Thurs 6th:
I was safe and sound in Hostal Costa Rica. It was a simple and old hotel that’s for sure. I walked to The Purple House Hostel just to see what it was like. No vacancy so I only got to see the exterior. I walked to the central plaza and found a place for breakfast.
David is the 2nd largest city in Panama. It is very busy and the shopping on all four sides of the square was amazing. I found two blouses for less than a dollar each. This will have to be a side trip for shopping one of these days.

Buses leave for Boquete every half hour and cost $1.40 for the 45-minute ride up to the highlands. As we climbed, it got cooler and cooler. My first sight of Volcan Baru, the highest peak in Panama, reminded why I want to spend time here. It is cool and misty most of the time. El Bajareque the mist is called and it brings Boquete showers every day.

We got to town, I dropped my luggage at Amigos Bar, had a Panama Beer and went to look for a hotel. I already knew my first choice, Pension Marilos, was full. I went to many places and all had vacancies but not until tomorrow night. There was even a 2BR 1B apartment with phone ($400/mo.) ready next week, but I need something now! I settled for a $12 room at Hostal Las Mercedes with shared bath. Then it was back to the bar for my luggage and I could relax and worry about accommodations mañana.

Later I went to Restaurante Lourdes which overlooks the main street and plaza. Joy Hauser, who had been on the bus up to Boquete, joined me. She told me she also had a hard time finding a room and settled on another kind of bad place. Then she found the brand-new Hostel El Refugio where she will move tomorrow. After many Atlas beers (total $4.50 for both of us), we went to dinner at Sabroson Cafeteria. Fried pork rice and cole slaw and cold drink cost $2.60. We ate and walked to El Refugio to make me a reservation too. I want to be sure that I have a room tomorrow.
It was not a good night at my hotel. Many guests shared the bathroom and one had had too many drinks! I’ll leave here first thing in the morning.

Friday 7th:
As soon as I could repack my backpack (I never even opened the suitcase) I was off in search of Frank Gravas at Pension Marilos. I stayed there for 2 weeks last year and I think I will do so again if I can get in. Frank was just leaving and assured me I could move in today. He gave me the only room he had which has a shared bath and costs $9.90. He said he may have to shuffle me to more than one room during my stay but I know I will be comfortable here.
It’s a beautiful day in Boquete at 3500 ft. above sea level. The Bajareque mist, rain and wind passed after a half an hour this AM so I am at internet getting caught up. Since I am landed here for a while, it’s time to get a haircut. I went to Salon Roxana and she did a great job for $4. I dropped off some laundry to be done and adjourned to Lourdes for a Cristal beer or two. It got cold and rainy and I had to go home for a jacket.
Tonight I dined at El Charro Mexicano and had a burrito. The chef worked for years in Guadalajara so the menu of carnitas, sopes, tortilla soup, etc. was very familiar.

My new friend Joy Hauser met me and told me of her Class 4 rafting trip. She is sunburned but said it was a challenging good time. She told me about growing up in the Canal Zone where her father was an engineer. Her grandmother lives in San Jose, Costa Rica, and she visited her before coming back to the country of her birth for the first visit to Boquete since she was 10 years old. She was employed by CNN Atlanta and now is a contract recreation specialist waiting to hear if she landed a job with Outward Bound. Her retired parents live in Miami so we had Florida in common.
Did I mention that the currency of Panama is the Balboa or the US dollar and the value is the same? It seems so funny to be quoted prices in dollars and get US coins for change.
Finally Joy walked to my pension and all the guests were in the dining hall drinking vino and chatting. They tell me the night before a woman played the fiddle and they sorta square danced. I had a box of Conca y Toro Merlot ($2.15 at Supermercado) so we joined them. It was after midnight when we adjourned.

To read more about Regina’s travels click here

The van picked me up early to drive 5 hours to Arenal Volcano in the north of Costa Rica. The landscape changed from scrub land and beach to lush green highlands as we climbed higher. We stopped along the way to see some pizotes on the side of the highway. They are related to the raccoon and seem accustomed to humans but they do have teeth.

Finally Lake Arenal, largest freshwater lake in Costa Rica, came into view. As we drove around the lake we finally saw the volcano. Its cone is at 1733 meters or 5600 feet above sea level. Volcan Arenal is active and we could see steam and boulders flying out of the cone. The last major eruption was in 2000 when the nearby towns were evacuated and 2 people who were hiking at the time were killed.

I got dropped off at Arenal Observatory Lodge because the van did not go to my destination on his route. I spent more than 2 hours on the deck of the Lodge with the volcano “in your face.” The observatory is used by vulcanologists from National Geographic and the lodge is for tourists.

A taxi finally came to take me to Hotel Linda Vista del Norte which was nearby. I also have a great vista of the volcano. After cocktail hour and dinner in the dining room I went to bed. The security guard promised to wake us in the night when the volcano was “limpiando.” It was surely purging itself when I got up at 3 AM to check. About 4:00 the guard roused me again and the lava show was amazing. On my third visit to the deck at sunrise the volcano poofed a big black cloud. Until I checked out at noon after breakfast and a swim, the show was priceless.

To read more about Regina’s travels click here

I took a TransNica $28 bus to cross the border into Costa Rica today. Most of the paperwork was done by the bus conductor: he collected our passports and returned with visas in hand a while later. We proceeded to customs down the road but they did not require inspection of luggage as we saw them doing to other busloads of people.
I got to Liberia at 6 PM.

Tried hotel from Lonely Planet–no rooms. My other choice was no longer in business so the taxista took me to Hotel Liberia–$12 for a private room, the room has bunks and a double bed, right across from front desk so may be loud but is old and clean.
Nice and cool here after people told me it would be hot in Liberia.

I am already freaking at the prices compared to wonderfully cheap Nicaragua–calzone and beer with 10% tip included was $11 USD!! Beer is $2.40. We never paid a dime over a dollar a beer in Nicaragua.

To read more about Regina’s travels visit www.mytripjournal.com/reginaodyssey