Bocas Del Toro, Panama

Becca

Ancient Mayan Ruins

So we successfully made it through our first border-crossing without a sweat - after taking a bus to Sixaola, CR we physically walked across the border into Panama, which was this really rickety bridge made out of random pieces of mismatched wood (glad I wasnt in a vehicle going over that thing.) Once we went through customs we took a van to a water taxi and whizzed over to a string of islands called Bocas del Toro (specifically Isla de Colon, the main island). The water taxi was slightly insane cause the driver paid no mind to the waves, so the boat would go soaring like 10 ft in the air and then come crashing down....it was fun tho we were both a lil paranoid our bags were going to fly off the back.

Asaf on Rocks In Drago

Right away, we were struck by the pushiness of the Panamanian people, compared to the people we had just met in Costa Rica. Little boys were fighting each other to hold all the tourists bags just to make some $...and once we got to the island some local dude "helped" us find out hotel and then hung around, waiting for a tip and hoping to scam money out of us for a fictitious "tour." We settled on a semi gross hotel, as is the norm, and set off to explore the town. I found myself to be a little dissapointed after reading such rave reviews about Bocas - it just seems as if this once quant little island has lost all its authencity over the years as the tourism has increased, and the people are all after your money. I came to realize a few days later that there are really beautiful parts of the islands as the pics will show, just not this main part.

Becca In Bocas Del Drago

It ended up being overcast and rainy our first day there so we bummed around town, and watched CNN in our room. Finally the next day the sun came out and we went on an all day boat tour that took us snorkeling by 2 different reefs, to a restaurant in the middle of the sea, and to the beautiful red frog beach on isla bastimientos - all this for a mere $20! Snorkeling was really cool, havent done that since I was little - we saw all different kinds of really colorful fishes etc. Wish I could have brought my camera underwater....but anyway, we also loved the beach so much that we decided to go back there the next day as well and while I was a beachbum, Asaf was hard at work building an elaborate sand castle :) Anyhoo this is really long and I have to let him write, but last part of the story is on the 26th in the afternoon we decided to forgo the 15 hr bus ride and take a 1 hour flight from Bocas to Panama City, in the smallest plane I have ever been in. EEK.

Bocas Del Toro town from the water

XOXO becca

Asaf

There isnt much I can add to this, becca did a good job going over the details of our trip in Bocas.  I was a little dissapointed with the experience having heard such great things about the island.  We got there expecting to be near a nice sandy white beach but that's hardly the case.  You arrive in a small dilapidated town with really nothing to do in it.  The town is right on the water which makes for some decent views but to access the best beach we had to pay $10 round trip per person.  On the main island you can take an hour long bus ride at $3 round trip to a beach but it hardly deserves that title; there's a sliver of sand so you actually have to lay on grass.  There's a handful more of these "beaches" but in fairness if you're surfer they do offer good waves but we weren't able to take advantage of that.

Bocas Waterfront at Night

  I shouldn't complain too much though, it is beautiful riding around in a boat around the islands, and the all day tour we did was super cheap relative to other excursions we paid for in CR.  Red Frog beach was my second favorite specifically because the sand was so perfect for building castles.  It's a great way to pass time and get some creative juices flowing.  One last positive point to note is that Bocas had the best late night food.  In this small town theres at least a dozen street vendors that open up at night and offer fried chicken (delicious), fried plantanes, and caribbean burgers.

Fresh Lobster

Huts Around Bocas

Red Frog Beach

Slide At Bocas