Semana Santa also known as Holy Week, is a big deal down here in Latin American countries. Schools and businesses close for the week, and families pack up and head to the beach. And since we students are trying so hard to morph into Tico culture, we decided it would be good if we did the same :) We only had class on Monday and Tuesday of Semana Santa, so Wednesday a group of us took off for the beach like good little Ticos! Actually there was the necessity of renewing our Tourist Visas so that we would not be illegal for too long, so this aided somewhat in our decision to take off for the beautiful island of Bocas del Toro, located off the coast of Panama.
The Garcia's, armed with the four kids and Abby the nanny, along with 7 of the singles boarded a bus at 8:00am Wednesday morning and began the 10+ hour process of getting to Bocas. After bus rides, a border crossing, taxi rides, and water-taxi rides, we arrived at 6:30pm at our hotel, Tierraverde (http://www.hoteltierraverde.com/) which was on the water, and totally decked out with hammocks, AC and continental breakfast! We were all so tired by that point that we sat in a local restaurant for two hours eating fish and chips and enjoying Panamanian juices.
The next two days were spent relaxing on the beach, and enjoying the scenery. White sand beaches, with crystal clear blue water, palm trees and crabs are the way to go! We spent time swimming with the kids, sun bathing on the dock, building sand castles, and taking naps under the palm trees. I think I put sunscreen on 5 times in a day, yet I was still a little pink by the time we left the islands. The trip was a complete success even though there were some bumps along the way . . .
Bump number 1 - we had gotten on our bus one stop early, before it reached the main stop to pick up the rest of the passengers. Once we stopped Amanda got off to take the twins to the bathroom one last time. Something about Costa Rica is that they over sell the buses, so that there are more passengers than seats. We came up against a pair of woman that would not take "these seats are already taken by my wife and child" from Ronnie, and we ended up losing two seats as a result. Ticos can get pretty feisty when it comes to bus trips.
Bump number 2 - these buses do not make unscheduled stops. It was a six hour bus ride with one 20 stop in Limon. When you've got a 4-year old on board you really have to get creative with he screams "potty"! Let's just say it was a good thing someone had an empty Gatorade bottle for Micah.
Bump number 3 - because this is the busiest travel season for the area, we had to give up one of our hotel rooms for the final night, and we all slept three to a bed . . . did someone say "spooning"?
Even in spite of these few mishaps, we all had the most wonderful time together. It was such a laid back and tranquilo time in Bocas, and a great last paseo for me.
Once we got back to San Jose on Saturday, I quickly changed out my dirty clothes for clean ones from my back pack, and went straight over to the Duggan's house to spend the remainder of Easter weekend with them . . .
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