Saturday, November 10, 2012

World Wind Tour


All I can say is the last six days have felt like a world wind tour. I have realized that if I sit still for too long in one place, I start to suffer form a major case of "Ants in the Pants". 
And the need to ride kicks in big time! 

In six days:

 I drove from the Pacific Ocean in Costa Rica to the Caribbean sea on the opposite side in eight hours.
 Crossed a border entering a new country (Panama), 
Took a boat to an Island for three days (Isle Colon)
Took a boat back to the mainland, 
Got on my bike and drove from the heat of the tropics to the cool climates of the mountains surrounded by coffee plantations.

Now you tell me when you can do all that back home in less than a week?

NEVER!

 What was supposed to be the easiest of all time border crossings (Costa Rica to Panama) turned into a three hour ordeal. 

Because of the border delay I missed my ferry to Isle Colon in Bocas Del Toro Panama. This posed a big problem because the option to leave your car in a "secure parking lot" (very loosely termed) for $3 per night in the sketchy port town of Almirante is not a wise choice. 


So I decided to drive around a see if I could find any alternative options. As luck would have it I decided to stop by the local Bomberos station (fire station) and see if they had any suggestions. This is where I ran into Tony who said "no problem you can leave it here and we will watch it for you". It turned out that not only was someone there 24 hours a day, but they even put Fred in his own garage! 

Now I can relax and go enjoy some Island time




In case you did not know the port town of Almirante and the nearby town of Changuinola are the headquarters for Chiquita Bananas. 

All you can see for miles are banana plantations.


Jammed in like sardines on a twenty person speed boat from Almirante to Isle Colon 


Waterfront property Almirante


Downtown Isle colon


Somehow I do not think the pretty paint job will hide the other construction issues 


Ok, who as a kid remembers having to get a licence plate for your bycicle. This tradition is not lost on the island as all bike have to have a plate. Bicycle's are the main mode of transportation around town.


Waterfront property Isle Colon

The islands of Bocas del Toro are well know for their surf and the amazing white beaches. When I planned to go there I had all the intentions in the world to do both, but lets just say something else came up that interfered with those plans.

STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT WHY IN A LATER POST


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