Our first set travel day started in Sarapiqui, Costa Rica. After a windy road drive through mountains and past waterfalls on the side of the road, we arrive to flatter ground. First we stopped off at the Tirimbina Reserve to go for a chocolate tour and to cross the longest suspension bridge in Costa Rica. After walking along the trails, we arrived …

After a good nights rest, we wake very early to head to Tortuguero. We meet up with the rest of the group at a restaurant along the way, and then combine with the others heading for the same lodge. We pass by some towns and soon are on a rocky dirt road that heads to Caño Blanco Dock, where we will meet up with our boat transfer. In …

We didn’t return to the lodge until 12:30 and went to bed fro a quick 4 and a half hours before being woken up by our guide for an early morning canal tour to do some more wildlife spotting. While normally early morning is the best time to see wildlife, as the forest is waking up, we only saw a handful of birds including parrots, …

The next morning we woke early and headed to the local airstrip by boat for our twin prop flight to San Jose to connect with our flight to Bocas del Toro. Although they are puddle jumper planes, the flights were spectacular with great views of the plantations below, rivers, mountains, and rainforests. Upon landing in Bocas town and going …

The next morning we woke bright and early and headed down to Starfish Coffee. I ordered an iced vanilla frappe latter, which was heaven for me, and some breakfast. Next we met our pickup, Jim, from Tranquilo Bay and headed the half hour out to the resort for the next 2 days. Upon entering the dock, one can see that they are surrounded by mangrove …

We woke the next day, had breakfast, and headed towards another lodge on the mainland coast called La Escapada where we would meet our driver. On the way, we stopped at Dolphin Bay (along with a number of other boats) where we saw many different dolphins jumping out of the water, and even on jumping backwards onto his back in line. This was not …

The next morning we woke early to catch yet another puddle jumper flights from David to Panama City, where we were met by our guide and driver to head out on our Panama city tour. First we stopped at the Miraflores Locks, and watched a US military ship pass through the locks. We wandered through the museum and looked at how the canal was …

After this, we continued by car to drive 2 hours to another mountain town called El Valle. This town is situated inside the crater of an old volcano that erupted 3000 years ago. We checked in to our bed and breakfast just before a rainstorm came. While in this area we went to go visit the local zoo, where we saw many different animals …

The next morning we woke to be driven at 4 in the morning from El Valle to Gamboa to catch a boat for our tour to Barro Colorado Island that day. We met our guide Wendy on the boat, where we learned about the history of the island and the Smithsonian Research Institute stationed there. Once o the island, we had coffee and then went on a …