From Nica over Tica to Panama

After having enjoyed a great stay in Nicaragua, I've been using crazy busses, boats and an airplane to get out of this beautiful country. Shortly after being welcomed by beautiful birds on the river between San Carlos and Los Chiles, I crossed the border with Costa Rica on a small boat. I stayed in Heredia, close to San Jose, and I continued to Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo. In this laid-back village with almost no people I took the opportunity to go on a 4h trip to check out the jungle and learn how to spot animals, like snakes, spiders and sloths (NL: luiaards). After having grabbed some snakes and let some animals run over me, I still had to pay for all this luxury. Since the closest ATM was "just 6 miles ahead", I decided to run a bit. It turned out to be 15 km (at night, dangerous road cfr. Lonely Planet) and I don't have to explain that my feet were hurting like hell because I was wearing just simple flipflops. Worst. Decision. Ever.
A few days later the pain totally faded away while walking over the bridge-border to Panama (see below). I truly felt like Christopher Columbus discovering the Americas.

The taxi drive through the Chiquita banana plantations (taxi driver: "no worry, tengo un arma") revealed the secrets of the bananas: from little green fruits in blue plastic bags as protection to the genius cable system to transport the banana bunches by bike, to the refrigerated Chiquita trucks and finally to the big Chiquita cargo ships. The taxi dropped me off at a small harbour, and a boat trip later I finally ended up on the island of Bocas del Toro.

After meeting a German diver I went for two dives (ship wreck and vertical coral wall). Satisfied, I dreamed about fish and lobster food, but some noisy tourist came into my room in the middle of the night. It turned out to be noone less than... Spinksmeister Spinks. Mission 'meeting', check!