We are home again, safe and sound in Panama so I’m catching up on the rest of our trip. Yesterday, Friday, we decided to take the ferry over to Puerta Jimenez and we had a great time. We really like that place, and I’m looking forward to going back and spending more time there. It’s a sweet little town with a hotels, hostels, restaurants, and beautiful scenery. It is on the Osa Peninsula, and area that has a very large wildlife preserve and is known for an outstanding diversity of wildlife. Even in the short time we were there walking around town we saw more macaws, and a troop of monkeys in the trees.
Another pretty morning in Golfito, as we look out our front windows. I’m not sure what they guy was doing on the mast of the yacht down there.
Macaws fly overhead. I know it isn’t a good photo and they could be about anything, but they are fast and hard to photograph. We learned to look up when we heard a certain noisy call, instead of looking for a caged bird which I did at first, not even thinking about them flying wild and free! The best sight we had was as we got off the ferry and a couple of them flew right close over us and we could see their bright colors clearly. They are fast though, so I didn’t have much luck taking photos.
So, after another exciting macaw sighting, we head out on foot towards the ferry dock, taking a couple photos of the town along the way.
We stop at an ATM for some more cash while we wait for the boat. We look pretty rich, huh! But, 10,000 colones is actually $20. It’s different being in a place where you have to do a bit of math to figure out what everything costs.
Since we had some free time, we decided to walk down a side street near the bank.
The town is in a narrow area between the hills and the water, so while we walk through town we have beautiful views through any open area we pass.
Here, we are getting close to the dock. This guy had a woman and a child on his bike! Notice also that he is barefoot. That seemed to be very common around town. Their feet must be a lot tougher than mine, for sure.
We get on the ferry and head out away from town. On the shore nearby are a lot of shacks. We were told that they are occupied by squatters, and there is no running water or electricity. They certainly look like they are patched together with whatever materials people could find.
We arrive in Puerta Jimenez and set out of foot. We thought this was an interesting house, especially since judging by the laundry it looks occupied. The sign says watching whales, dolphins, and more. Sport fishing in the Golfito Dulce, trips to Golfito Caña, Playa Blanca
Dogs tend to be thin. Even dogs who have a family don’t get pampered and overfed. This is the chubbiest dog we’ve ever seen in Central America.
What an interesting little house!
We’re wandering towards the center of town, hear something above, and see a troop of monkeys in the trees!
The one close to us had his eye on these coconuts.
He was an expert at getting into the coconuts and eating the meat, throwing the husks down on us in the street below.
After the monkey excitement, and after spotting a couple more macaws, we continue walking around the area. There are some funky homes and also some very nice ones.
The center of town has a lot of interesting little shops and other businesses.
This school must have had an event going on because there were a lot of people milling about there.
As you can see by the signs, there are a lot of hotels and hostels. I can see why tourists would want to spend time here.
We walked along the waterfront back towards the boat dock. This really is a beautiful area, and the town looks interesting enough that I’m looking forward to spending some time here on another trip.
We found our dream house. What do you think? It just needs a little work and we’re good to go!
This pretty house with gorgeous grounds was for sale.
Relaxing, Costa Rica style.
What a pretty afernoon sight.
We get back on the ferry and head back as the clouds get more and more beautiful.
You know me and clouds and beautiful skies. I can’t resist!
We’re almost back to Golfito here.
We wanted a bit more cash and the ATM was down, so we stopped by the manager’s place. He was happy to change a bit of money for us, and his friendly dogs were happy to hang out with Joel, the big one sitting on his feet.
I took advantage of the spot to take a few photos.
By the time we made it to our villa and got ready to head out again, the sun was starting to set and there were some beautiful colors in the sky.
We went across the street for happy hour and watched the beautiful scenery as the sun set. The green glow is from the Black Pearl, which some research told me is a chartered luxury yacht.
So, that was our day Friday, our last day in Costa Rica since we were heading back to Panama on Saturday. That pretty well covers the photos, but I am working on a couple more posts on my impressions of Costa Rica, and my experience with crossing the border back into Panama. So stay tuned and I’ll be back soon.
The Panama Adventure 