I only stayed in Puerto Viejo overnight. I felt bad vibes from the moment I arrived in PV that were reinforced when I walked around the town in the afternoon and later on in the evening. Although I am normally not a paranoid person, I felt that I was being watched in preparation for a rip-off. In Nicaragua, I had been warned that rip-offs are common in PV and one ex-resident of CR told me that it is only a matter of time before you will get ripped-off. Over diner, I decided that I would leave the next morning and head across the border to Bocas del Toro in Panama. Unforntunately, I had a bad experience that evening when someone broke into my room while I was asleep. Luckily they did not get my passport or credit card. See my post here. All I will say is that PV is not my kinda place, although I met other tourists who had been there and they loved it. I also met numerous people who raved about the coast/beaches south of PV. They are probably a better option than PV.
After I had reported the theft to the police, I caught the bus south to the border (about an hour or so). When you arrive at the bus parking area it is not clear where you go next. There is a fairly high dirt/grass raised area on one side of the parking lot and you walk to the top of it and continue to the left for a short way until you see a small office on the right. This is where you complete the paper work to exit CR. Next you continue along the bridge, be careful here as it is old and some of the boards are broken, loose or missing... it's a decent fall into the river below. Once on the other side, there are two offices on the left. Walk past the first window and enter the door of the last office. In here, depending on your nationality, you must buy a tourist card ($5 from memory) and then return to the first window and have it stamped along with your passport. With the entry formalities completed, walk down the stairs to the right and there will be minibuses and taxis waiting to take you to either Changuinola or Almirante where you can catch a boat to Bocas del Toro. On the day I was there, the next boat from Changuinola was full and therefore I caught the minibus to Almirante for the boat from there. This was a little unfortunate as I was looking forward to the boat trip from Changuinola that is supposed to be a pretty scenic journey. The boat fare from Almirante was about $3 and took about 20-30 minutes (from memory).
Pt 11 - Bocas del Toro to follow
Edited by: LP to add tag
