Two Rucksacks One Boy

Carpurgana is a small beach side town at the very top of Colombia on the Caribbean coast. What makes it slightly more interesting is that it's only accessible by sea. We ended our San Blas Adventures tour here and stayed a night so we could go through immigration before heading on to Cartagena.

Due to a stretch of land called the Darien Gap, a trip from Panama to Colombia overland is pretty much impossible. The area is dense jungle that's inhabited by hostile tribes, drug runners and not to mention some rather scary wildlife. Your options are either fly or boat. For much the same price as a flight the boat involves a couple of days cruise through the San Blas islands which we'd heard were much the same as the Cayes in Belize which we'd really loved. Desert islands and beautiful snorkelling, and covering ground as you do it; We were sold! Now just to work out which company to go with!

Panama City is big, really big. In fact it's supposedly Central Americas biggest city. We stayed in the old town neighbourhood of Casco Viejo, and I would advise anyone else heading to Panama City to do the same. The old town of Casco Viejo is the old colonial town of Panama city with great views across of from one of the many rooftop bars. There are plenty of bars, cafes, restaurants and shops to explore and though it's a bit of a walk to the metro station (approx 20 mins) it is within easy travel distance to the rest of the cities sights such as the Panama Canal and the highly recommended Biomuseo.

Bocas Del Toro is one of the many picture postcard destinations of Panama. We were very much looking forward to another couple of days at beautiful beaches and looking around the islands only to be stuck in the main town due to bad weather. The main town on Isla Colon has some nice restuarants, Raw Fusion getting a particular mention, however if you're in the main town you are a boat ride away from the beaches which can make this a pricey destination. You can stay on one of the many other islands and if you're looking for some good beach time Red Frog really does hit the spot.

This was a real highlight of the trip so far. Nature Observatorio is a treehouse in a secluded part of the Costa Rican jungle at a point of extraordinary biodiversity. Only accessible after a hike and then by climbing a rope which is then pulled up to make this a real treehouse, even if a t-rex walked past you'd be completely fine. Occasionally you might see the trees move in a very jurassic park sort of way, don't worry though it's probably just some howler monkeys. Though the seclusion of this spot really does make you feel as though you've been transported back to the Jurassic period.... though the wine and food, shower, bed, and solar panel gives it that modern touch.

A small surfing town on the South Atlantic cost of Costa Rica, Puerto Viejo is surrounded by amazing jungle that's teeming with wildlife. We surfed, we stayed the night in a treehouse, and we wished we were sad to leave. There's plenty to do around the area and even though we were there 5 days we barely scratched the surface.

We only had one night in San Jose and weren't expecting a lot, however the hostel (Selina San Jose) alone made it worth the visit. There are a few picturesque spots smattered among mostly run down areas. Though if you can get over its seedy side you'll be able to find some really great cafes, museums and more in the capital city of Costa Rica.

Cloud Forests, nature, trekking, zip-lining, bungee jumping - you name it Monteverde has it. It reminded me of a ski resort (with everything but the snow). It was an awesome introduction to Costa Rica and was a real change to the hot and humid jungle destinations we'd seen already. The was lush and verdant forests amongst the clouds, and it was spectacular.

Getting to Monteverde from San Juan is more than possible to do in a day, and without a shuttle. The bus times for the La Irma connection is the only real pain point, at the time of writing there is a bus between 3 and 3:30pm so make sure you're there before then and everything will be fine. We got to La Irma and had time for lunch at the restaurant there which made for a much more relaxing journey!