Bocas del Toro

Right after our week in Panama City, we made the drive (around 10 hours with an overnight stay at our house) to Bocas del Toro, a group of islands on the west end of Panama's Carribbean coast. To get there, you drive through the Ngobe Bugle Comarca, which is an area reserved for one of Panama's indigenous groups. It was interesting to see the wooden houses on stilts from the mountain areas all the way to the islands. The drive was long and the trip ended with a rough water taxi ride to the main island, Isla Colon. During the process of parking the car and catching water taxi, I felt uneasy for the first time in Panama. I never feel like anyone is trying to take advantage of us and most places have such heavy police presence that I feel completely safe. But the bustle of the port town of Almirante, along with the typical lack of signage, when we were already running late all contributed to the anxious feeling I remember having there.

After getting on the last water taxi of the day, we finally arrived at our hotel. It was wonderful, with a delicious made-to-order breakfast each morning and friendly owners. They also own the smoothie and wrap truck down the road, which served some of the best food I'd had in months.

We headed out to Playa Estrella on day one, even though the weather forecast was foreboding. It rained hard as we walked to catch the bus and again at the end of the day, but we were glad we took the chance and had a few hours of dry beach time. The bus ride there was ridiculous: A child on almost every lap (mine and E's included), the loudest reggaeton ever, and speeding through winding potholed roads. E and I both felt sick by the time we arrived. We'd read you could walk around the point to the beach, but couldn't figure it out until we asked a group of Panamanians and joined them on the hike. We walked through the woods, crossed a creek on a log, and finally made it to the beach. Many others took the boat around the bend, but we needed to be on our feet after the bus ride!

We chose a busy spot on the beach, where it seemed like we were in the middle of a big family reunion. The girls swam in the calm, clear water and played in the sand. A few kids tried to engage them, but to no avail. We saw no starfish. On return in the cold rain, the bus stop filled up, but because of the rain, no buses were bringing people, so it meant none were there to take us home either. I talked the restaurant owner into calling us a taxi, and it was a huge relief to have a comfortable ride home.

In this post, I'm including photos from our day-long journey to Bocas and our day at Playa Estrella. More to come soon.