San Juan del Sur (Nicaragua) - Crouching Dragon, Naked Tiger

SAN JUAN DEL SUR -  (NICARAGUA)
05 February - 07 February 2017

-->

Located in a lush valley with a river running down to the town’s beach, coupled with a long stretch of fine dark sand set between two cliffs, visually San Juan del Sur is an appealing place. Having somewhat of a renaissance these days after once being a transport stop on the trans-isthmian steamboat line during the Californian Gold Rush of the mid-1800’s, San Juan these days is a draw-card for those types looking for easy days, sunsets and surf. 

The ride you need to take

Central American buses be like, 'We friends y'all'

Not difficult remembering the bus you're on, 'Yeah, mine is the one with the rainbow and Hawaiian vista painted on the front, have you seen it?

Essentially at its heart that’s what it is now, a small surf town comfortably equipped to handle the current spike in interest from gringo travellers on the Central American travel line.

Arriving mid-afternoon in San Juan on a Sunday we found a cool little coastal town that would not have been out of place anywhere in Australia or on the Californian coastline. Surfing shops and fashion boutiques, bars and seafood restaurants, it had that easy breezy vibe about it that automatically dialled our ‘chill factor’ back a couple of notches.

Henry's Bar - San Juan Del Sur - Nicaragua

View from the back porch of the Naked Tiger Hostel - San Juan Del Sur - Nicaragua

Naked Tiger Hostel - San Juan Del Sur - Nicaragua

We took the option of staying at a hostel out of town, the Naked Tiger.

Set in the lush hilltops of San Juan del Sur, the Naked Tiger has access to quite a stunning vista with views out over the beach and surrounding areas. The Mediterranean style villa with sweeping porches and a gorgeous pool to match lulls you into a sense of false luxury from the up-tick. That’s the danger of a place like this – it looks and feels like a place that once could have been the home of a powerful drug lord but now is overrun by dumb sexually depraved 20 somethings that end up turning the joint into a frat house dive.

The Hispanic villa, which was a  pleasure to stay in on its own, has been ruined by dumb arse wall graffiti for guests whose half-witted drunk arse comments aren’t worth the cost of the ink. Additionally, the owner of the place, some dumb American trustafarian leads the charge for the completely pliant and docile stuff who are either hungover for the majority of the time or too busy trying to look good for their latest interest.

San Juan Del Sur - Nicaragua

San Juan Del Sur - Nicaragua

San Juan Del Sur - Nicaragua

San Juan Del Sur - Nicaragua

The rooms themselves are spacious but feel like a petri dish of marinating teen bacteria whose filth and sexual juices have combined to push make these areas bio-hazards. When staff tell you straight up, Oh hang on, we need to fumigate yours beds first prior to you being able to use them – well, you need to reconsider your position.

That’s the Naked Tiger, it offers the possibility of luxury on a beer budget if you’re prepared to live like a student on Spring Break.

San Juan Del Sur - Nicaragua

San Juan Del Sur - Nicaragua

San Juan Del Sur - Nicaragua

San Juan Del Sur - Nicaragua

San Juan Del Sur - Nicaragua

San Juan del Sur is not the Naked Tiger however. A comfortable, breezy town on the Pacific coastline, we found it to be quite agreeable. Great whether, cocktails on the beach and the salt in the air, without the overwhelming development that comes with First World countries, its understandable why this place is having a spike in interest. Admittedly it’s not just San Juan that’s the draw card, the more pristine beaches further north are the real catches. With gorgeous deep blue rolling waves, rugged cliffs and a semi-arid type of environment, it has its own kind of Wild West on the beach feel about it.

We enjoyed our time here, it was nice enough for the few days that we set aside on our schedule, and admittedly, had we acquired a different type of accommodation we probably would have gotten into it a lot more.

San Jose (Costa Rica) - We know the way...and we know the way out

SAN JOSE (COSTA RICA)
04 February - 05 February 2017

There's not a lot to write home about when it comes to mentioning our return to San Jose. It was completely out of necessity, a requirement allowing us to transfer from Boquete in Panama to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua.

Our overnight stay didn't uncover anything that we'd somehow missed on our previous stop.

Kindly accept this entry as a mere placeholder of necessity. Something that prevents me from breaking the travel chain of realisation from start to finish,

And with that said, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, next stop!

Boquete (Panama) - C'mon, just retire here

BOQUETE (PANAMA)
03 February - 04 February 2017

With about an 8hr bus trip out of Panama City to the Eastern frontier of the country we found ourselves wondering the back lot of the Terminales David (in the town of David), in the late afternoon. Somewhere along the line we'd decided to opt for the mountain village/town of Boquete before heading for the Pacific coastline and absorbing as much sunshine as the coast would allow.

Chicken bus baddies - somewhere near David - Panama

What we’d discovered about Boquete prior to our arrival, and about Panama generally, is that of recent times its become a popular destination for retirees. In fact, Panama has a range of policies that aim to entice the over 65’s to making their way here, especially US retirees. From providing a  20%-50% discount on air/bus & rail travel and an equivalent discount on concert tickets, restaurants, hospital bills, medical consultations and more, the desire to attract those in the latter stage of their lives is typified by a quote the Panamanian Minister for tourism, Ruben Blades,  who said, ‘People don’t come here to die. They come here to live’.  

Certainly when you consider the financials of the situation and the nature of the lifestyle, why wouldn’t you make the move? You can acquire beautiful lodgings quite cheaply, live comfortably on $20,000 USD per year, have good access to medical facilities. It all makes a reasonable amount of sense for those that have even a moderate level of moxy about them.

Then there’s the town of Boquete itself, a temperate highlands retreats surrounded by luscious rain forest filled mountains, coffee plantations, burbling streams, hummingbirds and dazzling flowers.

Boquete - Panama

Boquete - Panama

Boquete - Panama

Our arrival in Boquete however was painted with slight ignominy. Having been delayed somewhat out of David, the sun had already set by the time we’d arrived. Somehow we’d also booked accommodation was not exactly central to the town. Arriving at that early evening hour, i.e, equivalent to the bed time of most Tasmanians (close to 7:30pm), also meant that places offering dinner outside of appeared to be closed. Thankfully the place we were staying at, Creadora on Avenida 1a Este was just across the road from Morton’s Bakehouse (Panaderia). Don't worry if you don't know the name, there's nothing extraordinary about the place. Wandering up to the front door as we walked in we discovered an eight year old kid at the front counter who was promptly ready to turn us on our heels and march us straight back out the door we'd walked through, 'We're closed' was his terse response as we stood at the open door. That attitude stuck until his parents showed up. Thankfully his parents were much nicer than the little squirt and assisted us with our hunger pangs by conjuring up a fairly decent quesadilla on the fly. It was greatly appreciated we have to say. So here’s a shout out to Moreton’s Bakehouse in Alto Boquete. Thank you for making our evening so much nicer with your hospitality.

Boquete, set in a tranquil Caldera Valley, some 1000mtrs above sea level, sits smack bang in the middle of both of Panama’s coasts. The town itself edges on being almost a mountain style village in that there’s elements in the architecture that remind you of small mountain towns in Switzerland or Austria.

Boquete - Panama

Boquete - Panama

Boquete - Panama

Aside from those wishing to retire here there’s still plenty of activities for others that want to ‘do something’ on the hillside here. One of the main drawcards are the ziplining tours. An activity that had previously been monopolised by Costa Rica  but has now made its way into Panama with a large degree of success. We decided to go with the Panamanian option of ziplining mostly from a cost perspective as their Central American brothers just next door have been having a laugh at tourists expense for a while now.

We utilised Boquete Adventures Canopy Tours and were not at all disappointed by what we were provided. Located high in the hills to the north of the town, a pleasurable 15 min bus ride up into the rain forests brought us alongside a coffee plantation and to the main base/offices of the ziplining crew.

The surroundings were an absolute treat. So once the standard safety briefings were had we headed up into the trees and started our adventure.

Boquete - Panama

Boquete - Panama

Boquete - Panama

Boquete - Panama

Boquete - Panama

If you haven’t tried it before then I can definitely recommend it. Flying from platform to platform some 30-50mtrs above the ground at 60kms an hour, above and through the treetops, as free an easy as a bird. It’s truly exhilarating. Also, I’d have to say that measuring the level of safety against the previous occasion I did this in Laos, I am more than a little surprised that we walked out unscathed in Laos. Safety was not an overwhelming concern of that operation!

Post Ziplining we headed back into town for a spot of lunch and stumbled on a great locale known as Mikes Global Grill.  A nice, green and open space, sidling up to free flowing creek/river, they served, in my opinion, some of the best fish tacos I’ve ever had which was supported by some fabulous home made chilli sauce that held just the requisite amount of heat to bring a good tear to my eye.

Tranquil and relaxed, temperate and comfortable. I can see why Boquete would be an attractive option for those wanting to escape to the high cost of living in say the US or Australia and move here. In fact, in you look at the Worlds Best Places to Retire (2019 ed) https://internationalliving.com/the-best-places-to-retire/, you’ll see that Panama tops a list of quite respectable candidates. And it’s not  just about affordability but, as I said earlier, policies are tipped towards enticing retirees down their way, including such things as tax exemptions on foreign earned income, a vibrant cultural mix, fantastic weather and general facilities. There’s a lot to love about being down in Central America.

Panama City (Panama) - A hard left at the Hard Rock

PANAMA CITY (PANAMA)

02 February - 03 February 2017

Returning from the San Blas Islands we checked back into the Hard Rock Hotel Megalopolis in Panama City. Hardly the budget style accommodation that we’d pencilled in at the start of our adventure but really, neither of us were complaining.

Our evening was spent close to home, heading over to the Hard Rock Café for dinner and then rounding the night out with drinks at the Red Lion Multicentro. As I said in an earlier entry, this place is an amusing oddity, to quote some of the reviews written about it;

‘Over priced drinks. With no atmosphere. There is over five waitresses to one customer and none of them pay any attention to their customers. The waitresses are too busy fondling each other's breast to ever pay any attention. It's amazing how many beautiful women there are in the establishment and surrounding businesses but none of them are actually working’

‘Falta mayor atención a personas que no van pendiente de levantarse a alguna chica del bar’

‘ésimo lugar, se puede decir peor. teníamos a 4 babosos pendientes de las chicas que aburridas estaban charloteando, comimos mal, bebimos mal. 0mg! No volveré mas allí’

We had a few drinks here but considering we weren’t offering the girls any attention we also became the standard ‘afterthought’ in a place that obviously has a target clientele.

Finishing off  with a couple of drinks at the Hard Rock Hotel we turned in for the night in preparation for the next phase of our journey. The next day we’d be turning around and starting our northern run, the next stop being Boquete in Central Eastern Panama.

San Blas Islands (Panama) - 9.57°N, 78.82° W

SAN BLAS ISLANDS (PANAMA)

01 February – 02 February 2017

The San Blas Island are an archipelago of some 365 islands that lie 2-3 kms off the northern coast of the Isthumus of Panama. Our knowledge of the existence of these islands was non-existent until 3-4 days earlier when our friend Marco from Barrbra BnBOver The Sea informed us of an idyllic location, unknown to most outside of Panama, that provided a Robinson Crusoe style existence in the crystal clear blue waters of the Caribbean. Any other response than a hard ‘YES, lets do it’, to that explanation would have been a missed opportunity.

WHAT WE NEEDED TO KNOW

The islands are part of a district known as the Guna Yala and provides a simple but quite stunning home locale to the Guna people. These people have generally maintained political autonomy from the mainland since a revolution against the Panamanian government in 1925. What it means for them is that dictate and control access to their islands in the method and purpose they believe suits them most.

Getting there is actually relatively easy, although its not a location you’ll stumble across, you need to make the choice to discover them.

Understanding that we had a fairly established plan for travel, but also, in built flexibility for side-trips such as these, we opted for a 2 day-1 night stay on one of the islands. So with a 6am start at the Hard Rock Hotel, we were picked up by 4WD and driven literally across the country, from Pacific Ocean to Caribbean Sea. The last hour of the trip being fairly wild and rugged terrain amongst lush tropical landscape. Impressive but for the fact that the early morning start had us wanting to close our eyes for most of the ride.

Carti Sugtupu - San Blas Islands - Panama

Carti Sugtupu - San Blas Islands - Panama

Hitting the beach at around 9am we awaiting our escort across the calm expanse between the mainland and the islands. The open boat style of ride meant that every time we hit a wave of moderate height and temperament we received a substantial spray. This literally had us drenched by the time we got to the island.

On our arrival what we found was that development was negligible or should I say not existent. Thatched rooves and boarded huts on a  pristine beach with a central canteen for meals and announcements. That was the extent of it. No jet ski’s, SUP’s, paddle ski’s, paragliding, scuba diving schools. It seems that the Guna have really tried to maintain authority over how their islands will should be used, therefore keeping tourist number lows and not allowing any sort of development to overrun their corner of the world.

San Blas Islands - Panama

San Blas Islands - Panama

San Blas Islands - Panama

San Blas Islands - Panama

..And with all that said, the islands are their own form of beautiful. They’re your typical palm fringed, white sand, turquoise water style of paradise, made for simple enjoyment. Lazing around, taking in the environment and finding time to dry off after constantly moving to and from the water was the extent of our responsibilities. We did also do a little bit of snorkelling as some of the islands were surrounded by very basic reefs.

San Blas Islands - Panama

San Blas Islands - Panama

San Blas Islands - Panama

San Blas Islands - Panama

San Blas Islands - Panama

San Blas Islands - Panama

San Blas Islands - Panama

San Blas Islands - Panama

San Blas Islands - Panama

An enjoyable short stay for us. It was an interesting part of the world and one that we probably never would have even contemplated had we not been advised earlier. Definitely recommended for a short period of time, but unless you’re a real loner than can spend days on end in their own head space then I’d say two full days would be the maximum period of time for a stay.