Bastimentos (Bocas del Toro islands), Panama (Apr 2-8)
The 10 hour night bus to the small ocean side town of Almirante sucked big time. The airconditioning was on full blast and it was impossible to sleep. We arrived at the Almirante bus terminal 2 hours early at 4:30am. It was pitch dark and we had no idea where we were and the whole area seemed pretty sketchy. Luckily there was taxis running at that hour. So we took a 75cent taxi ride to the boat to Bocas. Along the way we met some really cool Argentinian chicks (Cay, Carola, and Andrea) and ended up spending almost our entire stay in Bocas with them. We took a boat to Bastimentos Island and lounged around in hammocks all day recovering from our last 2 nights without sleep.
We joined Cay, Carola, Andrea and another cool Argentinian chick named Sol on a boat tour to the Zapatillos I & II islands. Amazing, deserted, palm tree covered islands with crystal clear turquoise water! Rosaline is going to be jealous! Haa haa ha haa ha! We also stopped along the way and snorkeled around some small coral reefs and stopped for lunch at a restaurant on the water. Saw a huge barracuda eating stuff by the restaurant! We stopped over at Colon Island for pizza and beer at a waterfront bar before we made our way back to Bastimentos Island.
Joined our favourite Argentinan girls and yet another cool Argentinian girl named Alejandra on a hike to some amazing beaches near town. Linda, Edmund, and Andrea got separated from the group and were temporarily lost in the jungle. We ended up seeing tons of little red frogs, a huge spider, getting bit by massive ants, and climbing down a jagged cliff. We spent the day enjoying the beach, snorkeling, and chilling at a beachside bar. We went out that night for beers on the water and watched a funny local dude who was singing and playing guitar!
Joined the girls on a boat to Bird Island, Starfish Beach, and another cool restaurant on the water. While snorkeling we saw tons of beautiful red starfish, an octopus, and lots of fish. We also got free use of some kayaks at the restaurant. Went to an amazing Thai restaurant for dinner with the crew (The Group of Death… hahaha).
Met the girls at Wizard Beach and chilled there for the day. The girls left back to Panama city that afternoon. So sad 🙁
Organized a tour with some local dudes to explore a nearby cave. We joined two Americans and a British dude and jumped on a boat to the cave. The boat drove through a small creek through mangroves and then we hiked through the jungle to a small native village. The guides negotiated passage for us to the cave which is on there land. We got crappy little flashlights and entered the cave. There was tons of bats, bat poop, and stalactites! We walked through water, which was up to our necks a some points, pretty much the entire time. We also jumped off a small waterfall in the cave. After the cave we took a boat to Colon Island and checked into Mondo Taitu, a sweet hostel with a bar, free bikes, and surfboard rentals. Meet met some really cool people at the bar for 50cent beers and a sheesha that night. Lucas (Germany), Bruno (Brazil), Nikki and Sandra (Sweden), and Henry (England), all great people! Ended up going to bed at 1am. We´ll be getting up at 5:30am for a bus ride back to Panama City. Yes!
Tags: Travel
esaunger