Bocas del Drago and Starfish Beach

When Christopher Columbus arrived in Panama in 1502, he landed at Boca del Drago, on the northern tip of Isla Colon in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago. You’ll find it much easier to discover this same tropical beach today. For $5 (round trip) you can take a 40-minute bus ride from the park on Main Street in Bocas Town, across the island to Boca del Drago. (The schedule when I was there was Mon – Sat 6 am, 8 am, 11 am, 1 pm, 4 pm and 6 pm, return trips at 7 am, 10 am, 12 pm, 3 pm and 5 pm. Check current schedules). The bus travels a well-paved road through the farming and fishing community of the Ngobe Indians. As you pass by the picturesque thatched roof houses that are home to many of the 300 community members you may envy the serenity and simplicity of their lifestyle. But, keep in mind, for most, there is no electricity and water is hauled from creeks.  

I was awakened from my day dreaming by the sensation of pavement suddenly turning to sand. No, we hadn’t gone off the road, we had arrived at Boca del Drago. A short distance beyond the tourist restaurants, cabinas and gift shops there was a small dock with a boat waiting to take me and a few fellow travelers over to Playa de las Estrellas or Starfish Beach ($1.00). A few minutes later we were swimming in crystal clear waters with beautiful orange and red starfish. They were magnificent and plentiful, each measuring 6 to 8 inches. Palm trees and tropical vegetation offered shade along the pristine sandy beach and small beach bars offered lounge chairs and refreshments. Of course, there were drinks in coconuts. Just what the body needs after a little snorkeling with starfish. I decided to take the beach path back to the main settlement to catch the return bus. It’s about a 20 minute easy walk. Yes, my day at Starfish Beach was magical, I could have stayed for weeks.  

Exploring the Archipelago of Bocas del Toro

When you arrive in Costa Rica from the USA and many other countries, you are “stamped” in with a 90-day Visa. This means that every 3 months you need to find somewhere else to go for a few days before returning for another 90-day visit. Because of its proximity, the Archipelago of Bocas del Toro, Panama, is a very popular choice for many ex-pats and “virtual tourists” who reside in Costa Rica’s Southern Caribbean towns, like us. Local tour companies offer convenient shuttles that will take you by mini bus and boat all the way to the main town on Isla Colon, usually referred to simply as Bocas or Bocas Town ($20 to $33 USD). Or, you can take a local bus to the border (about $3), walk across the bridge to Panama and pick up a taxi to the boat docks in Almirante ($10) then a marine taxi over to Bocas Town ($5). However you get there, it is worth the trip.

Gordie was taking this opportunity to get his PADI Open Water Scuba Certification at Starfleet Scuba in the center of Bocas Town. Although it rained for much of the time we were there, he was up early every morning and in the water with his instructor every day to successfully complete the course.  This also meant that I was on my own to explore the islands in the rain.

Day one I took a trip by bus to the other end of Isla Colon to Starfish Beach. This trip deserved a story of its own. See related story.

Day two, I took a marine taxi over to Bastimentos Island ($3). Although this is one of the largest islands in Panama, a large portion of it is protected, being home to the Isla Bastimentos National Marine Park, and being home to the indigenous communities of Quebrada Sal and Bahia Honda. The settlement you can see from Bocas is a town simply known as Bastimentos. This was my destination for the day. Once in the boat we were handed sheets of cardboard to hold up in front of us as splash protection from the waves. It worked. I was pretty dry when I arrived. Spent a little time exploring the main street and looking around at a number of rustic hotels and bars that dotted the coast. Unfortunately the storm clouds were gathering – not rain clouds, but STORM clouds, so I decided to cut my trip a little short. Went back to the dock and within minutes another boat arrived to make the return trip to Bocas. To me, the waves were huge and crazy. To the gentleman sitting next to me, not so. He proceeded to tell me about his adventures sailing around the world and tales of waves more than 20 feet high. I guess that made me feel safer.

For my Day Three trip I went to Carenero Island. It is so close to Bocas that you can see numerous resorts and homes lining the shore. I hopped on a marine taxi, paid my $1 and was ready to go when the driver asked WHERE on Carenero I was going. Well, I hadn’t a clue. There was a couple on board who were also visiting and they suggested we go to the marina since that was probably in the center of things. Made sense to me. As it turns out, the marina was indeed close to the Cosmic Crab, a restaurant I had heard about. But, close does not necessarily mean accessible. We landed at the marina. Everything was closed. It was Sunday. I left my companions and started on a path toward the Cosmic Crab. Within minutes I landed on my hands and knees in some of the yuckiest, smelliest mud I had ever encountered. I was forced to turn back and try the path in the other direction. The path was narrow and covered over in water and trash for much of the way. Eventually I reached an area of the island that seemed more designed for tourism. Exotic cabins over the water, tropical restaurants and beach access. I never could find a town so finally called it quits and went out to a random dock. Within minutes a boat came by to give me a ride back to Bocas. I have heard great reports about Carenero Island so I will have to try again on another trip when the weather is better.

Evenings were all together different. Since Gordie was out of class we were able to go out and try some of the many fine restaurants in Bocas. We are already planning to return and finish exploring this area. We’ll be including some scuba diving next time. 

The Great Banana Harvest

View from back door - bananas on tree.

Tree chopped - Bananas on ground and read to hang.

Well, it's been almost a year since we planted some banana trees on our property. We've waited and watched as the tree grew, and grew, and grew. Looked like more than 20 feet tall. Made for quite a beautiful site from the back door. Then the exotic flower came. And we waited. Then the bananas started to form and grow. And we waited. Finally, we had a huge stalk of good-sized bananas and it was harvest day. Gordie got the machete out and chopped down the tree. Yes, that's how you get the bananas. You chop down the whole tree.


Once they are on the ground you string them up and hang them somewhere where the critters cannot reach them. It can take several more weeks for the bananas to totally ripen to a rich yellow. And once they start to yellow they ALL ripen within days. This is when you start contacting your friends and neighbors to see how many they would like. The waiting is over. For now. Before the original tree is ready for harvest it sends out at least one "pup" that takes its place and delivers the next generation of fruit. Bananas for Life. Pura Vida.

Columbian Sapote, Yum

When friends ask what I like about living in Costa Rica, inevitably my answer includes FOOD. And when I say “food,” I’m talking about the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables available here. Our food discoveries are made at the farmers’ markets or through neighbors wanting us to try something “new.”

This week our neighbor, Jaimie, stopped us as we were driving up the road and handed us 2 grapefruit-sized, olive-green fruits and said they were “Columbian Sapotes.” When we got to the house, I immediately looked to see if this was listed on our “Tropical Fruits of Costa Rica” sheet. It wasn’t. There was a Mamey Sapote, but nothing with the word “Columbia.” Oh well, it looked interesting, and safe. We’d give it a try. I made a number of slices into the velvety outer skin and proceeded to open the fruit into sections. Inside the tough green skin was bright red-orange pulp with a mango consistency. So far, so good. But, the big test was still to come. Would Gordie eat it?   Hmm. Yes, turns out that Gordie not only tried it, he liked it – quite a bit. Said it tasted better than mango! Quite an endorsement, so I thought I would find out more about this tropical fruit.

Searching online for information on the Columbian sapote or zapote, I discovered there are actually quite a few fruits called “sapote.” In fact, the term is commonly applied to any number of soft, sweet fruits, and it seems like every country has their own version.  In El Salvador, for example, there is the zapote grande; in Panama the mamey de la tierra; in Jamaica, it is marmalade fruit or marmalade plum; in Nicaragua, it may be called guaicume; and in Mexico, chachaas or chachalhaas or tezonzapote.

We liked the taste of our Columbian sapote so much that we have planted 3 of the 5 seeds. First we soaked the five furry husks in water; then, a couple of days later, we watched in amazement as the husk split open to reveal what looked like a “brain.”  Fingers crossed we may have our own trees one of these days. The “Tontorican Sapote.”

Celebrating USA Holidays abroad

Gordie and I with good friends, El and Rosie.

Tomorrow, August 15, is Mother's Day, a National Holiday - in Costa Rica. I'm sure my kids don't know a thing about it and we'll continue to celebrate the US version on the second Monday in May. But, it did get me to thinking about how ex-pats celebrate some of their native-country traditional holidays. Take the 4th of July for example. Well, the capital city of San Jose there is an annual "American-style" 4th of July celebration each year featuring hots dogs, games and "traditional" fun activities. We live in a much, much, much smaller area. Even so, this year, Toby, the owner of a local beachside Sports Bar, The Point, put on a 4th of July celectration to rival any. It started mid-afternoon with a pig roast and numerous delicious sides that you would only find in Costa Rica such as yucca. All Free, by the way. There was also live music. And, when the sun went down the sky over the ocean filled with fireworks. It was fun to celebrate with old friends and new, some from the US and some from many other countries around the globe. The beginning of a great tradition. Thanks Toby.  

Move over Toucan Sam

It’s not that unusual to see a rainbow-beaked, Keel Bill Toucan in our neighborhood; usually high in a tree or flying by, though. Doesn’t matter, I still rush into the house and grab my camera, zoom and shoot, trying to capture the beauty of these extraordinary birds. To date my photos have had very mixed results. Anyone familiar with “Sam,” the Fruit Loops toucan, would recognize one easily. Their colorful plumage - predominately black body, yellow chest, green around the eyes and a rainbow-colored bill is unique and actually helps them to hide in the trees. 

So, you can imagine my surprise the other morning when Gordie and I were sitting on the front porch having breakfast and a Toucan flew onto the table. Seems he really wanted to try the cornflakes that Gordie was eating. Seriously. He continued to hang out with us most of the morning. Sat on the ledge, sat on my leg, checked out the garden to see what we were growing, came into the house and grabbed a tomato off the ledge, all the things you would expect a toucan to do when visiting friends. Eventually he decided it was time to leave and off he flew. The next day – no visit. Day after that, he returned and spent several more hours with us.

I watched him sharpen his bill on the porch railing then proceed to “peck” at my arm. Gordie lightly grabbed his bill and they did a little “arm-to-beak” wrestling. Although he couldn’t laugh, I could tell he thoroughly enjoyed the little game. Toucans are called “softbilled” birds but it is because of the food they eat - primarily fruits - and not the hardness of their beaks. He let me pet him, sat on my arm, and showed no fear of humans. His ability to distinguish colors was very keen. “My Toucan” seemed to favor anything in the yellow-orange range. I was working on a mosaic tile project and he came over to the table and immediately picked out the bright yellow tiles. Next he tried to pick up a glue bottle by its bright yellow-orange cap. He also tried for a yellow-handled paintbrush that was on the table. Finally he hopped over to our planter and picked a yellow habanera pepper off the bush and put it in his mouth. Luckily it fell out of his bill and I was able to swoop in and pick it up before any harm was done. I replaced the hot pepper with a chunk of papaya, and made a friend for life.

He has stopped by once more since then, but only to say “hello.” I hope he comes again. This morning there was a Yellow-ear Toucanet in our Cashew tree. Nice, but I still miss “My Toucan.”

It’s not all surfing

When they think of Costa Rica, many people think of surfing. Naturally. With miles of coastline along the Pacific and Caribbean oceans, Costa Rica offers great opportunities to “hang ten.” But there are also miles and miles of pristine tropical beaches, rivers and creeks for non-surfers to enjoy. That would be me and Gordie. 

This year we brought a two-person inflatable kayak to Costa Rica with us and have begun to explore the various rivers and beaches in our area with it. Our most recent adventure brought us a short distance south of Puerto Viejo to the small village of Manzanillo. This is the end of the road in Costa Rica, literally. Our kayaking destination was Simeon Creek which separates Manzanillo from a five-kilometer coastal trail that leads to Punta Mona and the heart of the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge. After that, Panama.



We drove to the end of the beach, parked the car and checked out the creek. Inflating the kayak took less than 10 minutes, added a few more minutes to enjoy a hot “paty,” or meat pie, we purchased from a lady on the beach, and off we went. It was everything you would expect a jungle river to be. Very dark, very quiet, tangles of low hanging vines and trees.  Just like a movie, but real. Luckily no crocodiles or snakes, that we could see at least. When we tired of the jungle we turned the kayak around and went out to try our hand at ocean kayaking.  A little later, kayak deflated, we made our way across Simeon Creek by foot and walked until we found a private, palm-lined beach for snorkeling. Enjoyed an adult beverage under the palms and began our trek back to civilization. Another day in paradise.

Food for thought - or eating

Is it just me or do most people love the idea of raising their own food? Although I was raised a “city girl,” being able to grow some of my own food gives me a great sense of accomplishment – plus the security of knowing I will never starve. And, it’s cool. I like to walk outside of my house and be able to pick something, anything, that I can add to the meal. I guess Gordie’s passion for gardening has rubbed off on me. Our tomatoes and peppers have always done well in Arizona and in Costa Rica and this year is no exception. But we find that growing food in Costa Rica is especially fun – unlike Arizona, everything grows and grows quickly. You think it - it grows.
We currently have Basil, Asian cilantro and “normal” cilantro in window boxes, plus wild “Tico” cilantro in the yard. There are string beans are already flowering and baby Romaine should be popping out in the next week or two. Unique to here, of course, are our much beloved fruits – the papayas are getting larger everyday and one of the banana trees is ready to harvest. Then there are the fruits peculiar to our North American taste buds like Cas, Marañón and Mamón chino. They too are growing and growing with no assistance from us. Yum.

The World of House and Pet Sitting

House sitting near Cocles Beach, Puerto Viejo

Could have been fate, or karma, or just plan luck, but somehow we have ended up “sitting” since the first of the year. The first four months of 2012 found us in Arizona sitting for 2 dogs and 2 cats. Then came May and Costa Rica, where we spent 6 weeks house and pet sitting. This time it was in a beautiful home a block from Cocles Beach, a popular surfing spot just outside of Puerto Viejo. The 2 dogs and 2 cats were very well behaved and we shared many laughs watching the 3 little kittens discover their world. It’s June now. 

Artist's hideaway 

We’re still in Costa Rica but now we’re sitting at an artistically bedecked tropical home at the opposite end of Cocles Beach. Only one cat here.

Yes, it’s beginning to feel like we are on a permanent vacation. Each place we sit at offers us new neighborhoods to explore, people to meet and new home design ideas. We’ve decided that it’s a lifestyle well suited to us. We’ve already learned to travel light and be open to “whatever.” At this point we are seriously considering registering with some international house sitting services and see what comes of “it.” Perhaps fate, karma and luck have some fun adventures in store for us. Belize, Costa Rica (of course), Columbia, Nicaraqua, Panama, any Caribbean islands, Connecticut and Florida are all high on our list, but, we’re open to anywhere new and exciting.

Taking care of business.

Well, we’ve been in Costa Rica for one month now. We’ve spent as much time as possible in the ocean. We have “discovered” a new beach (separate story) – to us anyway. Had time to visit with friends, and, make time to take care of the “business” of living here. One of those important "yearly" requirements is taking your car through the infamous “Reteve,” or Revison Technica.

Each year your vehicle is required to pass this strict inspection process.  You receive a sticker for the front windshield after you pass, and, yes, it is very important to have the sticker. There are transit police (traficos), who periodically set up road blocks to check that your vehicle and papers are current, you really want that current sticker.

Our closest inspection station is about an hour away in Limon. I signed up for the appointment online, we cleaned the car, checked that everything was in order and headed for our first inspection. There were only a few cars in front of us so the process went quickly. There are several “stations” to stop at; first the lights, blinkers, windows and exterior condition of the car. Then, under the hood to check cables and connections. Yes, they care about the WHOLE car. Next they test brakes and shocks. And, of course, they check the car’s emissions. I was very impressed with the whole process and enjoyed watching the results on large monitors at each station. The last station required that we drive and stop over a “pit,” similar to those you see in oil change shops in the US. From this vantage point we were able to watch all the working parts of our car from the bottom up – very cool.

The whole experience was far less stressful than I had anticipated. Unfortunately, we failed the emissions portion of the test. We now had 30 days to have it repaired and retest. Back home, oil change, gas cleaner and a few more tweaks. Next, back to a mechanic in Limon who looked at the results of our previous inspection and sent us on to another mechanic down the road. This mechanic took a look at the results, looked under the car and sent us to another mechanic down the road (everyone specializes here). The sign on this shop was "muflas." Turns out we needed to have a new catalytic converter installed and were able to get that done as we waited. $70 dollars later we had a brand new catalytic converter, passed our test and proudly displayed a bright red 2013 sticker on the windsheild. Business completed. Back to the beach.

Aspiring Beachcomber.

Be honest, who hasn’t aspired to be a beachcomber at some point in their lives. I could credit growing up on Long Island Sound or possibly my fascination with old Gidget movies. Whatever the source, it is an aspiration that has stuck with me. Perhaps because the requirements are simple. Location. Check. I am living on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica with access to miles and miles of tropical beaches. Free time. Check. Retired. No schedule to keep, except perhaps “Taco Tuesday” at Tasty Waves Beach Cantina.  Coconuts. Check. Coconut water, milk, meat. Coconut crusted everything. Coconut oil. Coconut carvings. And lastly, Sea shells to collect. Well, believe it or not, there are not many shells on the beaches. Miles of smooth black, white and golden yellow sand beaches, but not many rocks or shells. Great for swimming, not so great for collecting. Each morning I’d go out and walk along the beach to see what I could discover. My favorite finds have been sea urchin shells. Usually 3 or 4 a day is all I would come across. You can imagine my surprise yesterday morning when I came upon hundreds of sea urchin shells that had washed ashore. I have cleaned them all and already begun to string some to hang on the porch. Something every good beachcomber would do. I think I will be successful in my new endeavor.

Finding special places

The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. - Mark Twain 

As a young child of 7 or so, I anticipated Mondays. Summer Mondays to be exact. That was the time when mom would walk us kids up Downs Avenue to visit the Bookmobile. I’d go inside the converted bus lined with books and begin the serious business of selecting something to read over the next week. Then, book in hand, I would hurry back home to see what adventures awaited me inside the pages of my “find.” I never remember reading inside the house. It was always outside. In the yard under the maple trees, or in the shadow of the large weeping willow in my backyard. By high school we were given mandatory summer reading lists. Ten books, as I recall, with a test to be given on the first day back to school in the Fall. The thrill of reading faded quickly. College brought more years of mandatory reading. And who doesn’t feel obliged to read financial, technology and career-related titles just to “keep up” in the workplace?

Well, I am retired now and rediscovering the joys of reading just for pleasure. Good books, I like to think. Many have been titles that were “mandatory” at an earlier stage in life when reading the “Cliff Notes” seemed to be an acceptable solution. Not now. Now I am drawn to the language and style of the author as much as the plot. And, I am recapturing those “special places” to read. One of my favorites, a tree stump overlooking a creek by the side of my yard in Costa Rica. With birds and lizards as my companions I can escape again into the magical world of reading.

Life's simple pleasures

After almost 5 months in the USA, visiting with family and friends, we are back on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. There are always surprises when you come back to a house that has been unoccupied for that long. The first, and most obvious, was the rapid growth of plants in the yard. We had a small, "volunteer" papaya tree that took root in our front planter before we left. We returned to a tree with leaves on the roof. Another great surprise was finding out how much our black pepper vine had grown. There were dozens of stems filled with the ripe green fruits. We hand separated them and dried them for 2 days in the sun. We now have an amble supply of black peppercorns to put in our grinder (the "bunny" is our pepper grinder. The pepper is spicier and tastier than any I have ever bought in a store or been served in a restaurant. I'm not sure if it was just the fascination of being able to make such a simple, everyday staple that makes it taste so good, or if I should be planning for worldwide distribution.