Bocas del Toro

Steph and I just had one great week in Bocas del Toro, Panama! My expectations were high for this place and it certainly didn't disappoint.

The Road to Bocas

We left Cahuita and - once we could get a break between all the semis - crossed an old, one-lane converted railroad bridge into Panama. This was a little-used border and we made it through in less than an hour - only paid about $10. The drive was beautiful, especially once we got into Panama. The road twists up and down verdant green mountains with waterfalls literally everywhere, and there were very few other vehicles cluttering up the road.
We arrived in the port town of Almirante, parked the truck, and set out on the thirty-minute water taxi ride to Bocas del Toro. The little, home-made fiberglass boat had six rows of seating, carried twenty-five souls, and was powered by a Yamaha 225 horse outboard. The ride was smooth and breezy.

Bocas Proper

Steph and I had decided to visit Bocas del Toro with the intention of attending Spanish school, and - while the Spanish school was all booked up - we found private classes with a young lady from our hostel. Steph did two classes and I did three, and I think that they went pretty well. It is certainly exciting to learn something new that you so deeply desire to know.
While in town we booked a day sailing on a trimaran (three-hulled boat). Although it was raining lightly as we walked to the boat in the morning, the rain stopped as we were boarding the boat and the wind picked up. We were able to sail the whole day - drinking beers, getting terribly sunburnt, and snorkeling the best coral I have ever seen. A bit about the coral.... All I could think as I swam just an arm's length above the vivid, living bits of various makes and models of coral was - it's like Mardi Gras!!! There was purple coral, red coral, yellow coral, long coral tubes, brain-looking coral, coral that looked like lettuce, starfish hanging on coral, schools of fish swimming in-on-around-under coral.... it was a coral party, and everybody was invited!
The captain - Chris - told us about his life as a traveler. Thirteen years ago he and his girlfriend - while in war-torn Africa - purchased a 40' catamaran in order to escape the dangers of driving through said situation...without ANY sailing experience. They learned to sail by traveling Africa and Europe, and eventually crossed the Atlantic and ended up here.
I would be leaving something out if I didn't mention the bike ride Steph and I did.... We rented bicycles and pedaled ourselves from one side of the island to the other on the islands only road - about 15 km. It was probably the hardest ride of my life! The road itself was not too bad, but our bikes SUCKED! I tried out every bike the rental guy had and picked the best one - a one-speeder with coaster brakes and cranks about to fall off. I had the "mechanic" tighten the cranks up which had the unintended consequence of leaving the brakes perpetually "on". Not wanting to make the situation even worse, I smiled and said, "Thanks!" I assumed the cranks would loosen up again and the brakes would unstick, but I was wrong. The entire ride was like riding the training bike from hell! As other bicyclists passed me on there 1980 Huffy's I looked at them with such envy - I wanted a HUFFY!!!! Needless to say, we took a taxi back from the other side of the island....

The Food Highlights

Sesame crusted, seared ahi tuna (sooo fresh and a massive amount to boot)
Spicy shrimp vindaloo (face sweating spicy)
Beef, pepper, and onion kababs (from the street meat-stick guy)
Pork wontons (purchased at the local, Asian-owned grocery)
The list could go on, but my memories grow a bit fuzzy. I will say that Bocas has had the best food of the whole trip!