After two days in Uvita, we wanted to cross the border to Panama and travel to the next big city, David. From there, we will be heading to Bocas del Toro the next morning. There are several ways to tackle the planned route. Either take a shuttle/bus to Paso Canoas and then another bus to David, or take the Tracopa bus directly to David.
We opted for the direct bus. The bus was supposed to arrive at the bus station in Uvita at 11:30. Unfortunately, the employee at the convenience store, which should also serve as the ticket counter, couldn't provide any more information as she didn't speak English and our Spanish didn't get us much further.
We arrived at the terminal around 11:10 and saw two parked Tracopa buses in bright pink. When the bus drivers appeared around 11:20, we asked if they were going to David. Both shook their heads. However, one pointed towards the road, disappeared behind his bus, reappeared at the previously indicated spot, and shouted loudly 'David'. Another bus (this time green) stopped on the street - apparently, this one was going to David. So, we quickly got on after loading our luggage and paying the bus driver $20 per person. We don't know why the bus didn't stop and why it left at 11:21 already. Obviously, there is no exact schedule and it's best to be there early enough. Well, we apparently got lucky and were able to go all the way to the border in the hot bus. People got on and off along the way, but overall, we made it through smoothly.
When we arrived at the border, we were slightly confused. Some people took their luggage with them, while others didn't. Unfortunately, we couldn't communicate fully with the bus driver, but we believed we understood that we could leave our big backpacks on the bus. We got off and then had to cross to the right side of the road to pay the exit tax of Costa Rica. We were the only ones from the bus, which seemed strange at first. Nevertheless, we approached the window where a nice lady asked for our passports and entered something in the computer. By the way, the window doesn't look very inviting. One can hardly believe that official documents and taxes can be paid there - don't be discouraged by that. After paying $18 for two people, we continued to the left side of the road. In general, the border crossing looks like a mini village. Among small stores, which are popular with locals due to significantly cheaper prices than inland, there are occasionally hidden windows where exit and entry are processed. In the middle, a busy road that needs to be crossed at least once. Having arrived on the other side, we fortunately saw our bus and some fellow travelers who were already standing in a line. We got in line too and left the receipt for the paid tax in our passports. Just before it was our turn, our bus suddenly wanted to leave. Leonie quickly ran over. The bus driver only made hand gestures for us to walk a bit further and drove off - with our luggage. Panic started to set in here. While we had our valuables with us, the rest was on the bus. After getting the exit stamp, we walked as quickly as possible. Luckily, the bus was about 500 meters further and the bus driver was waiting at the Panama Immigration Center. He gave each of us an entry form to fill out. The previous panic and stressful situation had not yet subsided. Now we had to get the entry stamp from Panama. While we hastily filled out the forms, we had to watch as one person after another was rejected and had to print documents. There was someone who took these people along and probably led them to a copy shop. When it was our turn, we had to show our vaccination certificates. The gentleman then handed us another form to fill out. After filling this out as well, we were allowed to go back to the counter and he kept the certificates and the additional form, giving us two tickets. With these, we were allowed to go to the next counter. Here, our other documents were checked: - Passports - Departure ticket - super important, someone next to us had problems even though they only wanted to stay in Panama for two days and then return to Costa Rica. We used the Onwardticket service. The officer scrutinized the ticket very carefully but eventually was satisfied - $500 in cash: we actually had to show this (we had about $100 and €500) - Our occupations were inquired about In the end, everything was fine, and we got the entry stamps. Afterwards, we were allowed to take our seats on the bus and relax again. In retrospect, we were well prepared and could present everything. Nevertheless, we saw many disgruntled people who didn't have certain documents. So, one should plan very well what they need. It took us about an hour to drive from the border to David. Here, we booked the Maxitel Hotel directly at the bus terminal (on the recommendation of our receptionist in Quepos). It was practical because we arrived quickly and could leave quickly the next morning. However, it's just a train station, and the area was neither nice nor quiet. But for one night, it was okay.
