Speed dating with Panama

After all the hassle of Paso Canoas we were on our way to Puerto Viejo on Caribean side via Panama. On our way we stopped at Bocas del Toro archipelago. Karma we left in main land and took a water taxi. As the main island was too much tourist trap for us, we headed to Bastimentos island hoping to camp on the beach and surf.

As there were no roads on the island, only dirt paths, you can only imagine how they were after heavy rain. You couldn't get to the beach without having mud up to your knees and the police would not let you camp on the beach because nasty robberies. So we stayed one night in a hostel and did some walks around the island. It was dissapointing to find the shore of the paradise island so full of crap. Seems that on the caribean side the people don´t care much about their surroundings or nature.

The main square of the Bastimentos village was lively in the evening.

The border crossing from Panama back to Costa Rica was exiting. Narrow one-way bridge served people, bikes, cars and trucks. The on who got first on the bridge was first to go. The other had to reverse.

I have never been too much into cars but now I know what I want for my 50 years birthday! These jovial moustache of Karmann Ghia makes me smile.

Keijo Karma and the custom of Paso Canoas

First idea was to put the Karma van in Costa Rican plates so Thomas and Alex could take the Californian plates with them as souvenir. In the bordertown Paso Canoas we started the procedure and the car was taken to the custom area. Sooner or later we figured out that getting the new plates would take about three months. We decided to cancel the whole plate thing. The custom area was pretty well equipped, there was toilets, bathrooms and a big living room area so our gipsy crew moved in.

This was the view every morning, truck drivers coming for their morning washing.

The cancellation took around five days to become valid and they wouldn´t let us leave the custom area before it. Norre crew continued their trip towards Colombia and we, for preventing not to get bored, emptied the van.

Did some deep profound cleaning...

...and fixing. A beer can makes a decent patch for corroded floor.

Took out the front seats. Looks comfortable, huh?

And did bit of remodelling. The spare camping matresses made a fit filling and new seat covers finalized it all. After this all was done we were ready to hit the road again. Though without our hilarious norwegian friends :( ! Miss ya!

Costa Rica part one

Thomas and Alex were in hurry, so we drove all the way through Costa Rica to get to the Osa peninsula which was supposed to be a paradise. Matapalo was our first stop, and after some crazy rivercrossings we got there.

Wave in Matapalo in a small day when the locals wouldn´t even bother to paddle out. For us it was perfectness.

Chilling out.

After couple of hungry days in Matapalo (we only ate coconuts) we went to see Rayner, a tico guy, friend of norre boys (and now ours too).

Indiana Teemu watching Alex`s sunglasses floating away in Corcovado. The trekking tour to Los Patos station was amazing experience.

The making of Luonnon ystävälliset kasvot.

Thomas, the professional model from Norway. Cute eh?

Alex and snake.

Rayner, our perfect guide out there in Corcovado. He know`s everything about rainforests.

After crawling hours in a mud it was nice to find a refreshing waterfall pool where to swim.

Alex cooking a delicious pasta sauce for hungry trekkers.

The swetty and wetty crew.

Thomas wandering should he lick the frog on the window or not.

Lobsters in Las Penitas

When we got to Las Penitas the first thing was to search for a good place to stay. There was many nice looking hostels but we spotted a plot in front of the ocean. The house there was about to collapse but the garden was just perfect for our purposes. The kid hanging around told us that the housekeeper was coming back later afternoon. So we waited. The housekeeper was fine with the idea that we´d camp in the garden so we started to fit the van through the collapsing house towards the backyard. Good try but only the last arch was too small and fragile and we didn´t dare to take the chance. So we had to content ourselves with the idea of putting the van into the garage and hanging around in the garden. Good enough.

One night a local guy, Lenin, who had a small bar in the beach, made us a delicious dinner of lobsters. The price of the whole meal for 5 people would cover a lobster meal for one in a restaurant. We made a pretty good deal. And even better the next day. A friend of the norreboys, Dan, was coming to town with Jackie and would be celebrating his birthday the same day so we decided to redo the dinner for his surprise.
We bought lots of lobsters, potatoes rice, ingredients for the secret sauce and of course rum. Lenin borrowed us tables and pots and pans and we made coconut cups for everybody. While we we preparing everything for the night Teemu appeared out of nowhere with Andy, American fellow. So in the end there was a reason why we bought too much food. We even made a pancake cake for the birthday boy ;) !