Aug

27

Jump on the Band Wagon

August 27, 2008 | Tags: Community Calendar | 1 Comment

September 2, 2008

They are doing it again. The band, to be named but known as “The John Wheatly Experience”, is heading to Bocas del Toro to play some gigs, snorkel, explore the islands, make a party, renew their passports, and in general have a ton of fun with you!

So, as you can see, a major part of the plan will crumble if you do not come. So they’re inviting you to join them. Who are they? The band includes members John, Marc, Eric, Kristy, Liam, and special guest Jim MacDougall.

They are doing this international tour/fiesta every three month as a fun way to get their passport stamps. You may have heard that people are now getting busted for having false stamps! So this is a great way to get legit.

Even if your passport may not be ready to renew just now, but if you go early with us this time, you will be in sync with them forever.

They’ve arranged a shuttle service that will pick everyone up in private vans from Puerto Viejo and drive across the border all the way to the ferry in Panama. A ferry will be waiting to whisk everyone to Bocas Town on Isla Colon. This shuttle includes the ferry ticket so you are guaranteed a seat on the boat and won’t have a long wait for the next ferry. The shuttle will save at least an hour, maybe two, over taking public transportation. It’s the easy, fast, secure, comfortable way to go. It will only cost a couple dollars more than doing it with public transportation. And it will be fun with a van load of friends. Crack a beer if you want, and relax! This shuttle returns at the end of the trip, as well. There is limited space so reserve early. $20 each way.

The band will be leaving Tuesday morning, September 2, and returning Friday morning, September 5. Depending on demand, there will be various departure times.

Over the next few days they will be developing a written itinerary. It will include the gigs, activities, parties, costs, suggested meeting points and times for meals, cocktails, etc., transportation times, etc. They will also be deciding on a hotel(s), and we will be able to help you with reservations. Of course the location of the band hotel will remain a secret so as to avoid the paparazzi and your basic panty-waving fanatics.

If you have questions, comments or suggestions, or would like to reserve a spot, please call your favorite bando:

Kristy: 8841-4007, Purejoy23@hotmail.com
Eric: 2750-0168, e@erichaller.com
Marc: 8864-3230, cdmastering@gmail.com
Liam: 8878-7577, liam@tropicaltales.co.cr
Jim: 8859-7511, e3r4t2000@yahoo.com
John: 8849-7600, JungleJamJohn@gmail.com

Aug

27

The Other Side of the News

August 27, 2008 | Tags: Tourism | Leave a Comment

One of the challenges of writing news anywhere is presenting a balanced view of the community when major stories are often negative — accidents, tragedies, crime, etc.

The controversy over the Tico Times article (see Violence Causes Spotlight to Fall on Puerto Viejo) has caused many to wonder out loud whether this is a balanced portrayal of our community.

I’ve spent the last few hours reading blogs written about visitors’ stays in Puerto Viejo that have been written in the last month — I’ve added links to them on the photos and blog page.  And I have to say that a huge majority of visitors seem to have really enjoyed their visit to Puerto Viejo.

Some of the comments from bloggers:

I had an awesome weekend in Puerto Viejo de Limon. I completely fell in love with the place.

We spent most of our time in Costa Rica in a small, Caribbean coastal town called Puerto Viejo. This town is full of backpackers going to and from Bocas del Toro, Panama, and surfers attracted to the 8-foot waves and laid back atmosphere.

We decided to head to the Caribbean side (Puerto Viejo) of Costa Rica and let me tell you it is amazing!! The beach is so warm, there are wild horses just chilling by the ocean and everyone is very kind!

The beach was in a beautiful cove on the edge of the rain forest right out in the middle of nowhere and we had the beach nearly to ourselves with just one or two other families coming and going while we body surfed and floated on the waves. It was such a relaxing day and I was so lucky to be there with 3 very chilled, relaxed and easy going girls who were all just ready to go with the flow, accept that the weather was bad but enjoy it anyway!

I’m staying right across the road from the beautiful beach in Playa Cocles I discovered on my jog the first day, which makes me a happy little camper (though, not literally camping…staying in a dorm room…that I have all to myself as of now! What a score!) Spent the afternoon on the beach, soaking in the sun and recovering my tan that was stolen by the chilly weather in Xela, Guatemala. Watched the AWESOME surfers rip it up on the huge waves that kept rolling in.

So why even go? We all know the answer to that: it’s the beach, and the sun, and the forest, and the monkeys, and the air. I could never breath enough of that fresh oxygen and plants and life growing on every tree and gate and wire and road. It’s incredible. Days on the sand, the kids would loose themselves in play and imagination and sticks and rocks. We lived very much in the NOW; the beach is all about the NOW.

Even those bloggers who didn’t have a 100% great time were pragmatic about their criticisms. Like:

Petty theft is a problem at the beach. Keeping a guard up is just wise. There’s a lot of drug use. It comes with the territory. We were robbed once because someone staying in our guest room on the bottom floor didn’t shut the little wooden shutter at night. Though the guests lost cameras, phones, and clothes, thankfully no one was hurt. But common sense goes a long, long way at the beach.

Can I be honest? I’ve spent the past week or so desperately looking forward to going home. Paradise has felt especially un-paradise-like lately. Nothing has really changed or happened to make me feel this way. It’s just the cumulative effect of a lot of factors that have been in place the whole time. I don’t regret that we’re here. But it’s not paradise. It’s hard, fun, interesting, different, expanding, exhausting, educational… And itchy.

In my experience, people feel motivated to write about their experiences either when they’ve had a great experience or a really bad one (not so much when it was just average) so these entries should encourage us that despite the frustrations resident sometimes feel, the average visitor is having a good time and wants to come back for more!

The latest reviews of area hotels on TripAdvisor bear this out too — most are positive about the service they’ve received and their experience in town.  In many places I’ve traveled to I’ve used Tripadvisor only to not know where to stay since it seems like the vast majority of reviews were negative.

So before we get too down with the frustrations of life here, let’s remember to give ourselves a pat on the back for a job well done for most of the visitors and hope that we can continue and improve even more!