A journey to Boca del Toro

I woke up early today and got ready to leave. I have to catch a bus back to San Jose to get the bus to Boca del Toro. So I got up and waited for my friend to get up. When he finally did I ate cereal and made some jelly and peanut butter sandwiches to take with me. I also had some fruit I had bought on the street yesterday and water. My friend decided to drink coffee extra slow and then run out to get milk. So I waited (im)patiently until he returned. He then took me to the bus station so I could get back to San Jose. The bus got stuck in traffic and I was a little bit worried I wouldn’t make it since it was getting close to 9 am. When we finally got to San Jose I hailed a taxi and agreed on a price to take me to the “bus station” to go to Panama. When I got to the “bus station” the bus was already there and people were boarding. I bought my ticket (more than Lonely Planet said it was) and got on the bus. The bus ride overall wasn’t bad until we got to the border. The bus ride is supposed to take about 6 hours (not including border stopping time) but all in all ended up taking longer. At the border you had to get off the bus. Then you had to pay to leave Costa Rica. Afterwards you walk across a rickety bridge to go to a customs office. At the customs office you get a stamp. You then have to walk around the building, down some stairs, across the street, and around the corner to another office. At this office you show your passport and you have to have proof you are not trying to illegally stay in Panama forever! I was a little bit worried, not because I want to stay illegally in Panama, but because the only ticket I have is leaving from Guatemala in August. Anyways I showed them the ticket on my phone and it was okay. Other people that didn’t have a ticket (showing they were leaving Panama at some point) had to go buy a bus ticket conveniently located around the corner. You also had to pay a fee to enter Panama. After I got through customs I was told that I should get on a shuttle that would then take me to Almirante (dock where you catch a boat to Boca del Toro). At this point I was annoyed because when I got on the bus I thought it would take us to Almirante since it said it goes to Boca del Toro. I was told, by the bus driver, that the bus actually goes to Changuinola. From Changuinola you have to take a bus to Almirante and then you can take the boat to Boca del Toro. The bus driver told me it was better to take the shuttle (conveniently sitting there) as the ferries stop running around 5 something (Lonely planet says 6 pm). I was very skeptical and a little bit annoyed because it seemed like a scam that they set up but none the less I was tired so I paid $10 for the shuttle. It took about 1 hour to get to Almirante and we were dropped off at the dock. I bought my ticket and had to wait to take the next boat to Boca del Toro. By the way the boats stop running around 6 pm (1 for Lonely Planet).  I waited about 30 minutes then got on the boat and after 30 minutes arrived on Island Colon (the main island). At this point it was getting late and I began walking around looking for a place to sleep. One of the hostels I wanted to stay at was booked for at least 2 days out. I walked around and viewed another one but it wasn’t that nice for the price. At this point I was getting tired so when I went to the next one, even though it had no water (water shortages on the island or what not), I almost booked it. However, some random guy came by and when I told him I was looking for a hostel he took me to one. The random guy, like all the other random guys on bikes, basically ride around and try to “help” tourist out. These random guys usually work for a tourist company. I made sure it was free information he was giving me and took his contact information for his tour company so I could check it out tomorrow. I checked into the hostel, which luckily did have water, and settled in for the night. I didn’t feel like venturing out anymore as I was a bit tired from all the excitement of travels, getting swindled and scammed, and walking. Later in the night I Skyped with my sister in California and my nieces. Luckily the wifi was working enough in the room (only suppose to work in lobby) to Skype. They wished me happy birthday and then I settled in for the night. I need to be well rested for my birthday. I will be all alone…. L