Paradise with a Price
Bocas del Toro is gorgeous: beautiful beaches, incredible snorkeling, crystalline water, friendly people and delicious food. Yet, paradise has a few hidden costs.
The most hidden element on the islands is sand flies. The longer we stayed, the more bites we accumulated. By the time we left, we are each covered with more than 100 bites. Fortunately, the bites don’t itch if we don’t scratch, but one scratch and that’s it – the scratching becomes relentless. The problem is that nothing works against those little hidden bastards. The locals make a special blend of coconut oil, citronella and lemon grass, but as far as I can tell, the stuff does not work.
Another hidden element is the unexpected accident. Here’s Paul take on a little adventure that led to unforeseen costs. “I was in the middle of a poker game with two Dutch guys, J.J. and Bart, and J.J. ran out of cigarettes so we decided to take a boat ride to Isla Colon for a pack of cigarettes. We arrived and hung out. J.J. met someone and stayed, and Bart and I got on a boat to come home. Halfway into our trip home, the captain tapped me on the shoulder and told me to move forward. All of a sudden, the boat flipped and the three of us were swimming with the sharks (note: no sharks were seen, but the channel is shark-infested). Another boat came and rescued us, and brought us back to Isla Colon. The boatmen were trying to get me to pay $300 for tipping the boat. Fifteen of the dock workers were threatening Bart and me in an alley. The police showed up and escorted Bart, the captain and me to the police station. I explained, all in Spanish, what happened. The policeman said that the accident was not our fault and arrested the captain for being drunk, not being licensed and not having life jackets. The police brought us back to the dock and we took another boat home. We had to pay another $20 for the ride home, plus an additional $40 to clean the boat’s engine.” Expensive 5 minute boat ride…
Islands are isolated, which makes everything more expensive, including medicine. While Paul was having his wet and wild ride, I was suffering from a migraine, which typically lasts two days. I had enough medicine for the first day, but the rest of the medicine was in the minivan on the mainland. I checked the island’s pharmacies for the medicine with no luck. On day 2 of the migraine, I woke up early to make the journey to the minivan and back: quick ride to Isla Colon, water taxi to Almirante on the mainland, quick walk to the minivan, water taxi back to Isla Colon, short shopping trip to buy pork buns and empanadas, and finally, boat ride back to our island. I don’t remember much about the trip over to the mainland, except the roar of the boat’s engine, smell of diesel fuel and holding my temple in misery. Total cost was only $10 for the boat rides and 3 hours of time. Worth it for a day’s relief of pain? Absolutely!
Now we are in Santiago, about 4 hours from Panama City. No bugs, no boats and lots of migraine medicine in my purse. Hopefully, no hidden costs for a few days!
Tags: Panama
hwy1alltheway
Paulie and the Federales – priceless!
I’ve enjoyed reading your blog as you’ve made your way south. Sorry to hear about Paul’s wet & wild ride. I had to comment on the “noseeums” a.k.a. sand flies. When we first got to Bocas we thought it might be one of those paradises we would never return from.
But in the end the noseeums drove us mad and we rand as fast away as we could!
Good luck on your way south and keep those blog entries coming!
Best,
John Higham
360 Degrees Longitude
The sand flies ate me alive down there to the point that I couldn’t go to the beach. I never knew what they were and couldn’t see them but would be miserable for days after I got back to the ship. Be careful of the mosquitos in Panama too. They come out at dusk and will suck you dry. Other than that all should be great. I always found that drinking lots of rum keeps the mosquitos away or at least that’s what I use to tell Barbara. Funny how it still works in Sacramento as well.
I think what John meant to say was that after lots of rum you don’t notice the bites anymore!! (Not recommended for children.) 🙂
hi curleys!!! just reading up on your trip…sounds like a WILD time! hope you continue to have a blast and i will thinking of you and checking back often…oh!- and tell quinn that I LOVE the sox hat….beantown pride!!! have fun! much love, your favorite cousin katie
p.s. i’m moving to cali in september for 6 months to do travel nursing…hope to see you at some point!
Hi all,
After almost 1 week in Panama City, the sand fly bites are finally going away. However, we got attacked by mosquitoes mid-day when visiting Panama Viejo (old Panama ruins) yesterday. The bugs seem to like us gringos! We have not tested the theory about drinking lots of rum to keep the bugs away, or at least forgetting about the bites. I can vouch that wine and beer do not do anything to reduce the irritation!
Sounds like you all had some brutal encounters after my friends and I met you guys on that gem of a beach! Hopefully you all don’t run into any additional crazy costs and the bugs don’t bite quite as much. If I make it back out to the Bay Area in the next year I’ll definitely let you all know. I want to try some fine foods from some SF chefs! Hope you all continue living the dream!