That evening in bocas del toro we went out for a really cheap meal. $3 including a drink... we didnt get ill so it cant have been that bad! Then out for some drinks... All the bars overlook the sea and have seating areas on the dock. From this point we saw the two biggest starfish i have ever seen in my life(not that i have seen that many though!) The next day in bocas was slightly disappointing (some might even call it a hell day...). It rained all morning and only at about 3pm did it start to clear up. We decided that we had to do something constructive with our last day in bocas so we took a trip over to Bastimentos town on the no car island of bastimentos. The little town was a maze of concrete paths surrounded by colourful rickety houses, hotels and places to eat. From there we decided to walk to this deserted beach called Wizard beach which was supposed to be amazing. It was an interesting trek there, to say the least... OK so i freaked out a bit from the bare feet and bugs situation but i think that was justified when on the way back I saw the biggest spider i have ever seen.... and it was black and yellow! Wizard beach was nice but not the best we have seen so far and so was mildly disappointing. When we got back to the hotel, because we were so muddy, it was suggested to dive into the sea off the dock at the back (and have a go on the water trampoline too!). Jules and I promptly jumped into the water. The only problem being that I, being a bit of a loser, still had my money belt thing on under my shorts with my passport in it. Gutted. The next day we got the boat back to the mainland and crossed the rickety bridge (see photo) across the border back to costa rica. Having rehearsed how to say my bag got wet and my passport was damaged over and over again in my head, there was actually no problems at all. It had only run a bit i guess and my visa stamp was still there...they didnt seem too bothered about it all. We went to Puerto viejo de talamanca from the border where we decided to stay in a place called rocking js in a hammock the first night... An interesting experience leading to slight sleep deprivation. For my part it wasnt the sleeping but the falling asleep in the noisy hostel that posed the problem but i think the others were in more pain!

The next day we moved into a cabin....In puerto viejo we took a bike ride (in the rain), ate numerous amounts of times at this cute cafe called bread and chocolate, drank a couple of cocktails and on our one sunny day, we watched a surf competition. On our one sunny day we managed approximately 3 hours in the sun before even the factor 50 wasnt working and we started to go pink again (except for Jules who escaped unscathed!).

We also met up with a girl we met in Tamarindo (Jenna) and spent that day with her, sunbathing, watching surfind, shopping and then having a traditional caribbean meal in a soda...yum yum rice and beans! Actually one night we did attempt our own caribbean cooking efforts and while the meat and plantains tasted good... the rice and beans (which you shouldnt mix together!) turned into a mixture resembling concrete!

That evening we had to move our stuff to a different hotel because rockin Js was full and we couldnt handle another night in a hammock but we did go back there for the party. It was supposed to be a bonfire on the beach, which did happen when the rain eventually eased off.... but it was mostly inside. When someone offers you a cup with unlimited refils of jungle juice for 1000 colones... it is an offer you would probably be better off to refuse.

The next day we lazed around for the day and then left at 4 oclock for San Jose where we would stay the night again before heading on to Tortuguero. They had overbooked the bus... so when it came there were about 3 times too many people. I was surprised when the other buses they promised turned up, even if a bit later than we had hoped! We arrived in San Jose and decided to stay in a hostel that we were given a flyer for the week before...it was actually brand new... and we were the first people to stay there. They didnt really know what to do with us but were excited none the less to have their first guests!

We woke up and left for Tortuguero. We had pretty much no money and thought we would just pop into a bank to change some travellers cheques between the buses (we had an hour!) but 2 hours later we realised once again that here no one is in a hurry and a long queue is a long queue that is probably going to move extra slowly because they can see you are in a hurry! We got to Tortuguero at about 5pm...it was raining. We went on a Night Turtle tour from 10 until 12 and yes we have now seen turtles!! YIPPEE! We saw about 4 green turtles in total and watched one for a long time until it laid its eggs. That was pretty cool and worth the hell journey and the rain! It even got Jules excited who hadnt been overly bothered about the Turtles!

OK well we are heading down to peninsula de Osa tomorrow...an 8 hours journey which better be worth it! There are some pretty nifty Scarlet macaws down there apparently!


Salxxx