Hiking Bastimentos Island – Old Bank to Wizard Beach to Red Frog Beach

This is my best attempt at documenting a fun hike we took. We set out from Old Bank a neighborhood on the west end of Bastimentos island in Bocas Del Toro Panama. We walked a mile to a beach called Wizard Beach (AKA First Beach). We walked down Wizard Beach and through some jungle to reach Red Frog Beach.

Here are some photographs of the journey. If you’re interested in a video, that will be visible after the photographs.

IMPORTANT: This is the exact route where a US woman was murdered in 2017. This trail is lawless and not recommended for single travelers (article 1, article 2,  article 3).

Photography

Videography

Roses are Rad – 2019

The above video is my submission to the Roses are Rad 2019 film festival. This is my second year submitting a film to the event.

The video I submitted last year took second place.

With this years video, I decided to take out all the talking and the extra map drawing stuff. My theory is that the judges might appreciate the pure powder riding.

This is in contrast to my video from last year, which was attempting to do a bit of story telling.

This video was shot over the course of many excellent ski days. My sisters are probably the stars of the show as they took the time to go skiing with me quite often. I would often make short videos of specific days which I would add to instagram and to this blog (here).

Roses are Rad 2019

Technical Production Notes

The video was shot with the GoPro7 almost exclusively. I had trouble with it initially because no video editing software that I use can work with the 240 fps files that are outputted by the GoPro7. The stabilization at 60 fps is just as good as the GoPro6. For that reason, I don’t see anything that makes the 7 better than the 6. If I were buying a new GoPro today, I would save some money and get the 6.

The music is by a group called Glitch Mob. The song is called Drink the Sea. I clipped it in places to the song exactly three minutes long. The specifications for the competition require that the submission is between one and three minutes.

 

Leslie Boards Rose 2019

This was a learn your new camera day for me and I don’t like what I learned.

GoPro7 advertises that it has 240 frames per second which seemed awesome to me. Unfortunatly, none of my three video editing suites (Adobe Premiere CS6, Screenflow nor OpenShot Video Editor) could read these files. So yeah. Big loss on the GoPro7. I’m unsure that it has anything over the GoPro6. Indeed, the wasted time means I wish I still had had that GoPro6….

Alas, I’ll keep experimenting….

Thanks to Leslie for going riding with me.

Montezuma Costa Rica – One Day Horse Riding and Waterfall Hiking/Diving Adventure

Montezuma Costa Rica is a bohemian town on a beach on the Nicoya Peninsula. It has a great combination of excellent adventures, fast internet a cool town and proximity to adventure. This blog details some of the things we loved on this visit to Montezuma Costa Rica.

Horseback Riding in Montezuma Costa Rica

riding horses in Montezuma Costa Rica

We rode from the town of Montezuma Costa Rica, across Playa Grande to a freshwater waterfall which falls from a cliff into the ocean. Here is D-Red and V asking for a hug in the waterfall.

El Chorro Waterfall in Montezuma Costa Rica

We went with a tour company called Cabo Blanco Travelers. We found them by speaking to Rodger behind the desk in downtown Montezuma. Rodger is great. He speaks Spanish and English very well. He is honest and has a real desire to help people have a great time in Montezuma. I’d go back to him to get travel to and from Montezuma and to book anything else could need while in that pretty little beach town.

Henry is the guide for the horseback ride. He is an excellent horseman. Though he doesn’t speak much English, he knows horses very well. He has a lot of love for his herd.

Hotel Lucy – Montezuma Costa Rica

Hotel Lucy is a simple hotel and that is why I love it. It’s right on the water and it’s just far enough out of town so that you don’t hear any noise at night. It’s also close enough that I could run back to the hotel from town for anything we forgot. The run took about 10 minutes for me to run from town to Hotel Lucy.

Another great thing about Hotel Lucy is that it is a very short walk to the Free Waterfalls.

When the tide comes in, it’s quite loud. I did awake to the sound of waves quite often. That is actually the best way to be woken up.

Free Waterfall close to Hotel Lucy

This place is very simple. It’s hot. We didn’t have air conditioning but we did have a fan which kept us relatively cool in the evening. They provide a single sheet which is exactly what you need in the early morning.

Waterfall Cerca de Hotel Lucy

This place is easy to check into and it’s often not booked full as they have no website or online booking operation. Coming to this hotel is an excellent way to have a Costa Rican adventure.

Want More Costa Rica?

If you’re interested in more blog posts about things in Costa Rica, check out the photos I took of a beautiful Pizzaria/Hostel called Piko Negro.