bocas del toro, panama

20 - 25 April, 2014

Hola amigos!

Kath here. Damo's busily lounging on the hammock next to me, beer in hand and ipad on his lap. Tough life. (He's actually looking up yoga classes for me here in Talamanca - he's a good lad.)

So, Bocas del Toro, Panama. Our first experience of the carribean! We were excited. And expecting lots of white sand, tropical seas and palm trees. It didn't disappoint. But it wasn't exactly as we'd expected. It was like the carribean had made island babies with Venice, Bali and India. Yes there were pretty white beaches, tropical waters and palm trees in Bocas, but there were also groovy party bars, filthy shorelines, romantic candlelit restaurants on the water, vibrant villages with playful local children and a plethora of speed boats zipping people between all these different activities. It made for a fun filled five days.


The highlights

• Carne! For weeks the only meat we've been eating is fish and the occasional shred of supposed chicken or ham. But in Bocas, we ate steak like kings. The best was at our hotel's onsite pier restaurant (boca boca), closely followed by the pork fillet that came as part of a set five course meal we had at Guari Guari - the best holistic culinary experience we've had so far on this trip. Yum.
• Our island,  Caranero. It's such a hybrid of villages, hostels and untouched carribean beaches. Walking around it was the best adventure - blue crabs, puppies, kiddies playing, stilt houses, pollution, beauty, simple restaurants, parties, palm trees, jungle, surf. The lot.
• Red Frog beach on Bastimentos Island. Wow. The epitome of our carribean expectations came to life here!
• The isolation. You wouldnt think it, but this place is isolated! I liked it - no American fast food chains, no cinemas and nothing fancy given a little speed boat is the only way to get things in and out of the place. That said it also meant restaurants were usually missing about 70% of their menu. Gah. Always had steak though. Winning.
• Sundowners. My favorite part of the day. Made especially awesome thanks to the huge waterfront deck of our b&b.
• Surfing. My little wave chaser Damo searched every island for good waves. We met some local guys - JJ and Jose - who took him to a fun little wave at Paki Point, but other than that, surfing was either an epic boat ride away or a hike to a slightly dangerous beach. Not ideal.
• Yoga. I took an incredible class on Colon Island - the teacher was brilliant and the view over the water was so idyllic! 

The Summary

Weather: A bit of everything. Reading on the deck during a massive rain storm was nice, and most days it was hot with sun-cloud. 
Surf: Surfed every day, perhaps 2-3 foot but fun and minimal crowds. 
Food: Steak! No cooking, we ate all meals out. It was good. 

Beverages: Wine time! Oh, and smoothies. Mmmm. 

People: Only met a couple of people, some surfers and the lovely people that ran the hotel. 

Accommodation: Quite fancy! A/c, breaks and two beds. Not bad! 

Budget: Came in at 96% of budget! That's about $100 per day. Winning! 

Overall: Mix of everything, really enjoyed our time in Bocas! 

Adiós,  

Kath and Damo

One of our favourite restaurants so far. No name. No menu. No other patrons (sadly for them but not for us!). Best.

Hey little fella.

Watch out. He likes to nibble ears.

Red Frog beach with this hunk.

Falling out of the water?! Wow.

My jump back flipping photos didnt come out so well. 

Poor D, no surf here either buddy.

Wave chasers,  Damo and Jose.

Bocas Town.

Paki Point. I'm pretty sure the boys "go surfing" just so they can talk about girls and their hair. Yeah, I'm on to you...

Done for the day.

You can see why we enjoy sundowners yes?! Our b&b deck, beers on the way.

Our jetty and the hotel restaurant - Boca Boca - where we enjoyed our first steak. And the chef enjoying his smoko break.

The jetty where we get on and off the water taxis.

Boats. Here. There. Zipping around everywhere. 

A day in the life of Caranero Island. 

A cute little cafe on our island. 

Jungle boy. 

D carving it up like a pro. 

So many.

Sundowners at the restaurant with no name. 

No fish? Steak it is! Took an hour to prep too. Special service at the restaurant with no name. 

Yoga spot.

Enjoying the one minute boat trip to Bocas Town. 

Jumping in Bocas Town park. 

Our last supper. Guari Guari was epic. A half degustation. And a different menu every night. Amazing.