My Bocas Top Ten

I've spent 4 weeks in Bocas del Toro and it's really starting to feel like home. I moved into Hostel Hansi for the last 2 weeks and had my own little, private room. There is nothing better than a private room for $13 a night. I now know my way around this island and have a great, little group of friends. That's the biggest thing that makes leaving any place hard, the amazing people you meet along the way. 

One of my favourite people back home asked for a list of the top ten things I've done/seen/experienced so far. So, here's my top 10 for Bocas. In no particular order..

• Learning to scuba dive. SUCH an amazing experience and one of the most incredible feelings! I am now certified with the PADI Advanced Open Water and hope to continue diving during this trip.

** If you're ever in Bocas and want to dive, Bocas Water Sports on the Main Street (trecera) is awesome. Excellent price, safe, clean and the guys who work there are so fun!  

my scuba instructor, Hector

• Surfing! Actually catching a wave after many failed attempts is such an accomplishment. Also, watching the guys here surf. They are so very impressive.

surfing at Black Rock with Jenny

• Waking up everyday and putting a bathing suit on. Glorious. 

• Sun & 30 degrees almost everyday! Makes you want to spend every minute outside exploring. 

• Meeting different people from all over the world and hearing their stories. Really reinforces that there are a million opportunities in the world.

my Bocas family

Jennifer & Tabea

• The colours. Everything here is so colourful! Green trees, turquoise water, bright blue sky, white sand beaches, purple, yellow, blue, green, pink, orange houses & buildings! If I ever buy a house I'm painting it purple. Or maybe blue. 

• The fruit! Readily available everywhere and so delicious. Also, the food in general. I've discovered some amazing restaurants. My favourite restaurant in Bocas is El Ultimo Refugio. It's a little bit pricey compared to the usual $5-$10 meals we go for, but SO worth it. Best mashed potatoes I've ever eaten (sorry, dad!)

• Seeing dolphins for the first time! And seeing a bunch of other underwater creatures I've never seen before. Stingrays, eels, lobsters, lots of different kinds of fish. 

• The dancing! Holy man the people here know how to dance! We've had many nights dancing till 4am to the best reggaeton & merengue music then needing to jump into the ocean to cool down. 

• Being in a culture where they want you to be a part of it. Everyone wants to help with my Spanish and is so encouraging. The people here are living on $200 to $500 a month and yet they are some of the happiest people I've ever met. 

I recommend everyone takes a trip to Bocas del Toro! It's the perfect island getaway. Here are some pictures from around town. 

Trecera (3rd Street)

cat naps

Best lunch in Bocas! Healthy too

playa bluff

lots of naps

and lots of bike rides

sometimes the bikes break.. Wun to the rescue!

playa estrella

my favourite hostel 

Aqua Lounge

Spanish school graduation with my teacher Gilberto

Valentine's Day festivities at school

Isla Zapatilla Boat Tour

On Saturday, we took a boat tour to Isla Zapatilla, the farthest island. There were about 6 of us plus 10 other tourists in a little boat. The ride was incredibly bumpy! We all had bruised bums after. The first stop was Dolphin Bay. We saw three dolphins, but there were other boats so they didn't stick around very long. 

Jennifer & I enjoying the bumpy ride!

Delphine!

The next stop was at Cayo Coral for snorkeling and a floating restaurant for lunch. We went snorkeling along the reef and saw a lot of fish, but they were all fairly small. You have to go much deeper to see more. The fish here are all very colourful! 

incredible colours

we all had nice sunburns after this

We laid on the dock suntanning while the other people in our group ate lunch at the restaurant. Next, we headed to Isla Zapatilla. It was so incredibly beautiful! White sand and turquoise water everywhere! We spent about an hour playing in the waves and laying on the beach! 

Playa Zapatilla! So beautiful

Bikes & Beaches

After a morning of Spanish classes we decided to venture out to Bluff beach. The beach is on the same island as Bocas town, but is 8km away. We rented bikes for $6 then headed out. The ride was absolutely beautiful! It was my first trip outside of Bocas town. 

nothing better than a bike with a basket 

The paved road turned into gravel, then into packed sand right on the beach so we stopped at a resort called Paki Point. Raphael and I rented surfboards and ventured out into the sea. We didn't know much about surf conditions and were both very unsuccessful. The waves were very strong and fast. Also, the bottom was all coral which made the threat of being thrown around very scary. I enjoyed just paddling around on my board, but when I wanted to go back to the beach I couldn't get anywhere. I swam for at least half hour and didn't get any closer to the beach.. I was getting increasingly tired and frustrated, but finally made it in. That was a good reminder of how strong the sea really is. Next time I'll go surfing with someone who can teach me. Surfing in warm Caribbean waters is definitely preferable to needing a full body wetsuit in Tofino! 

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Paradise.  

Isla Carenero

My bag finally arrived on Tuesday!! I was beyond happy! Stoked to change my clothes and have a bathing suit!

Reunited and it feels so good

To celebrate the arrival of my bathing suit, we headed to Isla Carenero. It's the closest island to Isla Colón. We had to take a lancha (boat) for about 5 minutes. The beach was beautiful! Everything here is beautiful. White sand and green water. Unknown to us, this beach has an incredible amount of chitras. Chitras are sand flies that love to bite white girls. We all have at least 50-100 bites on our legs!! After realizing how bad the bugs were, we walked over to a hut bar on the water called the Pickled Pirate. George, the owner, built this bar about 10 years ago and has been living on Isla Carenero since. He installs most of the water filtration systems on these islands and makes a natural chitra repellent. We all bought the repellent! We spent the rest of the afternoon drinking beers, listening to surf stories and George's American conspiracy theory ideas. Tuesday doesn't get any better than that!

Cheers to beers & beaches!