Bahia Hotel Bocas Town

... Colon) We "snorkeled" around a bit and relaxed in a small cove. We followed the sound of beating drums that were coming from the center of the forest covered island, but never got close enough to find out what it was. Better to wonder that get a blow dart to the neck. We also saw bright orange poisonous Dart Frogs. The paddle back was tough. Ocean kayaks don't track near as good as river kayaks. After getting cleaned up, we focused on some more trip planning and dinner plans ...

... t with 6 Sp*ni*rds *nd * couple doing their PhD's on the Red Frogs f*mous in the *re* *nd *n end*ngered species. Its *lso why the Red Frog Be*ch h*s th*t n*me, the red frogs live on B*stimentos. Their skins secrete * poinsonous serum for protection *g*inst prey (which didnt seem to deter the little kiddies pl*ying with the frogs when we eventu*lly got to the be*ch!).

Our first stop on the bo*t w*s to find the dolphins *nd find them we did. A little school ...

... would also like to note that I did not go straight from Ometepe in Nicaragua to Bocas but spent one night in San Jose, CR en route. I decided to skip Costa Rica because of the higher prices on everything and the higher numer of American tourists. But back to Bocas. After getting of the lancha I was brought to the Gran Kahuna Hostal which actually was probably one of the better parts of Bocas. The hostel was frequented by well for lack of a better word local ...

... dodgin rain drops from the balcony of our hotel. This was ok for a little while, but its no way to spend a few days of your holiday, especially when we have such precious few left (its only two more months before we fly to New Zealand, after all!). Our hotel also had no real recreational area, which made being couped up worse: I appear to have more of an aversion to lying in bed in an air conditioned room watching crummy tv shows than other folks, although I did ...

... TV stations. Me? I spend my time on the lanai or on the beach. I just watch, listen and enjoy the tropics. I never knew something so simple as crashing waves, tropical foliage and the warm (hot) climate could keep me entertained for hours and hours, but it has. I can't find much in detail to write because I am captured in the beauty, relaxation and warmth of the air. This vacation wouldn't be for everyone but for us? Perfect.

... to see monkeys swinging from the trees - didn't see that but did see some unknown forest animal with a longer snout and striped tail. Stopped at visitor center at hydro-electric damn where guy was selling fresh oranges. A bag of 8 for $.50 - yet another deal! Took just about 4 hours to drive to Bocas through Cera Punta and almirante. For $4 each and $3/day parking we took a water taxi to Bocas Town on Colon. Taxi ride took about 20 minutes to island where ...

i woke up at 7am, decided to get rid of my colones and my dank. sat around burning till 10.30am and took the bus to sixoala the border of panama. it cost me about $5USD to enter panama and another $10USD to get to amirente. i bought a boat ticket to bocas del toro for $4USD. i took a short 45min boat ride and now im here. checked into a ...

... people got caught in a rip tide. Unfortunately one of the kids did not make it out. I've told the story a lot and had to write on it a lot so I'm just going to copy and paste the detailed story from an email i had to send to the family: To the family of Joseph Lutz, I wanted to write you the details of what happened that day. I know that you don't have much to go off, and the police report was fairly breif and who knows what got lost in translation. Hopefully you ...

... used to be called the "wreck deck" as it is set around a little pool with an illumimated wreck below and also has a large deck area right on the seafront so you can sit with your drinks and feet in the water ... all very pleasant indeed. However , after three nights of Bocas town nightlife I decided I really ought to escape in order to preserve both my liver and my sanity -so I decided to head for the tranquility of the Chiquiri ...