Bocas Del Toro is easily one of the best places I have been in my life. It is a small town that is on Isla Colon near the Costa Rican border on the Caribbean side. The main street is only about a km long, and it is infested with shops, stores, bars and hostels. Funny, when I was organizing my week here from a distance, I was worried about where I would stay, what the living envirnment would be like, and whether or not it would be adaptable. Well, it was easily adaptable. Hostel Calipso was easy to find (kind of hard to not know where places are here because it’s such a small town) and I was able to meet up with some friends I made in Panama City.
I have truly been in a dream here. The weather has been perfect, the people have been friendly, and there is always something to do. Every day when I wake up, I walk outside to have a cigarette and am greeted by many of the friendly faces that make the experience here so wonderful. There are many people from Israel, England, other European countries and a
couple New Zealand guys that I’ve had the opportunity to hang out with.
The surrounding islands can be visited for a minimal expense of a boat ride, and there are many good reasons to take advantage of this Caribbean setting. The second day here, some friends and I (including an American that I have been spending a lot of time with) took a boat ride over to “Hospital Point” where there was an awesome area for snorkeling. The boat driver had all the snorkeling gear for us, and dropped us off in the early afternoon. We spent a few hours swimming around the reefs looking at Corals, Fish and other Ocean Life. It was truly a day well spent.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
bocas del toro trip
Saturday was full of rain. All day long. We went for a late breakfast and then decided that we would not pursue our plan of going snorkeling on the far off island of Zapatillo Cay. We ended up just hanging out and playing lots of cards. I learned two new games and had a relaxing time. We treated ourselves to a “nice dinner” which included a bottle of white wine, main entrees, and dessert. All for the whopping price of $60. While expensive for Bocas Del Toro, an equivalent meal in the US would probably have gone for around $85+ so no bargain, but
well worth it. After dinner we got another bottle of wine and played some more cards but the wine was quite appalling warm and we had no way to chill it. We were kicked out of the deck at midnight when the guard turned off all the lights and nudged us towards our rooms.
I slept really well that night and was a bit sad on Sunday morning when I realized that I couldn’t do much. We grabbed breakfast at a café and then said our goodbyes. The girls went to go snorkel while I went shopping for some trinkets and then had to pack my bag and check out of the hotel. I contemplated finding something to do until 1pm (my flight was scheduled to leave at 1:30) but I ended up getting to the airport about 12:45 and am glad I did. There was an unexpected exit tax to be paid, some customs/immigration forms to deal with and a slow check in process. The flights home went fine, however I had a little bit of trouble reentering Costa Rica because I didn’t have proof of exit. Luckily the Nature Air people had printed up a fake itinerary
for me so that solved the issue and I had about 10 minutes to use the restroom and grab a snack before boarding my flight back to Tamarindo. I landed in Tamarindo around 3 pm and walked the 300 meters to the main road and only had to wait about 5 minutes before the bus to Flamingo came. What luck! Instead of paying $30 for a taxi, I had to pay $1.50 for a bus to Flamingo and then $6 for a taxi to Potrero. I immediately missed the cheap and large number of taxis in Bocas Del Toro.
well worth it. After dinner we got another bottle of wine and played some more cards but the wine was quite appalling warm and we had no way to chill it. We were kicked out of the deck at midnight when the guard turned off all the lights and nudged us towards our rooms.
I slept really well that night and was a bit sad on Sunday morning when I realized that I couldn’t do much. We grabbed breakfast at a café and then said our goodbyes. The girls went to go snorkel while I went shopping for some trinkets and then had to pack my bag and check out of the hotel. I contemplated finding something to do until 1pm (my flight was scheduled to leave at 1:30) but I ended up getting to the airport about 12:45 and am glad I did. There was an unexpected exit tax to be paid, some customs/immigration forms to deal with and a slow check in process. The flights home went fine, however I had a little bit of trouble reentering Costa Rica because I didn’t have proof of exit. Luckily the Nature Air people had printed up a fake itinerary
for me so that solved the issue and I had about 10 minutes to use the restroom and grab a snack before boarding my flight back to Tamarindo. I landed in Tamarindo around 3 pm and walked the 300 meters to the main road and only had to wait about 5 minutes before the bus to Flamingo came. What luck! Instead of paying $30 for a taxi, I had to pay $1.50 for a bus to Flamingo and then $6 for a taxi to Potrero. I immediately missed the cheap and large number of taxis in Bocas Del Toro.
Bocas Del Toro
This past Wednesday I awoke before the sunrise to begin my mini-vacation to Bocas Del Toro, Panama. I was instructed to be at the airport in Tamarindo at 6:30 AM which required a 6 AM taxi and $30 of my precious dollars. I arrived at the airport and waited for an hour and a half until the plane arrived. The plane was small, it fit about 18 people if I counted correctly. The trip was two legs. A 45 minute ride to San José, where I had to wait for 2 hours before the 50 minute flight to Bocas Del Toro. The flights went well, although it took me a few minutes to get used to riding in small, prop-planes. The ride is a bit bumpier and the seats are smaller but the view was amazing as you can see from my photos.
I arrived in Panama to warmth and partly cloudy skies. I proceeded to a hostel recommended by a friend of a friend and was pleasantly surprised to get there cheaply and without hassle. Aqua Lounge is
located across the bay from the main town in Bocas, with a great set-up including a pool and swings off the dock. The prices were reasonable, the rooms clean, and the people very friendly. I spent two days at the hostel without doing much. Drinking a few beers, swimming in the water, working on my tan, watched The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and slept a lot.
On Friday I decided to change hotels because I wanted to actually do something during my trip and found a nice hotel on the main island located away from the bars and partiers. I also met up with my friend from school in Flamingo, Emma, and her friend from home. We traveled to Bastamientos Island, about 15 minutes by boat, to visit Red Frog Beach, named for the strawberry-poison-dart frogs that inhabit it. Unfortunately we didn’t see any frogs but the beach was beautiful despite being hit by a recent storm. We spend 4 or 5 hours there and got a bit too much sun. We then headed to the little town on Bastamientos to grab a late lunch. In my pictures you can see the restaurant with the reggae theme,
that is the old town of Bastamientos, North Bank. We then headed back to the hotel (Olas de la madrugada) to try and catch the sunset but it was too cloudy to see much. We grabbed dinner at a faux Mexican restaurant run by and expat from Texas. The food was surprisingly good and during our dinner it started to pour. We hadn’t even considered this possibility and had to wait a bit for a break in the rain before running back to the hotel. We played some cards and then called it a day
I arrived in Panama to warmth and partly cloudy skies. I proceeded to a hostel recommended by a friend of a friend and was pleasantly surprised to get there cheaply and without hassle. Aqua Lounge is
located across the bay from the main town in Bocas, with a great set-up including a pool and swings off the dock. The prices were reasonable, the rooms clean, and the people very friendly. I spent two days at the hostel without doing much. Drinking a few beers, swimming in the water, working on my tan, watched The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and slept a lot.
On Friday I decided to change hotels because I wanted to actually do something during my trip and found a nice hotel on the main island located away from the bars and partiers. I also met up with my friend from school in Flamingo, Emma, and her friend from home. We traveled to Bastamientos Island, about 15 minutes by boat, to visit Red Frog Beach, named for the strawberry-poison-dart frogs that inhabit it. Unfortunately we didn’t see any frogs but the beach was beautiful despite being hit by a recent storm. We spend 4 or 5 hours there and got a bit too much sun. We then headed to the little town on Bastamientos to grab a late lunch. In my pictures you can see the restaurant with the reggae theme,
that is the old town of Bastamientos, North Bank. We then headed back to the hotel (Olas de la madrugada) to try and catch the sunset but it was too cloudy to see much. We grabbed dinner at a faux Mexican restaurant run by and expat from Texas. The food was surprisingly good and during our dinner it started to pour. We hadn’t even considered this possibility and had to wait a bit for a break in the rain before running back to the hotel. We played some cards and then called it a day
Antigua Guatemala - the beginning
Arrived in the dark on Wednesday after a 22-hr journey via Miami, and moved into the Quinta de las Flores, which is, as the name suggests, in a garden full of beautiful flowers, and overlooked by 3 volcanoes (one of which, Volcan Fuego, showed it was live by spouting smoke every now and then). Through a super Canadian estate agent and by complete serendipity we ended up renting a whole, new, 4-bedroom house close to the main square and moved in the following day.
Started acclimatising (70deg, sunny, dry) and had our first visit to the one-and-only supermercado. Quite an experience! We've decided to become vegetarian for a while. Getting a waterbottle refill home necessitated a tuk tuk ride over the cobbled streets, and Lewis Hamilton could learn a thing or two from our driver. Antigua is beautiful once one's eyes become accustomed to the curiously blank streets. No signs are allowed to project into the street, so you can be standing in the doorway somewhere and not know you've arrived. Also, the doors don't give much away, but when open you can see they open onto gorgeous courtyards and gardens, away from prying eyes.
Started acclimatising (70deg, sunny, dry) and had our first visit to the one-and-only supermercado. Quite an experience! We've decided to become vegetarian for a while. Getting a waterbottle refill home necessitated a tuk tuk ride over the cobbled streets, and Lewis Hamilton could learn a thing or two from our driver. Antigua is beautiful once one's eyes become accustomed to the curiously blank streets. No signs are allowed to project into the street, so you can be standing in the doorway somewhere and not know you've arrived. Also, the doors don't give much away, but when open you can see they open onto gorgeous courtyards and gardens, away from prying eyes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)