I woke up two Saturdays ago to the sounds of construction outside my bedroom window once again, only to come out and find the floors being worked on and pathways blocked off and people yelling at each other due to continuing interpersonal conflicts and, wishing I had someplace else to be decided to get the hell out of town.

I got online to find out when there were buses leaving San José for Panama, packed a few things, asked a woman staying here if she'd look after my cats while I was gone and took off, headed for the border.

The bus schedule I'd found online was incorrect--I'd arrived at Sixaola Terminal (Av 13 Calle Central Terminal del Caribe) at about 3:03 PM to be told that the bus had just left and that there was not a 3:30 bus as listed. However, the last bus of the day would be leaving at 4, so I got myself a one-way ticket for ¢4,700, as the round-trip ticket (de ida y vuelta) I requested wasn't available.

The company that runs the buses from Sixaola Terminal is Mepe and I have not been impressed with any of their employees, though when I bought that first ticket I blew off the guy's rude behavior as something that was probably due to it being Friday afternoon. Unfortunately I was to find his attitude to be the rule, rather than the exception.

There was a really tall guy getting on the bus and the person who sold him the ticket probably should've automatically assigned him to the very front row, as it was really the only possible place he'd fit. I'm only 5'2" and even I was rather cramped. In fact, I've never been on such a cramped bus for a long trip and hope never to have to be again, though my position was better than those poor folks who didn't have seats, but had to stand for the trip.

The bus doesn't have air conditioning or a bathroom, either, though I believe a couple of emergency stops were made along the way for people to get out and use los servicios, as the only scheduled rest stop of fifteen minutes isn't until Limon, which is quite far away.

Mepe says that the trip to Sixaloa is 5 hours, but I didn't actually arrive there until around 11. The driver told me the border was closed and the entire town of Sixaola was all shut down, with the two people left on the bus going home, leaving me with the information that there's not really a hotel in town, but the place where the bus drivers sleep might have a room available for the night. Since the driver was leaving the bus right across from the place he left me off and told me to stand outside and yell "Oopay", but I didn't want to wake everyone who was there and I wasn't sure where to yell from.

I really had to pee, which seemed like the most important thing to take care of, so I started looking around to see if there might be a spot, fully prepared to squat out in the yard if I had to, but there were some toilets in the back of the building, though there weren't luxuries like toilet seats or paper or sinks to wash one's hands afterwards, so I washed in the laundry sink, which was just fine with me.

There was a little table with two chairs outside so I put down my stuff and got a book out, fully prepared to spend the night out there once I got the insect repellent on, but after about twenty minutes the driver came walking up and insisted on getting the owner up to get me a room, which was fairly clean with twin beds and a fan, a cold(ish) shower without a shower head (got me clean!) or toilet seat for ¢5.000.

Unfortunately I didn't have an alarm clock with me and I forgot to ask what time the first bus to the border was (or what time the border opened), so I missed the bus by about 5 minutes and there wasn't another one coming until 8, so I started walking, which I don't recommend.

After walking for about 20 minutes a taxi came along and I hailed it. The driver wanted ¢1000 but didn't have change for a ¢10,000 note so I gave him all the change I had in my wallet, which I guess was fine.

I was immediately accosted by guys offering to help me as I attempted to figure out where I was supposed to go for my exit stamp. The outside window is where one waits for both the exit and entry to Costa Rica and the most confusing part about it was why there are people insisting on trying to help.

After paying my fine for having had an expired visa (¢10,000) I walked over the long rickety bridge to Panama and got in the line for my visa, again surrounded by guys offering assistance.

I found out on my way out of Panama that instead of standing in that line right away it's best to walk down past the windows to the door in the building to buy one's tourist card (Tarjeta de Turismo). It's best to have either $5 (or the equivalent in colones) as the person on duty when I arrived at the time didn't have any change and they don't accept credit cards.

After you've bought your tourist card THEN go get in line at the first window to get your passport stamped.

There will most likely be local guys standing there trying to herd you to the taxi that goes to the boat for Bocas del Toro, but if you're not planning to go to Bocas del Toro you shouldn't get on it and if you're on a budget you don't need to get on it, either, as you can get a local bus from Guabito (the border town) to Changuinola for 80¢, where you will find many hotels to stay in if you don't either can't afford a trip to Bocas del Toro or would prefer not to go there.

If you go around the corner to the main road you'll also find buses from another service, one of which will take you to the launch (la lancha) for Bocas del Toro, or to Almirante in cases where the boat is unable to dock in Changuinola, as was the case when I was on my way back to Costa Rica.

The bus between Almirante and Changuinola is $1.20.

But I didn't know any of this yet when I arrived so I just went along and got into the van that was loading at the bottom of the stairs, along with about 12 other people. I had no idea where we were being taken, but since I had no plans I decided to just go with the flow and see what happened.

I forgot to change my watch at this point--Panama is one hour ahead of Costa Rica so even though I thought it was about 9:30 it was actually 10:30 in Panama.

We were taken to the Changuinola dock of Bocas Marine & Tours at Finca 60 (though I don't remember seeing any business signs), for $5.00. Naturally, the driver didn't have change and I wasn't the only one with twenties fresh from the ATM machine. After my no change experiences earlier in the day, though, I immediately headed into the nearby grocery store while the others were fighting to get their luggage off the van and down to the dock.

Here's a link for Bocas Marine & Tours schedule, though I'm not sure it's up-to-date: www.bocasmarinetours.com/Schedule.html

Armed with my change I handed the money to the taxi driver and headed over to buy my boat ticket, which was $6, but I couldn't find my change. I guess it wouldn't have mattered, anyhow, since the closest I had to $6 was a ten and the ticket guy had no singles. Big surprise--he had no change at all, so it was back to the store for the breakfast of champions, a bag of Meinitos cheese puffs and more change.

The ride to Bocas del Toro was approximately an hour, through swampy territory that I expected alligators or crocodiles to be crawling out of, and it was a rather nippy ride. I was really glad I'd been lugging my jacket around with me and that I had sunglasses, too, to help keep the wind out of my eyes.

The boat was surrounded by potential "guides" immediately upon docking at Bocas del Toro, many of whom would just grab one's bag and start walking, so you don't have much choice but to follow them. Since my bag had been the very first one in the boat it was the last to come off and most of the vultures had disappeared by then. In the meantime I'd started chatting with one of the guys, Javier Jimenez, and ended up hanging out with him for most of that day and part of another. I highly recommend him if you need someone kind and knowledgeable or just help carrying your bags.

I also got to know another guy who works as a guide a little bit, who goes by "George", though his name is actually Justino Georgeth. Javier seems to know more English, so if you need someone to translate, too, you should probably stick with him. I believe the $30 I gave him for his guidance and assistance was money well spent, even though it was tough on my budget. I'd gladly have given him more and employed him for another day if it had been possible.

I could tell immediately that I didn't want to stay on Colon, or at least not right in "town" as the town of Bocas del Toro is referred to from all over the archipelago, so I asked Javier if it was possible to stay on one of the other islands and, after having some lunch, he took me to a dock to board a water taxi to Isla Carenero and the hotel Doña Mara, which seemed like just what I was looking for, although it most definitely stretched my budget at $85. If they hadn't accepted credit cards I wouldn't have been able to stay there and, though I'm not sure it was really worth quite that much I have to admit that hearing the waves lapping practically against the wall of my room was a perfect way to spend the night after the stress of the journey.

Carenero doesn't have much in the way of consumer options, but there are several other hotels and a few bars and restaurants, as well as a hostel called the Aqua Lounge that has a bar right on the water, including a water trampoline. The rooms are $10 per night and they each have 11 beds--1 single and 5 bunk beds.

I went for an evening walk along the beach (be sure to use insect repellent!) and stopped at the Buccaneer Restaurant to sit and have a drink while watching the magnificent sunset. There's also a hotel there ( bocasbuccaneer.com/ ), which seemed pretty nice, is less expensive than the Doña Mara and doesn't receive as much traffic.

I spoke to Indida, the waitress/bartender who was there alone at that time, and asked her if she knew of somewhere cheaper I might stay. I told her that all I really cared about was that it was clean, quiet and had a fan--air conditioning was not a requirement, so she told me to check out Hotel Sagitario on Calle 4 on Colon, which had rooms for $15 (with fan) or $25 (with air conditioning). I thanked her and continued on down the beach, stopping to use the facilities across from The Pickled Parrot ( www.bocasbluemarlin.com/html/p...rot.htm ) before going inside for an enormous, refreshing piña colada.

Everyone seemed to speak English and I met some very interesting people there and, even though all the other patrons were men I was made to feel quite comfortable and soon included in all the conversation going on.

Closing time seemed to come all too soon and I was invited to go to town with some of the others, but I was beat and desperately needed a shower, as the water had been off at Doña Mara when I checked in, so I politely declined.

After my shower I realized I'd barely eaten all day and that I was starving, but there I couldn't seem to find anything open, even though it was a Saturday night. I think somehow I either walked past, or missed, The Aqualounge, though I was trying to follow the sounds of music, which seemed quite close. I later found out that sound drifts over from Bocas del Toro and actually can seem even louder than when you're right next to the source of it.

I also discovered the next night that there's a dock down past The Aqualounge where lanchas drop off and pick up people until 3 AM. It's surrounded by lights but is a bit hard to see from the landward side.

On Sunday I stayed at Tierra Verde ( hoteltierraverde.com/acomodations.htm ), a short jaunt down the beach and $30 less expensive. They only accept cash and no one ever even asked my name, let alone to see my passport, so if you're trying to remain anonymous it'd be one more reason to stay here, though it was truly the nicest place I've seen in Central America for reasonable rate.

I also took a trip to Bocas del Drago and, though the bus was rather crowded it only cost 50¢ and was a lovely, scenic trip. I took a long walk along the pristine beach and got a water taxi back to Tierra Verde's dock on Carenero for $5 from a location where I never would've expected to be picked up. I believe the normal rate for this trip would've been $10, though I'm not certain.

Tierra Verde has a kitchen where one can stow some things in the fridge, as well as an honor bar with beer, wine and water, so I got some groceries from town and had a relaxing picnic on the beach before heading off to see what was on the other side of the island, when I met George, who escorted me to El Encantador, the bar in town that plays Soca, which I'm told is the music of Panama, and sells beers for 70¢ and water for a buck.

It was early and there was no wind or air conditioning and I mentioned to George that I'd dearly love to just be on a boat in the water and not have to return until it cooled off and soon enough that's exactly where we were. I believe it costs $5 per person to get on the boat (according to a sign I'd seen the day before) and they sell drinks and, possibly snacks on-board, but I had a bottle of water with me and we never ended up buying anything there, as the dance lesson began when I was about to go for a drink.

I think we spent about 2 hours on-board and I have to admit that it sure beat sitting alone in my hotel room or hanging out in a stifling bar. What a relief it was to find out that I can still dance!

When I was in town on Sunday I checked out El Hotel Sagitario, which seemed sort of gloomy to me, so I decided to go ahead and stay at a place I'd put a deposit on the day before, La Estrella de Bocas ( www.bocas.com/estrella.htm ), as it seemed too late to get my deposit back anyhow, for the $48 room.

The rate I was charged was more than the rate published on their website and I thought I was getting a kitchen with the room, too. I was also taken in by the pictures on their brochure, as well as a couple of brand new rooms which are quite different from the one I actually ended up staying in. I DO NOT recommend this hotel and, if I had it to do over again I'd opt for the Sagitario.

The room was not very clean, lacked privacy, a remote control for the television which, along with the air conditioner was way over my head, and had nowhere to sit other than the bed, which had seemed to be old and terribly worn out until I actually slept on it. I believe it may have been a Tempurpedic mattress or something similar, as they're wonderful for sleeping on but not so good for sitting on.

I was ready to return to Costa Rica on Tuesday morning and I didn't rush to leave, as I was told there was not just a single bus per day from Changuinola to San Jose, but that 10 AM was when the first one left, with another every half-hour throughout the day. I found it somewhat hard to believe, as it contradicted the information I'd previously received (the quoted price is $10), but I wasn't in a great hurry and I already knew I'd have to go to Almirante and get a bus or taxi to Changuinola, so I decided to wing it again.

As it happened, the information was incorrect--there is only one bus per day each way and I'd missed it. However, while others were anxiously being accosted by eager "helpers" I'd put my bag in the back of the water taxi and was able to sneak out the other side of the lancha, where a little boy of about 8 years old had grabbed my bag from. All the adults accumulated tried to get me and my bag away from the kid, but he was strong and took me out of the dock area and led me through the town to the bus stop, with a little detour to the grocery store on the way.

This bus ride cost $1.20 and took about an hour to get to the center of Changuinola, where I sought out the main bus terminal and asked which bus would take me to "la frontera". It turned out to be the big yellow school bus, which cost 80¢ and let me off just at the bottom of the stairs to the border, which I reached long before any of the people I'd been on the boat from Bocas del Toro with.

When you're leaving Panama you must wait in the same line as the people entering and my wait was more than an hour, even though the line seemed relatively short when I got there. It certainly grew during that time, with several trucks coming and going. I sure was glad I'd applied sun screen, though I probably could've used another application before being shown through. I also found out while waiting that the reason there hadn't been a boat to Changuinola was due to the water level being too low.

Finally on my way back to Costa Rica, I walked across that awful bridge again, which I'd sincerely hoped to avoid, as it is not a pleasant walk and there were many people coming from the opposite direction.

As I stepped off the bridge and headed to the window to get my passport stamped I was told by a guy sitting outside that they'd gone to lunch and would be back in about an hour. I'm not new so I got in line anyhow, even though there was no one else waiting yet and boy, am I glad I did!

You must SHOW A TICKET out of Costa Rica here if you're not a citizen of the country and, though I didn't have an actual ticket with me I had a print out (without my name on it) of my flight information for my e-ticket with Continental, which seemed to be good enough to cause the guy to stamp my visa.

I remembered to change my watch this time, regaining the hour I'd lost, and asked someone where to go to get the bus to San Jose, which I was told wasn't leaving until 3 PM, over an hour later. This was not happy news to me so I ended up taking the bus that was already there and getting off in Cahuita, where I got a bite to eat and bought a ticket for the direct bus to San Jose, which was supposed to be arriving in Cahuita at 4:30, to get to San Jose by 8 PM, though it was a bit late getting to Cahuita and didn't actually arrive in San Jose until 9.

There were about 3 checks along the way by border police, one that required everyone to get off, plus the rest stop in Puerto Límon.

Once I actually got to San Jose, there were plenty of taxis waiting and I got one to bring me back to Escazu for ¢5,000.

All in all I had a very enjoyable, if exhausting, trip, one that would've been impossible to make if I hadn't been strong, used to walking and in fairly decent shape.

If you have any trouble walking or carrying your luggage and/or getting in and out of boats, then I highly recommend skipping Bocas del Toro altogether, as it's virtually impossible to take the trip, even by plane, without having to get in and out of a small launch at least once.