A glimpse of the Caribbean from the shores of Bocas del Toro, Panama
/On March 6, after three glorious nights in the mountain town of Boquete, we took two public buses followed by a quick taxi to Almirante, the seaside mainland gateway to Bocas Town on Isla Colón in the Caribbean. This would be our first time touching the Caribbean on the trip, and my expectations were a bit high to say the least. Anytime I get to squish my feet into the soft white sand and float in the teal waters of the Caribbean I get excited - who doesn't?!
The transportation route we opted for takes 5.5 hours and heads back south to David before heading north across the country. The other option is a 3 hour direct tourist shuttle ($30) from Boquete that immediately heads north on a secondary road before meeting up with the main highway. Why take the extra time? We only paid $16 each – SCORE! Anytime we save money on transport we feel like we’re winning.
The journey over the Central Highlands mountain pass was the most picturesque drive we’ve experienced on our trip so far. The dry, hot climate of the lowlands with its soft, rolling mountains smoothly transitions to steeper peaks that are dense with jungle vegetation. We slowly puttered up the steeper portion of the pass at a pathetic 30km/hr in the over packed 20-person mini-bus. Definitely wouldn't pass safety regulations in Canada, and I wish I took a picture!
They had put Jonas and I in the very front seat beside the driver. Sweet, I thought, a front seat view for the trip! It was well worth the trade-off of the teeny tiny fold-up middle seat I was directed sit in, never mind my legs being squished alongside Jonas' plus our four day bags (a small backpack each, my purse, and our bag of food that we lug around with us everywhere). About an hour into the drive my legs start to sweat profusely, overheating from what I assume is the sunlight streaming through the window. I soon discovered it was actually the engine overheating from pushing so hard up the pass, creating what felt like 60 degrees celsius of uncomfortable, radiating heat from the centre console. Which, conveniently, was the only spot my legs could rest. Still worth the view? Yes! Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to take these lovely shots unobstructed from finger printed windows: (and what's a little more sweat added onto my daily quota anyway)
Arriving in the small, gateway port village of Almirante is a bit of a let down after such a stunning drive. There’s nothing much here and we are eagerly expecting the sparkly, pristine sea to be in its place. We take a brief taxi for $1/each from the bus stop to the water taxi loading area. Let me tell you, this was a real “treat”. Rickety wooden and tin huts brim the inner cove of a filthy bay complete with garbage afloat, excrement (I didn’t "see" any per se, but the toilets drain directly into the water as you’re doing your business – you can hear it, yuck), and scuzzy grey/brown water.
The population make-up changes here in the province of Bocas del Toro as Panamanians of African descent account for a more significant number of locals. I can't find the exact number, but on average it's 15% country wide and I would guess that it's at least 40% here. Being greeted with their thick Rastafarian lingo (originating from Jamaica) and its accompanying boldness is quite a shift from the gentle “hola’s” that we are used to hearing at this point. One very bored, and overly confident, local guy around our age humorously educates Jonas what it sounds like - I guess we look fresh to the area. His example: "Git mi de wata, boi" (although my spelling is likely way off) which is, of course, "Get me the water, boy".
The wait was short for our $6 water taxi and after passing dozens of lean-to looking structures on stilts with outhouses hovering over the water, we were FINALLY zipping across the open, clean waters to Bocus Town and arrived 30 minutes later.
Bocas Town... I don’t want to be too hard on the place, but I didn’t connect with it at all. Luckily there are several other islands you can stay overnight on that are all a short water taxi away, and we decided quickly that the next morning we would head to Bastimentos Island. There are plenty of hostels, hotels, restaurants and nightlife in Bocas Town, but it's hectic, loud, a bit dirty, not too easy on the eyes, and there are no beaches nearby - our primary reason for visiting!
We stumbled into the colourful Heike Hostel after a few minutes of eyeballing the place and checking out one other hostel that was far less appealing. Plus, Jonas grows tired (quite quickly!) of wandering around looking for a places to stay. I, on the other hand, can compare prices and amenities until I'm blue in the face - I just want the best deal, can you blame me? Haha. Well, it's not a good combination and Jonas usually wins this battle. Heike Hostel was an absolute sweat box, like I'm sure most are in this town; thank goodness they run A/C overnight, and have a rooftop patio for fresh air! Just picture sharing a master bedroom with 6 to 8 people during a hot summer’s night with only a few fans to keep you comfortable. This is the reality for us quite often.
The next morning we grabbed a water taxi to Bastimentos Island. Never trust a taxi operator on his first rate. I know this, I really, really do, but we fell for it again!
“$5 each. Best price. Everyone charges $5”, this 50ish year old taxi boat operator says through a quick smile and a few missing teeth as he runs barefoot to his boat beckoning us to follow. “Really?” I asked, in my honest Canadian tone, already this sounds too much to me as the one from the mainland was $6. “Oh yes ma’am,” he guarantees me, as his fellow taxi operator nods in agreement in the background, and I trust him, partly because I'm in no mood to push. When you have a 45 lb backpack weighing you down in the already scorching morning sun your brain sometimes doesn’t work as swiftly as it should. And we didn't research the price ahead of time, a big no-no. We found out later it should be $2-3 each.
We hopped onto his boat and skimmed across the water, getting our first glance at the other islands. They’re all relative “small”, with colourful little buildings (homes, restaurants, hotels) on the water’s edge and dotting the hillsides. I couldn’t be more thrilled with Bastimentos Island when it came into view. Doesn't it just look perfect?:
We stayed at the Jaguar Hostel on the waterfront. Owned by a local who is also a teacher at the island’s school, we quickly settled into our quaint private room for three nights. This place comes fully equipped with a small shared kitchen, plenty of hammocks on the dock, and a postcard view of the bay. We met a lovely couple from the Netherlands running the hostel for a month through the popular Work Away volunteer network, which I'll be looking into for Peru and Chile to see if any opportunities fit for Jonas and I.
The next three days were spent exploring the inhabited, north western area of the island which is quite small and easy to navigate. We strolled up and over this narrow end of the island (30 minutes) on a jungle path to Wizard Beach. A few hours were spent playing in the waves of this white sand beach and watching surfers navigating the crisscrossing, messy surf break (to you surfers reading this, I lack technical terms for describing conditions, but the water looked funky!). Our second full day was spent on a boat tour of Zapatilla Cays and Bastimentos Island National Marine Park. This is a $35 extremely well spent and highly recommended. We snorkeled in crystal clear water, boated through the mangroves, and ended the day at a really cool on-water bar and restaurant called The Blue Coconut. This is the first place I've ever seen a water hammock!
Despite the sometimes rough edge and stares from the locals, the numerous stray, hungry dogs that you desperately want to take care of, and acknowledging and then turning a blind eye to the litter piles in people's yards, we did enjoy our three adventurous days exploring Bastimentos Island and the park.
Don't forget to hike up to the top of the hill where a couple from Europe runs the funky Up In The Hill coffee and cacao shop. You'll find tasty Kombucha and truffles, and your pick of natural coconut oil body products.
Signing off from our current locale of Cartagena, Colombia!
Christina & Jonas
