw breathtaking views of the water and Isla Colon.  The trail ended at a small shop on the bottom floor of a couple’s home.  For the past 14 years they have been living on the small farm, growing and producing all natural body products such as lip balm and massage oil.

After checking out the farm, the owner gave us the map from hell and said it would take us to the beach.  We wandered around in the woods for an hour, until a Panamanian approached us with a machete.  Suspecting he might rob us at knife point, we cautiously followed him for another 20 minutes.  As the jungle cleared, a beautiful beach emerged: Playa Wizard.  There wasn’t a soul in sight except for two wild horses enjoying the sunset.

Using our headlamps, we managed to make it back to the farm by nightfall.  The only other house in the neighborhood was owned by a retired couple, and doubled as the only Thai restaurant in Panama.  The husband is a retired contractor who built the entire restaurant himself, and his wife is from Thailand and does all the cooking.  We had their infamous “Magic Drink” with Pad Thai and it was to die for.  With delicious food, a gorgeous view, and the nicest owners you could hope to meet, this was easily our favorite restaurant so far.

The man beside me on the bus bought some oranges from a street vendor (They often hop onboard during stops).  I noticed that he spit the seeds onto the floor of the bus, but threw the plastic bag out the window.  Seems to me like they are confused about sanitation and environmental protection.  Even the bus drivers litter here, and their mess often makes it past the side of the road to riverbeds and beaches.  Every once in a while we’ll see Panamanians hold onto their garbage the entire bus ride, and it gives us hope.

Finally we made it to Almirante, the main departure point for the islands.  20 of us crammed into a questionably seaworthy boat, and headed to Bocas Town in the pouring rain.  The water was surprisingly calm even in a storm, and the boat only rocked when passing the wakes of other taxis.  We stepped off the boat and onto Isla Colon, our home for the next six days.

As soon as we set foot in the street we understood why this was the hottest tourist destination in the country.  The waterfront was lined with adventure tours, water taxis, bars, and restaurants, all of them on stilts above the clear Caribbean water.  The streets were lined with funky restaurants from all over the world, and places to stay ranging from hostels to luxury hotels.  It was pouring rain but no one seemed to care.  Everyone in the streets was carrying on business as usual, and it felt like we stepped foot into a different world.

Bocas Town on Isla Colon is the biggest town in the archipelago, and the main hub to the other islands.  Isla Carenero is a one minute taxi ride away, and Isla Bastimentos is just beyond that.  Both have places to eat and stay, and taxis are running back and forth all night long.  This is what the waterfront looks like if it stops raining.

Other islands are further out, and a little harder to get to.  Most of them are uninhabited, but there is plenty of beach bumming and snorkeling to be had.  Basically Bocas has everything you could ever want in a beach town: Caribbean vibe, plenty of places to stay and eat, nonstop parties, and countless islands to explore.

Curious about the town, Casey and I hopped on a bus in David and arrived in town two hours later. The aftermath of Chiquita’s exit was painfully obvious; many of the buildings were abandoned and businesses were closed down. Walking down the main street along the shore, one imagines what this town was in its prime. I imagined the bars and restaurants full of people, couples walking along a clean boardwalk, and boats frequently arriving and departing at the pier. Now the waterfront buildings are boarded up, the boardwalk is washed away or covered in water, and the pier is mostly empty, many of the boards warped or missing.

Only one restaurant on the water was still open; a man and a woman were watching an American baseball game inside. We joined them for a typical meal of rice, beans, salad, and meat for $1.60. The city had virtually no night life, and we saw only a few people wandering the streets at night. Deciding that the town had nothing more to offer, we headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep caught a bus back to David first thing in the morning.

Panama is one of the smallest producers of coffee.  There are only 5,000 growers in Panama in comparison with over 500,000 in Colombia.  Despite its small size, Panamanian coffees have repeatedly been voted the best in the world, winning best coffee in 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2007.  Some of the most prized coffee in Panama sells for over $130 per pound.

Cafe Ruiz, along with other growers in Boquete, grow arabica beans.  Most coffee is grown in monoculture, however arabica does best with other plant species.  Arabica farms grow over 40 different plants along with the coffee, providing a more diverse ecosystem, benefits for plants and animals, and sustainable agriculture.

Once an arabica bean is planted, it takes 6 years for the plant to produce any fruit.  Once the fruit is bright red (or yellow depending on the species), it is ready for picking.  The fruit must be twisted off; if not the stem breaks and it takes five years to grow a new one.  Inside the fruit are two seeds which we know as coffee beans.  If planted, these will turn into new plants, sprouting roots from the bottom and lifting the original seed into the air.  When conditions are just right, the seed breaks open exposing bright new green leaves.

There are quite a few steps between having a plant and having a cup of coffee.

1. Hand selected picking

2. Floating (sorts by density)

3. Squeezing

4. Fermentation

5. Washing

6. Pre-drying

7. Drying

8. Peeling (3 layers: pulp, parchment, silver skin)

9. Sort by size

10. Sort by shape

11. Sort by density

12. Sort by color

13. Roasting

Carlos said there were 17 steps, but apparently I missed a few of them.  Either way you get the idea, a lot goes into it.  Cafe Ruiz ships most of their coffee unroasted, and does everything but the last step in Boquete.  This facility is where they dry, peel, and sort their coffee.

Near the cafe in town, Cafe Ruiz roasts a small portion of their beans for tourists and locals in Boquete.  Casey and I put on our hair nets and aprons, and toured the facility.  Carlos showed us the differences between European, Latin, Italian, and French roast (lightest to darkest).  Afterwords we had a taste test and were able to identify the different types of roasting.

After that I will never look at a cup of coffee the same way.  Starbucks anyone?  (Not if Carlos has anything to say about it)

Hostal Boquete has 11 private rooms, 4 dorm rooms, a restaurant, and scooter rentals. We forked over $10 for a night in a clean and well maintained dorm room. With two sets of bunk beds, the room was cramped but had a nice private bathroom with hot water. There was also a common area with a TV, communal kitchen, and laundry facilities.

The owner used to run a business in San Jose, but moved to Boquete a few years ago. He has free printouts with local attractions, and can be helpful if you ask him questions.

From the bus stop its about a 35 minute walk to the springs, depending on how anxious or easily distracted you are. Horses are also available to rent, but we decided not to put up with their crap (literally). After crossing a massive new irrigation project, we arrived at a couple small houses. A dog started barking at us, allerting the owner that $2 (per person) were there for her taking. She took our money and told us where we could find the three different springs.

The hot springs are completely natural, but two have rock walls built around them. Temperatures range from 38° to 46°C, and the mineral water is said to have healing properties. Whether or not that’s true, sitting in the pools and hearing nothing but the Rio Caldera is relaxing to say the least.

Be sure to set aside plenty of time to enjoy this natural wonder. Getting to and fro took longer than we expected, so we had to cut our trip short to catch the last bus back to Boquete at 5pm.

For $8.50, there are 6 rooms, 2 bathrooms (hot water), a kitchen and a dryer, all of which are basic and starting to show their age. If you’re looking for a cheap place to stay, a central location, and a knowledgeable host, Hostal Palacios can’t be beat.

The beginning of the trip was slow, starting out on dirt roads from Marbella towards Santa Cruz. Once we hit pavement we really picked up the pace. Past Santa Cruz on the way to Esparza we were pulled over for going 93 kph in an 80. The cops park their cars under trees and walk into the road signaling for you to pull over if you´re going to fast. The officer took my dad´s information and explained that he would have to give us a ticket ¨pequeña.¨ As he was going back to write the ticket, my dad leaned out the side of the car yelling perdon, which is not only the wrong expression but he butchered the pronunciation. After an impressive display of spanglish, my dad somehow convinced him not to give us a ticket. After that we decided to take the rest of the journey a bit slower.

After getting lost in Esparza, we made our way down to Jaco. Jaco is a great beach town thats growing at an amazing pace. Several high rise buildings were going up right on the beach, so there´s no telling what this place will be like in the future. The next major junction was Quepos, a smaller town with many quaint hotels nearby. Just around the corner is Manuel Antonio national park, which is definitely worth a visit as well. Unfortunately we didn´t have time to stop during this trip, and kept heating east.

Past Quepos, many other beach towns are beginning to take off. We passed major road construction going on to accomodate the expected tourists, and this was one of the nicest roads I have seen in all of Costa Rica. We passed kilometer after kilometer of palm trees, which wasn´t all that disturbing until we saw the manufacturing plant for palm oil. A giant plume of black smoke was coming from the plant, destroying the air quality for kilometers down the road. Hopefully something will be done to reduce this pollution in the future.

The rest of the journey was fairly uninteresting, but I´m sure many of the towns will grow as tourism in this area develops. It was starting to get dark as we passed Ciudad Neily, so we decided to stay there for a night and head to the boarder in the morning.

The boarder town of Paso Canoa pretty much looked like a giant truck stop. Hundreds of trucks were parked on the side of the road, along with buses, taxis, police cars, and street vendors. We made our way through the chaos to the Panama boarder, where the last picture of us in Costa Rica was taken:

Casa Mango is just down the main road from Marbella, and offers beds, food, drinks, and entertainment.  Zeneyda and her family prepared their version of spaghetti, which consisted of a cream sauce, ham, chicken, and tons of fresh veggies.  The eight of us, along with numerous dogs (Negro, Copper, Foxie to name a few) and chickens gathered around the table for the feast.