Bocas del Toro

Bocas del Toro is actually an entire Panamanian province. But what most people mean when they say it is the Carribean archipelago off the northwest coast of Panama. Most of the islands are ringed with mangroves, although there are some beaches. Houses, restaurants, and hotels are not built waterfront. Instead, they are built on stilts above the water. The buildings range from dingy white to bright turquoise and just about any other color.

The largest island is Isla Colon, but most of the surrounding islands also offer a bunch of accomodations and activities. The main area is called Bocas Town. There you can find every creature comfort and any diversion.

We spent our first three nights in Panama on Isla Colon. Robbie, Ele, Dave and I rented a two bedroom cottage in the Saigon neighborhood, a 5 to 10 minute bike ride from "downtown'' Bocastown. We rented the cottage instead of just showing up, our normal routine, because it was Semana Santa. While there were signs for vacancy here and there, it was pretty full. All of the Panamanians and Ticos were in full tilt party mode as well. Things were a little quieter on Friday, because Panamanian law prohibits the sale of liquor on Good Friday (but not any other day of Holy Week). Although some places would happily serve grapejuice, applejuice, etc if you asked nicely, and there was a giant ''private'' party on a neighboring island.

Thursday
After a bit of confusion trying to find the dock in Chinguanola, there is one but the boats are much less frequent and the ride is longer and more expensive, we drove another half hour to Almirante. There are three or four boat companies running 30 minute rides out to the islands for $4 a person each way. Bocas Water Tours was who we used, they showed Dave where the secure parking was, and the boat was comfortable with shade and lifejackets on the back of everyone's seat.

Once we were on the island, about 5, we met up with the woman who rented us the cottage and picked up the beach cruiser bikes that were included in the rental.

Dave and I went to an indian place for dinner, it was very good but not great, although the smokestack of a table next to us might have influenced how I felt about my food.

Friday
Our cottage came with bikes, without them it would have been a bummer of a location, but with the bikes it was fun to cruise around town, and on Friday Dave and I rode up the coast to a tiny smidge of sand that we had all to ourselves.

Picture thanks to the help of a friendly palm tree.

It was here we fell in love with the macro and supermacro settings on my camera.







We ate lunch at Lili's Cafe. DELICIOUS. If in Bocas, go there and try to Killin Me Man hot pepper sauce. DO IT. I had a fantastic burger, no not fantastic-for-central-america, just fantastic. Thick, juicy, flavorful. It came with the hot pepper sauce, and because I am crazy and my father's daughter, I added more. My lips burned for a good few minutes after we were done eating, and I liked it.

There were religious observances, and riding from a residential neighborhood into town allowed me to peek through many open church windows and doors where services ranging from a traditional mass to a foot stompin' hand wavin' sing-n-shout to something any methodist would feel at home attending. The services were going when we went to breakfast in the morning and they were going when we went home after dinner. That night we witnessed a procession through the streets of downtown. After the video was shot, they stopped and there was call and response and prayer.

As an alternative to the religious observances many Ticos and Panamanians were tearin' it up much like a college student at South Padre Island for spring break.

Policia
After dinner we searched for an icecream shop. Dave loves the icecream cones, and I make it a policy not to say no to icecream. We peddled all over town, and found nothing. Finally we stopped and asked some heavily armed policia who were standing around the square. They were sad to say there was no icecream shop on the island, but they were happy to talk to us, and we stood there for a good 15 minutes just chatting. This friendly attitude has been repeated by cops at highway check points and on the streets of Panama City. You get the feeling from talking to the police and looking at them that there are better trained, better equiped, and better paid than their counterparts in other countries we have visited. You are also keenly aware that people are excited you are visiting their country.

Saturday
We booked a snorkel trip with Bocas Water Sports for Saturday. We left at 930 and returned about 430. $25 was two snorkel stops, dolphin watching, and time on Red Frog Beach. We also went to a little over-the-water restaurant with the option of getting lunch. The lunch wasn't anything special, and was a bit overpriced. Dave and I figured that would be the case, so we packed a few sandwiches (made on bread from the German bakery in Bocas town, yum yum yum), but also ordered one plate to share. Obviously you can't sit in the restraunt and eat the food you brought with you, so it worked out we had a little food then, and then sandwiches once we got to Red Frog Beach. The best part about the trip was going around the islands getting to see uninterrupted coast of mangroves and the quieter side of things.

Snorkeling
It was fun to snorkel, but the conditions were suboptimal. Worth the money to snorkel, but
I'm glad I didn't spend the money on diving. After Roatan, it wouldn't have stacked up. The reef is much more damaged, the algea growth more pronounced, and worst of all, the visibility was much lower. That said, just from snorkelling I did see a decent assortment of coral at the first site and fish at the second, including a trumpet fish, angel fish, parrot fish, gobbies, etc.
I also enjoyed playing with the camera, since I hadn't gotten to in Roatan.



Red Frog Beach
What a great beach! Worth the price-gouged access fee (up by 2 or 3 bucks because of Semana Santa). If we would have had another day in Bocas, we would have spent most of it there.
It is beautiful and the water is great fun. I did feel a slight rip to the current as I waded in, but if aware of it, it didn't seem to be a big danger.

Wading out into the water is fun because there is sandbar after sandbar. One minute you are over your head, the next standing waist deep. The waves were strong enough to bodysurf, but weak enough to swim in comfortably.




Sunday
After a leisurely wake-up, Dave and I took the boat back to Almirante where we headed into the mountains of Bocas del Toro province towards CA1 and Panama City. Because of the 25lb per person baggage limit on Robbie and Ele's flight from Bocas to Panama City, they couldn't take all of their stuff, so we agreed to drive it to them and meet before Ele left on April 14.

Sherry was in good condition, and we drove from Almirante to Santiago. The drive through the mountains to the Pacific side and CA1 was one of the most beautiful we have done. The road was in good condition except for the places where it had been taken out by floods or landslides or a sink hole. The forest is dense on both sides of the road during the climb up on the Caribbean side, then after peaking on the continental divide, there is a drastic change to pine forest with dry grass.

Panama is beautiful and full of physical contrasts.

Turn Around...

Today is the halfway point. Who knows about actual number of days we will end up traveling, but today we left the furthest point away from home we will roam, on this trip.

That point was Isla Robinson and the surrounding islands, Comarca de Kuna Yala, Panama.

We arrived at the island the morning of the 15th and left this morning.


Dave enjoys a snorkel. This is the actual furthest point, about 30 minutes boat ride west from Isla Robinson.

On the boat ride to snorkel.

There is an entire lagoon full of starfish. It was like the tactile pool at an aquarium, only better.

After arriving back in Panama City we went to where we had left our car, on the street by the tourist police station where a guy promised to wash it and watch it. Sherry was still there and she was lookin' good.

Then we enjoyed much needed showers (no running water on the island), and I changed into the last clean clothes I had. That's right, it has been so long since we did laundry that I had one shirt, one pair of underwear, and my jeans. Everything else had be worn and reworn so many times I had to go to the laundry. Luckily there is a laundromat around the corner from the hospedaje we are staying at, and for 2.50 I washed two very large loads. No, not all mine, Dave was essentially out of clean clothes too, but he has more clothes than I do and lower standards. I had great time hanging out and doing laundry. I talked to 5 different people. It's no secret that I love chatting it up, but it is even more fun in Spanish in a laundrymat with the average joe of Panama city! Dave took a nap and missed out big time.

We enjoyed a great dinner at Ego, a restraunt here in the Casco Viejo neighborhood. We sat outside and I savoured homemade ravioli filled with a version of panamanian stewed chicken and served in a creamsauce of nuts, spice, and sage. Dave had gnocchi gorgonzola. Both were perfect.

In case anyone was wondering, today was the 80th day Dave and I have been traveling together. Dave entered Mexico about January 6. I flew into Guatemala January 9. We met in Xela January 28.

Tomorrow we'll visit the Miraflora locks then head up CA1 to see more of Panama.

More informative posting on Islas Robinson, and postings on Panama City and Bocas del Toro very very soon.

Mom's Visit

After welcoming Mom, we loaded up and headed for the coast.


It was a four hour drive to La Ceiba, and we got in just before dark. The original plan was to spend the night, and take the morning ferry to Roatan. But we woke up and it was rainy and the clouds stretched out over the water towards the islands. We checked the weather forecast and it confirmed lots of rain that day out on Roatan.

Cangrejal River

We decided to wait a day for the weather to clear out on the island and instead headed up the Cangrejal River to Omega Lodge and Tours near Pico Bonito National Park. We got the last room in the guesthouse and signed up for an afternoon rafting trip. Our intrepid guide Miles took us down some fun rapids and past giant boulders.

At one point all three of us were thrown from the boat, but aside from a few bruises, it was good fun.
Dave's long hair worked well with the helmet.

Mom jumped off a big rock


I tried to but chickened-out.


Dave jumped too, but went too fast for me to get a video.


The lodge was full of interesting people, most notably our new friend and temporary stalker, John, who followed us out to Roatan. While the area around the lodge is beautiful, and if our visit was any indication the people staying there are generally awesome, and the rafting is fun, the food alone is reason to get out there for dinner if you are in the area. Specifically, order the spatzel. But not just any spatzel, spatzel baked into cheesy-greatness. It makes mac-n-cheese look lame. You can get it with crispy bacon, you are a fool if you skip the bacon, the crispy salty pork perfectly compliments the cheese and spatzel. It is gluttonous, so if you ever go take someone with you so it can be shared. Also, go ahead and end with the homemade chocolate and coconut ice-creams, they are nearly as good as the popsicles in Suchitoto, nearly.

In the morning we hiked up to the waterfall in Pico Bonito National Park. The first step is to cross the suspension bridge over the river.


About three and a half hours round-trip through the forest on the other side of the bridge takes you to the falls and back. It was great to get a close-up of the falls we had seen while driving up to the lodge and rafting down the river. See Dave's blog for more pics.

After the hike and a cold shower (no hot water at Omega Lodge) we drove into La Ceiba to catch the 4:30 pm ferry.

I would prefer not remember the hour and fifteen minutes I spent with my head between my legs crossing to Roatan. No one was sad for the ride to be over, and all three of us were happy to not have needed the little baggies one crew-member walked around handing out.

Roatan

We stayed at Posada Las Orchedias on the far end of West End. The view was great, the room beautiful and full of building defects and staffed by less-than-friendly women. It was quiet and the hammock was nice, and it was right next door to Sea Grapes Plantation and their dive shop.

After an over-rated breakfast at Rudy’s, definitely NOT the best banana pancakes on the island (Dave wants me to mention that he loved his granola, fruit and yogurt), we looked for a dive shop. I did an afternoon dive with Pura Vida, and mom did a refresher dive with West End Divers. The entire next day we dove with Pura Vida as well. Mom did two dives, I did all three. The next two days we dove with Seagrapes. Both shops were good, but very different in style. I would recommend either.

The diving was amazing. I saw at least one sea turtle on every dive. Lots of Queen Angel fish, lots of Black Angel fish, barracudas, two spotted eagle rays, trigger fish, puffer fish, box fish, cow fish, anomies, huge barrel sponges, tall purple sponges, giant fan coral… While it is obvious the reef sees a lot of visitors, the diving was enjoyable with lots to see.

Dave, the non-diver, spent lots of time reading and did some snorkeling.

He got to use my camera, because we were always going deeper than 30ft, the maximum depth my camera stays water-proof.
Here is some of his fine work. There is more over on his blog, as well as video.

Me giving the ok on the descent to Blue Channel


Mom and I at the shallow, inland side, of Blue Channel.


Post-dive interview with Dave


Roatan was expensive. If you aren’t going for diving, I would probably suggest finding another beach that is a little more off-the-beaten-path and where you can get quality food at reasonable prices instead of reasonable food at quality prices. Noteable good food that didn’t cost as much as a dive was
1. the set breakfasts (between 75 and 90L) and lunch sandwiches (around 115L) at The Beach House. But not the bakery items, just the restaurant dishes.
2. the Sunday bbq lunch across from Woody’s grocery
3. the meatloaf and mashed potatoes lunch from the soft-serve ice-cream place across from The Beach House. Every week-day they have a different hot lunch option for 100L. The meatloaf was Mondays and it was tasty and filling.

We took the 2 pm ferry back, and sat downstairs. Mom and Dave were fine on the ride, and they think sitting downstairs helped. I still felt awful for most of the time.

After finding the car safe-and-sound we paid for the parking, loaded up, and headed towards Tela, about an hour and a half drive down the coast towards San Pedro Sula. Tela was much more pleasant than La Ceiba, as far as the town. I hear there is lots of bird watching around there. We stayed at the Mayan Vista hotel, and enjoyed the views of Tela bay and some reasonably priced food. The next morning we headed in to San Pedro Sula. There were a few stops along the way. One for mom to buy some bananas to snack on, one for mom to buy a hammock and some local honey, and one for lunch at a Baleada stand on the highway. Baleadas are a Honduran snack food of a flour tortialla filled with beans and cheese then folded and lightly grilled. Not like a quesadilla because there is just a little cheese and it is the crumbled kind, not the melty-gooy-deliciousness kind.