Lietuviskas aprasymas zemiau
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Day 75: Golden Frog in the Shower
April 23, 2006
The three days on Bocas kind of soothed the post-Roatan driving crave, but then it was time to decide whether we stay and invest the remainder of our trip budget into underwater pleasures or continue going south. (Diving, unfortunately, is not very cheap - even the allegedly low-priced diving on Bocas costs USD50-60 for a 2-tank dive). The everlasting love for the road prevailed, and we headed back to our Pathfinder, which we found faithfully waiting for us right where we left it, in the parking lot at the port of Almirante.
Past Almirante, the road continues winding down along the Caribbean coast for another 60km/ 40 miles, and then, at Chiriqui Grande sharply turns toward the Pacific, and crosses the entire country at one of its narrowest points finally merging into the Pan-American Highway on the Pacific coast. The 20km/ 15-mile stretch across the Reserva Forestal Fortuna cloud forest (in the middle of Chiriqui Grande -Chiriqui road) is more than spectacular - it is probably one of the most beautiful roads we have ever seen. Yet, although the entire road is pure good quality pavement, it is also one of the more dangerous roads. Nowhere else throughout Central America had we seen so many car accidents as on this short stretch. (Mist, limited visibility and high humidity of the cloud forest make the road wet and very slippery).
Driving from Chiriqui to El Valle (an exotic little town founded right in
the middle of an extinct volcano) was mostly memorable for one reason: it
was one of those rare times during our Panamericana trip when we were actually
going down the Pan-American highway!! :) The stopover in El Valle was also
impressive because this was the place of our first encounter with a new species:
frog-shower-mate! There was a little happy golden frog, a popular variety
in the El Valle area, calmly sitting in our shower booth. Guess what? We just
shared the shower :)
Click on the pictures to enlarge
|
El Valle: a town in the crater of an extinct volcano
El Valle - miestelis uzgesusio ugnikalnio krateryje |
A twist of faith: from Lithuania to Almirante, Panama! (We used to have an identical car/passenger ferry going from Klaipeda, the major port of Lithuania, to Nida, a resort town on the Curonian Spit
Likimo vingiai - is Klaipedos-Nidos i Almirate |
The ferry was also named Palanga, which is the name of another Lithuanian resort town on the Baltic Sea).
Palanga Panamoj! :) |
Nuvesk pelyte virs paveiksliuko, spustelk jos kaire ausele, ir paveiksliukas padides
75-oji diena: Auksine varle duse
2006 m. balandzio 23
Nardymas, deja, nera pats pigiausias malonumas (kainos labai priklauso nuo vietos - Bocose mokejom po $50-60 zmogui uz pusdienio isvyka su dviem oro balionais (apie 2 val. laiko po vandeniu)), todel isauso labai nelauktas rytas, kada turejom apsispresti - ar investuojam keliones biudzeto likucius I nardyma Bocose, ar tesiam kelione I pietus. Nusprendem vaziuoti toliau :)
Grize I Almirante, be istikimai laukiancio Nissano, random dar ir siurpriza: uoste prisisvartavusi kelta "Palanga" - lygiai toki pati, kokie keldavo (tebekelia?) masinas is Klaipedos I Nida. Beveik nera abejoniu, kad sis keltas I Panama kazkada atkeliavo is Lietuvos! Gaila, neradom kapitono - butumem tikrai nepraleide progos patenkinti smalsuma ir pasidometi sio laivo istorija!
Isvaziave is Almirantes, dar siek tiek leidomes zemyn palei Karibu jura,
taciau ties Chiriqui Grande gyvenviete kelias staiga pasisuko staciu kampu
I vakarus ir skersai perkirto visa Panama, galiausiai, ties Chiriqui miestu,
isiliedamas I Ramiojo vandenyno pakrante vingiuojancia Panamericana. (Linksmasis
paradoksas - kodel panasus dvieju vietoviu pavadinimai - Chiriqui ir Chiriqui
Grande - yra juokingi? ("grande" - didelis, didysis). O gi todel,
kad Karibu juros pakranteje esantis "Didysis Chiriqui" yra mazuciukas
kaimas, o nemazas miestas kitoj Panamos pusej vadinasi tiesiog Chiriqui).
Kelias tarp Chiriqui Grande ir Chiriqui buvo puikus (naujutelis, lygus asfaltas)
ir LABAI grazus. O sio kelio gabaliukas, vingiuojantis per aukstai kalnuose
esanti Fortunos misko draustini, buvo vienas is graziausiu keliu, kokiu kada
nors esame pravaziave. Deja, taip pat ir vienas is pavojingiausiu - pravaziavome
net tris ar keturias avarijas (kelias nors ir geras, bet siauras, labai vingiuotas,
ir slapias nuo debesu ir ruko).
Likusi dienos laika tiesiog megavomes vaziavimu Pan-American greitkeliu. (Kad jau prasnekom apie paradoksus - "Go-Panamerican" keliones metu pacia Panamericana vaziuojam kur kas maziau, negu alternatyviais Centrines Amerikos keliais :))
Labai egzotiskoje nakvynes vietoje - uzgesusio ugnikalnio krateryje isikurusiame simpatiskame El Valle miestelyje - susipazinome su dar labiau egzotiska, ligi siol dar nepazintos rusies "kambarioke" - auksine varle, kuria aptikome saltakraujiskai tupincia musu duse. ("Auksines varles" (tokia rusis) budingos El Valle regionui. Jos yra labai mazutes, simpatiskos geltonos varlytes. Taciau dydis ir spalva cia nevaidina jokio vaidmens!! - Varle duse vis tik yra... varle duse.)
