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The Americas
  • Greg Clayton
  • Daniel Tarpey
  • Greg Clayton
  • Daniel Tarpey

The Americas

A 149-day adventure by Greg & Daniel Read more
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  • The Americas

    Cloud Forest Hanging Bridge

    April 10, 2024 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    One of the highlights of the forest is the hanging bridge. Immersed in clouds and unable to see the floor from the bridge we can see why its a popular spot!

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    Monte Verde > Puerto Viejo

    April 11, 2024 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Today our task would be to cross almost the entirety of Costa Rica as we travelled from the forest of Monte Verde to the beaches of Puerto Viejo!

    Our first bus left at 5:30am. Thankfully the nearby bakery opened at 5am so we were able to enjoy a delicious chocolate croissant each!

    We had a couple of traffic delays which meant it was a stretch to make the 10am connection in San Jose onto Puerto Viejo. We arrived at one bus terminal at 9:56am and had to speed walk around the block to a different terminal. I went to buy our tickets (and run the loo, I was desperate) whilst Dan held the coach for us, much to the displeasure of the driver.

    But after a stressful few minutes we made it onboard! A good job as the next bus wouldn't have been for 4 hours. It didn't all go smooth from there however as the coach popped a tyre at one point which had to be changed and the heat was pretty intense.

    The scenery however on both journeys was amazing as we meandered through the forests and countryside.    Read more

  • The Americas

    Arriving in Puerto Viejo

    April 11, 2024 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We made it to Puerto Viejo just as the sun was setting over the black sand beach which was a delightful treat.

    We took the short walk to our hostel where we would make dinner and unwind with a couple of well deserved alcoholic beverages. Yet another long travel day but needs must! We're looking forward to flying in Central America!Read more

  • The Americas

    Beach Day

    April 12, 2024 in Costa Rica ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    This morning for a change we were in no rush to be up and out! So we made some breakfast and brainstormed some ideas for when we eventually get to the US.

    We then took a walk for about 40 minutes along the various beaches to Playa Cocles. We found a spot in the shade (or so I thought) to spend the afternoon. We even had a sloth join us at one point!

    We headed back to our hostel at about 4pm, planning to head out again to a different beach for sunset with a few drinks. But, the heavens opened and remained open pretty much all evening so we enjoyed a few drinks at the hostel instead.    Read more

  • The Americas
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    Leaving Costa Rica

    April 13, 2024 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    This morning we were collected by a shuttle from our hostel at 8am. It was absolutely teeming down as we ran to hop onboard.

    This first shuttle took us to the border where we had to stand in a very long queue which took around 2 hours to clear. Luckily we had the football scores to keep us company and eventually we checked out of Costa Rica!Read more

  • The Americas

    Entering Panama

    April 13, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Once we'd checked out of Costa Rica we crossed the bridge into Panama. Here we were stamped in pretty effortlessly which wasn't what we were expecting based on what we'd read online and heard from other people!

    We then took another shuttle to a port where we boarded a small boat to Bocas del Toro where we'll be spending the next few days.    Read more

  • The Americas
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    Evening in Bocas del Toro

    April 13, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We checked into our hostel and beaded straight out onto the decking outside. It was happy hour and there was a DJ playing music so all was well! I asked Danny to take a picture of me and it made me realise how sunburnt I'd gotten yesterday, although it's not sore or peeling yet yay!

    After happy hour had finished we headed out to a few bars which included befriending a former US marine tequila bar owner who gave us a free shot each.

    The main nighclub in the area was next door to a number of buildings that had literally just all burnt to the ground a few hours before, yet we still found many other places to go.    Read more

  • The Americas

    Floating Bar

    April 14, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    After a late night and a lie in we headed out via boat taxi to a floating bar! At first we were the only people there but it got busy as the afternoon went on. Great views all around!

  • The Americas

    The Masters & Night 2

    April 14, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We then headed back to the main island via water taxi to watch the back 9 of the Masters! I had a bet on Schafelle whilst Dan had Homa. Whilst neither of our picks won they both did very well!

    We then headed back to our hostel for dinner and spent a few hours out on the platform enjoying the sunset.Read more

  • The Americas

    Taking it Easy

    April 15, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Today we took it very easy! This morning we did some planning for our stint in the USA, deciding which cities we'd like to visit and then looking at all of the things to do in each place.

    We then endured a vintage Everton performance as they were thrashed 6-0 by Chelsea. Dan turned off after 3-0 but then we did resume our viewing for the second half. We headed to the shop to pick up some supplies before heading to the ferries at 4:30 to catch the 5pm boat to the mainland.Read more

  • The Americas

    Nightbus to Panama City

    April 15, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We'd booked tickets onto the 6pm nightbus from Almirante to Panama City. This bus was very nice, with plenty of legroom, comfy chairs and air con that was a bit too good. After around 90 minutes onboard darkness descended which made it a little harder to enjoy the scenery.

    We made numerous stops along the way to go to the loo and pick up food. We treated ourselves to chips (and me sausages) at about midnight.

    We made it to Panama City at around 4am and took an Uber to our hostel. At this point we were regretting not booking accomodation for the night, so I went to lie on the pool sunbeds until 6am, no idea if I actually got any sleep.    Read more

  • The Americas

    Panama City Prom

    April 16, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Just before 6:30am we set off on our sightseeing for the day, whilst also looking out for a McDonalds.

    Our first impressions of Panama City were very different to the rest of Central America! The towering skyscrapers and urban neighbourhoods reminded me somewhat of Honolulu and Dubai.

    We took a stroll down the prom which was absolutely stunning with the sun rising behind us whilst we tried to avoid the dozens of runners heading in all directions.

    We eventually found an open McDonalds which was a welcome reward for a long night.    Read more

  • The Americas

    Panama City Old Town

    April 16, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    We reached the far end of the prom and the old town! This place was simply stunning, like something straight out of European Spain with various squares, churches and old buildings.

    We also nipped into a free museum about the local Gula people and the Mola designs that they turn into clothes.Read more

  • The Americas

    Afternoon in Panama City

    April 16, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    After finishing up exploring the old town we took an Uber to the big supermarket which was located at an even bigger mall! After doing our shopping including having a nose around Zara and H&M, we headed back to our hostel to check in, shower, sort our laundry and watch the Champions League which was conveniently being streamed downstairs!

    We then set out to find the cheapest cash machine (they were all expensive) before Danny beat me at pool again. We made dinner, played a game of FIFA and then settled for an early night after doing two days in one!    Read more

  • The Americas
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    Panama Canal Day!!!

    April 17, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    The main event of today was a trip to see the Panama Canal! A modern wonder of the world (apparently). The canal was constructed by the Americans over the course of a decade and opened in 1914, on the exact day that WWII started. Since then over 1m ships have used the canal to avoid the lengthy and precarious detour around the bottom of South America. We know these facts because we were told them during an Morgan Freeman narrated IMAX documentary at the visitors centre.

    Whilst we were at the canal we saw a container ship, cruise ship and another sort of cargo ship make their way through, with the operation of the various doors and waterways.

    This wasn't the only thing we did today however! We started the day with a haircut (went quite well) and took more cash out. We've been taking a lot of cash out lately as we have to pay for our San Blas islands adventure. At 11am we went to a briefing about this adventure before it starts tomorrow, which gave us the opportunity to meet out guides and our fellow island hoppers. They seem like a good bunch with plenty of people from the UK!

    After the canal we took an Uber back to our hostel to watch the second half, extra time and penalties of Man City v Real Madrid. We then went to the big supermarket to pick up snacks, drinks and most importantly alcohol for the San Blas trip.

    Once back from the supermarket we packed our bags, made dinner and then I DEMOLISHED Dan 3-1 at pool to leave Central America as the reigning pool champion.

    This will be our last footprint for a few days as there's no (or very little) signal or electricity on the San Blas islands so will be back stronger with a mega update on either Sunday evening or Monday!    Read more

  • The Americas

    Leaving Mainland Panama (SB Day 1)

    April 18, 2024 in Panama ⋅ 🌩️ 28 °C

    Left myself with the small task of catching up on a whole week's worth of footprints and its not like we've been up to much......

    Today we were collected by a jeep at 5am as we were heading to the San Blas islands! We'd met our group the day before and shared our jeep with 4 others. Me and Dan were squeezed into the very back but 3 hours, a few stops and a smashed bottle of rum later we made it to the port. We met with the rest of our group here and jetted off in our speed boats towards our first island!

    We were in a group of 18 guests, 3 guides and 5 local Kuna people across 2 speed boats!    Read more

  • The Americas

    Ordub Island (SB Day 1)

    April 18, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    After an hour or so on the boat we arrived at the island of Ordub. All of the islands we would be visiting were owned and often occupied by the local Kuna people, the indigenous population of the islands. The Kuna people would help our touristic guides ensure our trip went smoothly and we even had 5 Kuna people travel with us at all times to captain the boats and help with local liason.

    Anyway, Ordub was like paradise! In terms of aesthetics I think we definitely peaked at Island one. Palm trees, crystal clear waters and golden sand.

    We snorkeled (and saw a shark!), played volleyball, had lunch and were introduced to the game of 'killer' which would be an ongoing game for the 4 days.

    Killer involved everyone picking a piece of paper out of 3 bags. One bag contained everyone's names, one bag contained objects and one bag contained times/places. The aim of the game being you would kill your person by giving them an object/making them do something at the specified place. If you killed someone, you inherited their kills and took on their target. I had to kill Julia by giving her a phone in the dark, a very easy task compared to many. Dan had to give a t-shirt at breakfast to Delfine, a little harder. So we had to be wary at all times of any suspicious behaviour.    Read more

  • The Americas

    Bugadup Island (SB Day 1)

    April 18, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Our second and final island of day 1 was Bugadup. Here we would spend the night! Again another beautiful island with a great sunset. We played a few different card games with the group had a few drinks around the bonfire and generally began to bond as a group.

    Unfortunately we had our first killing of the trip, as Dan was killed by Kate with a bottle of water at dinner. A shame but at least Dan could be less on edge now and help other people execute their kills.

    We weren't up too late as everyone was tired so we retired to our hammocks for some well earnt rest.    Read more

  • The Americas

    San Blas Olympics (SB Day 2)

    April 19, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    We spent the afternoon competing in the San Blas Olympics. We were split into 3 teams who competed in a variety of events including flunkiball, wheelbarrow race, volleyball and a photo caption competition, the contents of which can never ever see the light of day.

    This took up most of the afternoon amongst having a swim and playing some casual foot tennis and volleyball.

    In the evening I struck Julia down by asking her to shine my phone torch after dark. Result! The only downside being that I inherited her kill objective, which was to give Aurelie a handful of sand within 2 metres of a Kuna person. A near impossible task which proved to be so.

    We finished the evening with a super competitive game of 'mafia'. Today was probably my favourite day as everyone in the group really got to know each other better and the day we all became good friends!    Read more

  • The Americas

    Mandunga (SB Day 3)

    April 20, 2024 in Panama ⋅ 🌩️ 28 °C

    It was an early start this morning as we headed to Mandunga island for a few hours. The island was only small but a family lived here who kept dogs, pigs, turkeys and roosters.

  • The Americas

    Kuna Dance Class (SB Day 3)

    April 20, 2024 in Panama ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Whilst on Mundunga island we were dressed into traditional local attire and given a dance lesson from a local lady. As you can imagine, we weren't very good at the dancing or the instruments but we did look superb!Read more

  • The Americas

    Ogobnega Island (SB Day 3)

    April 20, 2024 in Panama ⋅ 🌩️ 29 °C

    We spent lunchtime today at Ogobnega island. We spent some time relaxing, snorkelling and enjoyed a cultural and historical talk from Maggie, one of our local guides.

  • The Americas

    Paddling to Caledonia (SB Day 3)

    April 20, 2024 in Panama ⋅ 🌩️ 28 °C

    We could see our island stop for the evening just across the way. However, instead of taking our trusty speedboat there, we were told we would be splitting up into small wooden boats and paddling.

    So me and Dan joined 'big Dan' as a trio. We couldn't get to grips with our boat as no matter how much we paddled right, the wind pushed us left. We ended up way off course but did see an eagle ray leap out of the water for a few seconds. Our guide says this is super rare and he's only ever seen this happen once in 7 months on the islands!

    After setting off first and after a few near strangulations, myself and the two Dan's made it to the next island almost last, but we made it!    Read more

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