Days 80 and 81: Boca del Toro, PANAMA

Day 80:

We left Puerto Viejo at 9am, and quickly covered the 30-something km to the border with Panama. Checking out of Costa Rica was easy, but getting into Panama turned into our worst border crossing yet. We got to the customs around 11am. There was a long line up, as there was a power outage. When we finally got our passports stamped, it was 1:30 pm. The next step was to purchase the mandatory liability insurance for the bikes, but the only guy in charge of that was nowhere to be seen. He finally showed up around 4 pm, and at 4:30 pm we were finally back on the road. Over 5 hours of waiting in scorching heat had all of us slightly irritated ;)

We drove another 45 km to Almirante. Our plan was to spend the next two days on the Boca del Toro island, and we didn't want to bring the bikes along with us; the ferry cost 40 USD per moto, and we were not going to ride there anyway. Fortunately, someone has previously tipped us off that it was possible to leave the bikes at the fire station in Almirante, so we went there directly. It all worked out, and we managed in extremis to catch the last water taxi at 6pm.

The never-ending border crossing between Costa Rica and Panama.

Bridge between Costa Rica and Panama. I might be smiling, but I was NOT having fun.

Secure parking at the fire station in Almirante

Fire station in Almirante, where we left the bikes.

Water taxi

Day 81:

The next day, we did a cool day-long boat trip, which included some snorkeling. Boca del Toro is a great place. I definitely recommend it.

GoPro shot on our boat tour in Boca del Toro (photo credit: Josh)

Crappy underwater picture, but you get the idea. The corals are spectacular (photo credit: Josh)

Almirante, on the other hand, is not that nice. Slums right by the canal.

Ship wreck... Almirante again.