After a week of sweltering in a metropolis, we were rather glad to leave Panama City and head towards the Caribbean coast. We were excited not just by the destination that we had picked; the Bocas del Toro islands, but also because we had welcomed the arrival of some good friends from London, who would be our partners in crime for a couple of weeks. Tanya and Andrea, that was your shout out!
To get to Bocas del Toro, we had to take an overnight bus which could only be booked 24 hours in advance from the chaotic bus station in Panama City. The bus was quite possibly the coldest bus known to man, and involved a silly amount of stops for the drivers to stuff their faces and for police checks. It did however deliver us safely (but frozen) to a small town called Almirante where we would get a speedboat to the islands in the small hours of the morning. Even the cold night wind on the speedboat felt as a warm tropical breeze in comparison to the arctic temperatures we had endured on the bus.
Upon arrival in Bocas Town on the main island of Colon, we were approached by some merry drunks who magically appeared from every corner claiming to be able to solve all our problems. We soon realised the best course of action would be to ignore them and get a taxi to our AIRBNB apartment, 10 minutes out of the town. Although on the outskirts, our apartment proved to be the perfect place to relax after long days at the beach and a brilliant space in which to chill out at dusk on the porch overlooking a picturesque bay. We cooked in a lot and would recommend stocking up at the lovely Super Gourmet deli-shop in town where they also make epic sandwiches; excellent for a beach picnic.
We stayed out-of-town, but that’s not to say that Bocas Town isn’t interesting. It immediately made an impression on us as it was our first proper Caribbean experience. It has a distinct Rastafari vibe with reggae music blasting out from most shops as well as the snoozy laid back attitude the that Caribbeans are famous for. It was also our first experience of hearing creole being spoken. Here it is a mix of English, Spanish and the local Guaymí language.
Of course, Bocas is all about the water and the beaches. Our friend enjoys diving and would recommend La Buga divers. We were able to tag along on her night dive and just hang out on the boat with some beers. It was a great experience to sit out in the perfectly still waters watching the divers go down, a far off lightning storm and then gazing at the myriad of bright stars in the sky.
If you get a chance to snorkel around some mangroves then it will certainly be an interesting experience. We could swim from our AIRBNB and found a whole different underwater world awaiting us. The corals that hang down from the mangrove roots are bright orange and purple and host many shells and sea urchins. A very alien experience!
Boca de Drago & Playa Estrella
On Isla Colon we visited Boca de Drago & Playa Estrella (Starfish Beach). You can get to these either by water taxi from Bocas Town or by jumping in a collectivo and then walking for 20 mins. We did the latter and it took about an hour all in. The walk by the shore was actually very pleasant, if a little hot. The beach itself has more bars than sand, but the water is perfectly still and a good temperature. Luckily for us there weren’t many other people about and the bars were very empty and quiet. Perhaps during the high season this beach could be a bit crowded and rowdy. Sadly we only saw one starfish and it seems that they may be moving away from this beach as people do seem to insist on picking them up and dangling them out of the water (not good for a sea creature, leave it where it is!). We did however see a wild sloth mother and baby in the trees behind the beach.
Red Frog Beach
Visiting Red Frog Beach on Isla Bastimentos is straightforward, if a little pricey. You just need to hire a water taxi to take you there (about 15 mins) and pick you up later. We saw dolphins on our way there, so keep an eye out! The boat drops you on the south side of the island and you then have to pay to walk along a private footpath to the beach. It’s a bit annoying to have to pay, but it is a nicely manicured walk through pretty flora and there is a small lake with caimans. Red Frog Beach looks nice but the waves and rip tides make swimming dangerous, we jumped around in the surf but that was about all we could do. There are a couple of bars where you can get a snack or refreshments. The highlight of our visit was hunting for the famous red frogs in the jungle behind the beach. Determined to find out whether the beach lived up to its name we rummaged around the jungle at right-hand side of the beach (if you are looking at the sea) and it didn’t take too long to see a few tiny red and orange frogs on logs or in the leaf litter. These frogs are strawberry poison dart frogs, so not a good idea to touch them!
Isla Carenero
Isla Carenero is the small island just minutes by regular water taxi from Bocas Town. It’s a very cheap ride to the island’s picturesque beach which has water as warm as your bathtub. Nice, but not really that refreshing! The beach also has a great bar and restaurant called Bibi’s with good cocktails (actually refreshing!), a happy hour and delicious seafood.
Overall we all loved the laid back sentiment of the islands, the beautiful beaches and the nature that Bocas has to offer. Although it is undoubtedly a tourist destination, it still retains its authenticity with its local shops, restaurants, sodas (local restaurants specialised in home-cooking) and its cool Caribbean vibe. There certainly aren’t many huge hotels and faceless resorts…yet; we did see an awful lot of land for sale and in the process of being developed. Right now Bocas is more of a place for young backpackers rather than mass tourism, but as long as things don’t get bigger than they are now, there is no reason to believe that Bocas will lose its charm in the years to come. It would be unimaginable to bring big western investment to this part of the world without ruining its identity as well as polluting the still pristine and paradise-like waters.
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