Hi friends! I feel it’s time for a life update as last week’s blog post was just about travel tips for Costa Rica. I’m currently in Bocas del Toro, Panama! It’s a set of islands on the Caribbean side of Panama, all the way at the top of the country. It’s absolutely beautiful here with clear blue water and sunny beaches. In fact, it’s so beautiful I decided to work at a hostel and put down my overweight backpack for a month.
I found this work-exchange position at Palmar Beach Lodge on a website called WorkAway. It’s a very commonly used website for finding volunteer positions all over the world! FYI you can search it for free but to apply to jobs you must sign up for a membership which is around 50 dollars per year.
I applied and within days I heard back and accepted the offer! I was already in Costa Rica so I just took a bus and a boat down to Panama and started “working”. I put working in quotes because to call my job work is just disrespectful to all the people really working out there. My job is to create two activities a day for the guests, one in the day and another at night. Some activities include: beach volleyball, bonfires, trivia night, beach clean ups, pool tournaments, and drinking games. I write the activities on the activities board, encourage people to participate, then facilitate and join in on the activity myself. I get to meet people from all over the world and create a fun and welcoming vibe for everyone.
In exchange for my very arduous and serious work, I get to stay for free, take yoga classes for free, eat and drink for 33% off at the restaurant, 50% of beer, and discounted tours and boat rides. I also stay in a separate staff house with the other volunteers. There are three rooms, a kitchen, and a common area with a couch. I lucked out and got my own room with a queen size bed!! (For those who don’t stay in hostels often, having your own private room is unheard of… unless you’re splurging). My only other duty is to be on-call after 5pm for reception if there are any check-ins left. Since there are other volunteers, I only end up having to be on-call twice a week.
It really blows my mind how quickly time has passed here. I’ve been working here for exactly one month at the time of writing this. It went so quickly that I decided to extend one more week so I can have time to ease myself out of this comfy little pocket of the world I’ve somehow snuck myself into. Throughout my time here I have explored remote beaches, sailed on a gorgeous catamaran, scuba dove for trash, got lost in the jungle, and had a massive crocodile block my path home. I’ve snorkeled vibrant corals, fell n face-planted on a slack-line, partied on a pirate boat, “borrowed” a resorts golf cart for the night, celebrated Halloween at the bars till 5am, and got TAN! I saw dolphins, sloths, monkeys, sting rays, red frogs, blue crabs, starfish, jellyfish, regular fish.
I’ve formed lovely bonds with my fellow volunteers, spoke Spanish with the local bartending staff, and created friendships with all the wonderful guests here. I made homies with a local boat driver, Williams, who always gave me a deal if I flashed him one of my classic Tamara smiles. I ate my body weight in overpriced Doritos because I missed the taste of America, I scratched my bug bites so hard they bled, I wished on a shooting star, I read 3 books, I went on a five day bender (that I didn’t know I was on until it was over???) and got so sick that I stayed in bed for two full days (shoutout Jack and Curtis).
I played countless card games, saw a fire dancing show, went on peaceful sunset walks, did yoga in the AM, and saw bioluminescence in the water. I hosted trivia nights, climbed palm trees, did a headstand on a paddle board for 0.003 seconds, drank fresh coconut water, boogie boarded down a water slide into the ocean, and built a beach bonfire with my own two hands…and a lighter.
I even had Erin, one of my best friends from college, come visit me and I somehow got her a job here for two weeks! I also had Astrid, a Dutch friend I met in Malaysia, and then again in the Netherlands, come say hey to me for a few days as well! She made me this bracelet before she left…such a sweetheart.
Overall, I had the time of my life here at Palmar and it feels strange to be leaving soon. But I’m starting to get the itch to explore new places again now that I’ve settled down and recharged a bit. I’m getting ready to be on the move again and backpack the rest of Panama. After Panama, I plan to fly up to Guatemala and check a new country off my list!
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