“This is it, I can feel it,” Kalyn said as a mangy looking pickup truck roared toward us. The truck slowed as the two men inside looked at our outstretched arms, the thumb enthusiastically stuck out skyward, and finally rollled to a stop on the side of the road. “I knew it!” Kalyn exclaimed as she hurried to the passengers side door to exchange information.
They were headed to the Panama border and so were we, a match made in heaved! We clamored into the back of the bed, sitting back into our backpacks, our legs outstretched toward the open tailgate, the ground whizzing past as we picked up speed. Local school-aged children smiled and waved as we passed, some giggling as we waved back shouting “Buenas Dias!”
It had only taken us about six minutes to get our first ride (we were picked up by a pair of surfers-one Australian and the other South African) once on to the highway the boys asked whether we were headed to the real border crossing or the unofficial border crossing. Wanting stamps in our passport to ensure we weren't thrown in jail, we opted for the first option. Hopping out of the truck, we gave thanks and said our goodbyes as the truck headed East and we began walking West. Several minutes passed as we walked by literally thousands of banana trees, blue bags covering each bushel of bananas waiting to be picked and shipped to Del Monte processing factories. A blue semi-truck blew past us and then came to a screeching halt, sending wafts of burnt breaks and leaving skid marks several feet long on the hot pavement. Kalyn and I exchanged looks knowing this was the beginning of many a horror film... I shrugged my shoulders, we both laughed, and then jogged to talk to the driver. Our rock climbing skills came in handy as we hauled ourselves up to the open door.
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| Kalyn unloading! |
The drivers name was Carlos, he was 33 years old and had four children and was hauling Bananas to a Del Monte plant near the border. In broken Spanish, Kalyn asked about the many buttons ans switches in the cabin and then we shrieked with laughter as Kalyn pulled a wire sending a massive blast of sound out of the horn. Getting out at the banana plant, we walked less than a half-mile and were examining a crispy dead snake on the road when, unprompted, a car pulled over. We jumped in and about five minutes later realized we were in a taxi! The driver sent Kalyn into near panic when he told her he would be charging us for the ride and that the border crossing would cost nearly $50 for the both of us. We probably had about 29 bucks between us and as Kalyn translated, I began mirroring her outrage. The driver (who must've understood every word we were exchanging) began to laugh, first quietly, then heartily as Kalyn asked, “Are you messing with us? He's messing with us! I can't believe this!” (There were exactly four swear words I left out of that rant, i'm guessing if you know Kalyn you can figure out what words and where they go). We gave the driver a dollar at the border and crossed uneventfully into Panama.
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| A very "official" looking border crossing complete with a marriage proposal (to me) from the immigration official. |
Several buses and a boat taxi later (costing a whopping 10 bucks between the two of us), we found ourselves on Bocas Del Toro Island walking with several volunteers toward Palmar Tent Lodge, our home for the next several days. On the boat and during the walk we became fast friends with J.C., a rugby playing ultra-hiker who hails from Alaska, Lori, a beautiful earthy 20-something from Oregon, and Tortuga AKA Sophie, a quiet but fun college dropout with a “connection” with the local sea turtles who comes from Washington. We've spent the past three days living in Paradise in the company of these three spirited individuals and the other two dozen or so guests at the eco lodge.
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| Kalyn, Me, J.C., Tortuga (Sophie), Lori |
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| Home Sweet Home! |
The first evening we setup camp and got familiar with the facilities including a gorgeous rainwater fed outdoor shower, quaint hostel-style kitchen, a beautiful wooden main lodge, and stunning white-sand beach.
The first night we were here we spent several late-night hours combing the beaches for leather-back turtles coming ashore to lay eggs. J.C. informed us that he and the girls had watched a turtle over eight feet in length and nearly four feet in height spend several hours digging false holes before laying her eggs in a hole carved more than a meter deep into the sand. At nearly two in the morning we gave up and trudged back to bed. The sun rises around 5AM everyday, so sleeping in an open-netted tent in the jungle allows for about a 7AM “sleep in” until the sun is too bright and the humid air too hot to stay sleeping for long. We lazily spent the morning swimming, boarding, and reading on the beach before realizing we were burnt to a crisp despite being fairly tan and wearing sunscreen. We headed into the lodge, grateful for the shade and easy-listening tunes. As the sun lowered in the sky we ventured on a walk that took us in and out of the jungle and onto several stunning beaches before we stopped at an abandoned bar and headed back, taking advantage of some photos with the numerous pieces of driftwood and trees washed ashore.
As night descended, we mingled with volunteers and guests, eating a five-course meal of freshly prepared fish dishes reminiscent of a certain trip in Mexico involving a week of fishy meals. As we were cleaning up someone ran up the steps and shouted TURTLE!!! sending everyone in the lodge running for the beach. We made it to the volleyball court before slowing as a massive round shape came into view under the moonlight. Slowly, leaving a four-foor-wide tractor wheel trail in the sand, a leatherback sea turtle made her way ashore. We watched from a distance as she circled an area and began digging, her passive front fins sending sand flying through the air. After nearly a half hour of shallow false-holes, she began digging deep into the sand. Another half-hour passed before she re-positioned her body over the hole and cautiously lowered eggs into their nest. We watched as round white eggs of several different sizes (I didn't know turtles laid eggs of various sizes) began to pile up, first slowly, then rapidly until we estimated nearly four dozen eggs lay snuggly together. The five-foot-long ancient looking mother maneuvered her tail and hind legs as she gently covered her babies, softly packing the sand down to protect them. Kalyn and I looked at each-other, amazed at what we had witnessed, and both feeling a twinge of guilt of invading the century-old endangered mother's reproductive process. Although we kept a respectful distance, the power of the moment resonated with us as something sacred.
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| Not my photo, but the turtle we saw was similar to this size! |
It had taken over an hour for the turtle to lay her eggs, and as she made her way back to sea we left the beach as quietly as we could. Slipping into bed, we both fell fast asleep despite the busy symphony of animal and insect noises outside the tent. Waking in the morning to searing pain on my back, I realized Kalyn had already awoken and left for the lodge. Following suit, I washed my face in the conch-shell fed rainwater sink, and joined Kalyn, the girls, and J.C. For breakfast. J.C. was leaving in the afternoon and spent the morning downing rum-punch and pineapple cocktails while regaling us with stories from his 15,000 miles of backpacking across North and South America, his wild fishing days in Alaska, and a hilarious 40th birthday party in Mexico involving- and I kid you not: getting legally married to himself! He sadly parted, leaving me with one of the coolest pieces of camping gear i've ever seen: a homemade beer-can stove that weighs less than 3 grams, boils water in less than 5 minutes, and was a trusted travel companion of J.C.'s for 11 years. I am STOKED and can't wait to use it!
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| I learned that me gardening is the equivalent of sticking Kalyn on a rugby pitch and telling her, "just go for it!"... I was clueless but managed to only pull out one "weed" that was actually hibiscus flower bush |
We haven't exactly figured out what we are doing when the sun rises tomorrow, but we plan on maybe heading East into the mountains and finally, North back toward our final destination of Nicaragua!
-Ashley
Fun fact: During a conversation with the owners of Palmar Lodge, we mentioned being from Chico. Turns out a couple from Chico, Jenn and Jake (something), were departing from the Palmar dock just as we were arriving...what are the odds?
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