Déjà vu?

Returning to a place one has already been to years ago, can be weird and can possibly change one’s perception about it – sometimes it can even result in great disappointment, by re-drawing the colorful, cheerful sketched images in our heads, the ones we acquired years ago and were so fond of, in gloomy shades.  This wasn’t the case in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, a place I so eagerly awaited to arrive in, after having been in 1998.

Third world countries do develop and change rapidly, and so all my expectation of Puerto Viejo were just irrelevant the moment the bus stopped at the town center.  Nothing I saw was ringing a bell in my head, which was constantly looking around, as I was in some sort trance to find something familiar, working like a computer trying to match images in two different sets.  After a few days in Puerto Viejo I reached the conclusion that the two places were just different, separated by the dimension of time.

Puerto Viejo was a nice point to end the 9 week trip in Central America, especially thanks to the wonderful Pagalu hostel, which was by far, the best I have had the pleasure to stay in.  5 months old, modern and multi-national, the owners prefer no publication but rather word of mouth customers, keeping a secluded atmosphere with no large groups from the same country.  The good times in Puerto Viejo were not the beautiful beaches, the nice town or the amazing weather but becuase of the company.  Thank-you Cecylia, Benjamin, Lee, Sophia 1, Sophia 2, Elizabeth, Salim and Faisal, and a special thanks to my two lovely cooks: Inbal and Aviv.

Heaven is a place on earth (or “La Isla Bonita”)

Although Madonna’s late 80’s hit single “La Isla Bonita” is believed to be about Belize’s Ambergris Caye, it could have well been written about any of the three-hundred and sixty-five islands belonging to the archipelago of San Blas, just off-shore Panama’s mainland.

The tiny islands, some no bigger than a basketball court, are just what heavenly islands look like in movies or dreams – dozens of coconut trees, simple wooden cabins with sand floors, miniature sized white-sand beaches and waters so clear it’s hard to tell what is underwater and what isn’t… No words, nor photos, can really describe the beauty, and more importantly the feeling one experiences on such isolated islands, with no phone, no internet, and only shrimp, fish, calamri, lobster, and other types of sea-food to eat, served the same day they were captured.  Lucky for future travelers, the islands belong to the Kuna Yala indigenous people, who will not sell them to monster corporations for ridiculous amounts of money as may be, thus preserving the authentic look and feel of the islands and the archipelago area.

Our hostel in Panama city sent us to “Ina’s island”, but fate and luck saw to that all cabins were full, sending us to the much-smaller, more-secluded, inhabitant-free island of Ricardo Bonilla, an island which has been running with cabins for only two years and for that reason is not as famous as some of the others, making it possible for us to sometimes be four or five people alone on the island, barely the size of half a football pitch.

Before coming, I thought I would have a hard time going two days straight in such a place, but as it turned out, I stayed for four days, and could have gone a lot more. Swimming in the calm waters, taking in the amazing views, tanning in the strong yet caressing sun, reading, snorkellong in search of two meter deep corals, and eating coconuts, were things I didn’t know could keep me happy for so long, but apparently they did more than that: making friends with Ricardo made it possible for me to perhaps come back, this time as kind of an employee, helping out with financial records (something the Kuna Yala, having no formal education, know nothing about), and helping to translate to other tourists who come to the island.  I fell so madly in love with the place, I just might consider doing that!  In any case, I know that hadn’t been the last these islands have seen of me as I have declared them (by far) the most amazing place I have seen in my life.

Soaking in the atmosphere

Lake Atitlan from the Indian Nose mountain

Although I never consider myself a person who lazes around, I cannot say I have regrets about 10 days of laziness, stretching a long way on the map, between San Cristobal de las Casas in Mexico, through San Pedro la Laguna and Antigua in Guatemala, San Jose in Costa Rica and ending in Panama City.  Sometimes it’s great to just lay off the tourist attractions, stopping to walk so fast and taking a short time to soak in the atmosphere…

Even though I had already visited San Pedro in early September, the second visit almost a month later seemed like a whole different place.  The streets and hotels which were yearning for people like the deserts wish for rain, were now complaining about the density and loudness – overall a great atmosphere, the tourist scene unsurprisingly controlled by Israelis who came for the Jewish new year.  A lovely day hike to the “Indian Nose” mountain gave us a spectacular view of lake Atitlan and proved (at least to me) why it is so magnificent.

Calle del Arco in la Antigua, Guatemala

My visit back in Antigua, for the 3rd time, was supposed to be spent mainly on planning the next stage in the trip – I had to decide between Panama and Nicaragua, as I did not seem to have enough time for both, and Costa Rica, which is the point of return home, was out of the question to miss.  It took me almost a week until I was ready to go on to Panama, making a quick stop in Costa Rica to meet a long time friend, a week

which seemed like months, which made me feel as though I lived in Antigua.  Getting to know the locals was the most interesting thing – Going out to the same place as the owners of my hostel, having been invited to go out with owners of the travel agency where I purchased my flight, and managing to be almost everywhere in Antigua, which is something I cannot say for most places I have been.

The night scene in Antigua was great this time around as well, although it sadly ends around 1am, and almost everyday I encountered a new “small world” story as I met more and more people I knew from home, or had once met.

My $1.30, ~4kg pineapple, before the beheading

The three days spent in Costa Rica went mostly towards meeting old friends from 1998, and the days, though quite boring (As San Jose is not exactly the place for tourists and backpackers alike) filled my tanks with new energies after having rested most of the daytime.

Now it’s time for Panama – with the most cosmopolitan capital in Central America, and probably much more westernized than the rest of it.Attractions here seem to be mostly Caribbean and Pacific white-sand and clear-turquoise water beaches and the world renowned archipelago of San Blas, where I’m headed next – pictures to come soon!