Tag: pizza

Costa Rica Visa Run From Panama

Before we left Bocas del Toro, we decided to take a brief trip to Costa Rica. We’ve never been to Costa Rica and it’s quite close to Bocas. Also, we have been in Panama for over four months, and don’t want to rush through the rest before our six month visa expires. The plan was to spend three days and nights in a cute Costa Rican beach town, lazing about in a hotel, seeing some sights, and relaxing. It was supposed to be an easy Panama to Costa Rica visa run. Fun? Yes. Easy? Not a chance.

Leaving Panama for Costa Rica
Leaving Panama for Costa Rica

Costa Rica Visa Run Started Off Great!

The trip to Costa Rica from Bocas town on Isla Colon was easy, and faster than we expected. We took two water taxis and two buses, and had escorts who led us to check out of Panama, and across the bridge to check in to Costa Rica. Clearing in was easy and we arrived at our hotel in Puerto Viejo early. We also didn’t realize we’d be in a different time zone, so we were even earlier! Panama – Eastern Time Zone; Costa Rica – Central.

We had heard many good things about Costa Rica. Pura Vida. And, despite a few big issues, we liked Costa Rica.

Fun Fact! Costa Rica was the last country in Central America I hadn’t visited. Although one night in El Salvador hardly counts.

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Where to Eat in Cartagena Now

We love Cartagena! It’s fun, scenic, and the food is delicious. While Colombians complain that Cartagena is expensive, we found the prices reasonable compared to most other parts of the world, demonstrating how affordable the rest of Colombia is! In our five months in Cartagena, with side trips here and there, we ate out a lot. Why not? Cartagena’s restaurant scene is vibrant, varied, and affordable. I did a lot of research before coming, but many acclaimed restaurants closed during the pandemic, so my list is where to eat in Cartagena now.

When we first got to Cartagena, there was a curfew in effect and the town was empty. We ate a lot of lunches rather than have to rush through dinner at 6PM. Now hours are back to normal, and tourists are back, so I recommend reservations.

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Eating and Drinking in Bonaire

For such a small island, Bonaire has more dining options than you would expect. Once we were free from quarantine and could roam the island, we satisfied our cravings for barbecue, sandwiches, seafood, satays, cheese and chocolate! We did have 3 months, after all! With all that experience, here are my recommendations for eating and drinking in Bonaire.

About Eating and Drinking in Bonaire

Though we were there during the pandemic, most restaurants served take-out, and many had dine-in options with social distancing and other restrictions. Many times, we provided names and emails for contact tracing. Prices are in US dollars, and costs are comparable to what you would pay in the U.S. or Canada, but some items are less expensive. Most places are in or near downtown Kralendjik, but a few are further afield. This map lays out all the places mentioned in the post.

map Eating and Drinking in Bonaire
Eating and Drinking in Bonaire map

Gio’s and Luciano Ice Cream

Ice cream is a luxury to most cruisers! Many cruisers don’t even have space for it on board. We are lucky to have a full freezer but we don’t often have ice cream in it because markets are rarely close to transport ice cream from bus to dinghy to boat fast enough to keep it from melting. So when there’s a gelato shop – or two – on land – we sample the flavors.

gelato eating and drinking in Bonaire
Some of the gelato choices in Bonaire

Eating and drinking in Bonaire should include at least one stop for ice cream. When we were in downtown Kralendjik, we bopped back and forth between two main spots but the tiny town has multiple places for ice cream, way more than we ever saw on the entire island of Antigua.

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