Slow Boat to the Other Side

 

        “Do you want to go to Panama? It’s only half an hour away?”

“Sure, why not? How do we get there?”

“I know a driver who can take you to the boat to cross the river. It’s an adventure!”

“OK. When can we go?”

“How about in an hour?”

“Hmmm...should we bring our passports?”

“Absolutely not!”

So our adventure began to visit a new country. We are staying on the Costa Rica beach with a pool. The surfers are out every morning and the water is warm and the white sand is hot. We are surrounded by palm trees, tropical flowers, and the sound of monkeys and exotic birds. We spent the drive to Panama looking for sloths in the trees. The local driver showed us the tallest palm trees to search for them, but no luck. We drove along the beach through tiny, rustic villages and abruptly turned left into the jungle. We passed a Chiquita banana plantation surrounded by a tall, chain link fence. There was a green plastic bag hanging on each banana tree for dead insects to fall into. When the bag is full, it falls to the ground and they pick it up. The driver said the locals don’t eat the Chiquita bananas. They are grown for export only and are sprayed regularly with pesticides. They take two years to grow??? Apparently, Chiquita is frowned upon by the locals here. He prefers the small, sweet bananas that are covered with brown spots and sold along the roadside on wood tables. Fresh from the field! 

The dirt road was full of potholes and got bumpier as we drove further into the jungle. All of a sudden the river appeared and our car stopped. I looked out the window and saw only green bushes and trees. I grabbed my small backpack and climbed out of the car into the jungle with my husband. 

“Follow me,” the driver beckoned. Could I trust him? We were in the middle of nowhere with no one in sight. We walked down a rocky path and arrived at the wide, dark blue river far below. 

“That is Panama on the other side,” he pointed. 

It was too far to swim across and an island of rocks in the middle. 

“Do people swim across to come to Costa Rica?”

“No, the current is too swift. You would drown.”

“Hmmm”, my stomach tightened. I wiped the sweat off my brow. Is it too late to return to the safety of the van? Where was the boat?

As if the boat driver heard me, there was a loud sound of a motor in the distance. We were perched on the edge of the hill. Was there any way I could get out of this so-called adventure?  I was feeling sick to my stomach and wasn’t even in the boat yet. As if it read my mind, the boat puttered around the corner. There was no turning back now. 

Costa Ricans like to shop in Panama for the prices. On the other side of the river are three discount stores that sell groceries, clothing, and auto parts. Only the grocery store was open today that included a discount liquor shop. We climbed down the slippery mud cliff to the river. I leaned on the boat man’s outreached hand. I was glad to make it without slipping into the mud. The boat had seen better days. It was ten feet long with rickety seats that needed fresh paint. The sunburned driver went up the river and back down to the other side to avoid the sandbar. We made it to the other side in about 15 minutes. 

The path on the other side was even steeper and muddier to climb up. I wish I hadn’t worn my new pants. We made it up looking around for any police. The store was completely empty and the cashiers were Chinese. We walked through the narrow aisles full of dented cans that looked like they lived there. The largest display was of table fans on sale which I could have stood in front of forever. We bought some duty-free alcohol which was half the price of Costa Rica. Then we hurried back to the boat when our grocery bag handle broke. All of a sudden there was a police car driving through the empty parking lot. We hurried down the cliff carrying our heavy, red bag when the handle broke.

I kept looking at my watch and behind me to see if the police car was returning. After a long 15 minutes, we heard the familiar sound of the motorboat puttering up the river. It had a local family coming to the store to shop. I was so relieved to climb back into the boat dragging the broken bag by one handle. However, we couldn’t breathe a sigh of relief yet in our air-conditioned van, We encountered three police roadblocks on the way back. Our driver pushed our duty-free liquor bag under our seat. It is big business down here to buy and sell the Panama liquor illegally in Costa Rica. We drove slowly through the two roadblocks but weren’t stopped. At the third roadblock, I was ready to hand over our red bag to the policeman who stopped us. He was dressed in a green uniform with a grim expression. He shined his flashlight in all our windows and opened the trunk of the car. I was holding my breath and ready to give him the red bag. However, he didn’t see our liquor and waved us on. My hands were clenched and I felt sick to my stomach. The driver said they are looking for large boxes of liquor in cars that people will resell for profit. Luckily, we arrived back safely at the bungalow after our Panama adventure. We had the Panama wine at dinner and it tasted like the best glass of wine in the whole world. We had earned it!