Beaches and Cities

Costa Rica - Panama border

By George Ellard ⋅ January 28, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

To cross the Costa Rican border to Panama on the Atlantic Coast is an adventure in itself. While heading out to Bocas del Toro in Panama, we came across this border straight out of a comic book. The most challenging part to the crossing was making sure my feet didn’t go through one of the countless gapping holes caused to a serious lack of necessary wooden boards. The second toughest part was staying calm while a huge semi passed and shook the bridge to the point some of us actually thought it might just fall into tiny pieces there and then. Once we got to the Panamanian side of the bridge we were just as surprised to see full fledge army personal with machine guns greeting us on the other side. It made me so happy to know I had chosen to call Costa Rica my home and not the other way around.

A quick tip to those crossing next: Do not accept any help from the people offering to help you with your bags and make sure to keep an eye on them the entire time. To get to Bocas del Toro you will need to take a taxi to the river taxi which should cost around $5 a person. The river taxi is the same price. You will need to pay for these transfers on the way back as well.