Bocas days 3 and 4

In Bocas, there were so many aspects that were easy and comfortable for us as we played tourists. We enjoyed some great familiar food. Everyone spoke English to us. It was easy to find a water taxi to take us wherever we wanted to go.

We set out on day two for Red Frog Beach and somewhere else, but only made the one stop in the end because of the weather. We hid out for a while under a lady's drink stand, where she fed the girls crackers and let them sit behind the counter while it poured freezing rain. It let up around the time we were due to get picked up, so we started the hike back across the island. And of course it poured again. We were soaked, but ran into a big group of Brazilians and a Panamanian guy who is restoring an old Corvette and had a nice chat. When our water taxi arrived, we were soaked and tired of our exploring being so hard, so we headed home.

I honestly don't remember many more details of Bocas except the moment when N stepped in front of a bicycle and it knocked her down and ran over her. I screamed a primal mother scream at the boy on the bike as I held her. Earl insists the kid tried to avoid her. Although it shouldn't have, this experience played a part in our decision to return back home after a year here instead of extending my contract. All I could think about was the girls' health and safety. This kind of accident (and anything else) could happen at home or away, but there is comfort in knowing exactly where to take your kids when they need a doctor. Thankfully, N's scrapes all turned out to be minor, but it put a cloud over the memory of our Bocas trip. It's a beautiful destination for tourists, and I'm glad we got to see the islands, but I doubt we'll go back because of all the challenges we faced with the drive, the weather, and the scare.

The drive home was foggy to the point of zero visibility, so it was great to get out of the mountains and back to Santiago for a few days before our next trip.