Live from Bocas

Another few days in the sun never hurt anyone and this 3 week tan that i am working on from Fiji is not going to wear off any time soon. The sun down here is hotter than ever and i feel that since i am closer to the equator now that it actually is. Muggy and feels like burning to me. Leaving the big city with the bigger skyline after a relaxing few "city days" we headed on to Bocas Del Toro. I have no idea what this means and guess that it means something close to "islands of heaven" but really have no idea. After opting for the $60 1 hour flight rather than the $25 12 hour bus ride we boarded a small square shaped twin prop plane headed for the Caribbean. No troubles boarding and the ride was amazing. Seeing the geography, city, and canal from the air was worth the money in itself. The plane was noisy, the apple juice a little sweet, and the heat leaked from every crack in the plane but it was great nonetheless. It is amazing to be able to look at a map and then see the exact same thing from the air just because the country is small enough for the curves of the land to be remembered.

Arriving in Bocas the heat hit us like a ton of bricks (or feathers i learned in 4th grade weigh the same). We were sweating before we got our bags off the plane which seemed like a good system where you point at your bag and they give it to you after pulling a trolley over by hand. I really dig these small plane rides since it reminds of the time i got to fly the plane in Nebraska when my dad used to fly Cessnas, etc. We found a place to stay after much discussion and the lovely Del Diablo was the choice. Another nice room and the entire building was out over the water. They had a really nice porch with a view of the water and islands that was to die for. We made great use of this porch and the hammock there for siestas, a few drinks, or simply reading in the afternoon. Walking around town you can tell this is a touristy place but there were still not as many gringos as expected. Maybe it's the Panamanians that come here on vacation? Who knows but it has plenty of restaurants, hotels, handiworks shops, and tour companies. After an initial run in with Robert who was from NJ and was trying to hook us up with a sweet hotel we ran into Oxford Jeff who sold us on a snorkeling and beach tour for $15. A great dinner that night at El Poscado. It was splashing out but it was certainly worth it. A few cervezas on the porch and that's all she wrote.

Next day we show up at about 915 for our 930 tour and by 930 Oxford still was nowhere to be seen. Oh well there are plenty of tour companies but by the time we set off to find another one we run into the man and he gets us geared up for a day in the islands. We were to visit dolphin bay, coral cay, red frog beach, and hospital point. We made it to all these places and were back by about 5. Dolphin bay was pretty amazing and there were dolphins everywhere but we couldn't swim with them because there were too many jellys in the water. They stay in the bay to get out of the waves and eat the jellys. Saw quite a few dolphins just cruising around and was really quite impressive to hear them breathe when they come up for air. Sounds a lot like us coming up from underwater which makes sense since they are mammals. Next was a stop at a restaurant on the water to order lunch but luckily we had some pb and bread for lunch because of the big night out before. We went on a great snorkel at coral cay with huge urchin, colorful coral, sea fans, sponges, and a variety of fish. Later on we stopped at another bar/restaurant/dock and snorkeled seeing a barracuda after getting out. Back at the first place there were sharks hanging around the dock as well (one being trapped in a fence). Stopped at red frog beach but didn't see any of the beachs' namesake. Total bummer but a beautiful beach as you would expect. I have seen a lot of beaches and this is one i would come back to. Nice waves, nice sand, and hot sun. Had a siesta and swam then moved on. The boat ride to Hospital point was quite nice and we were swerving through the small islands made of trees like the ones that grow in swamps. Went through some tunnels only wide enough for the boat. Drenched in sun. This might be the time that the skin cancer starts developing. Stopped at hospital point but everyone was too tired to swim. Had ceviche for the first time at happy hour for some nourishment since the pb didn't really do the trick. Really good stuff that i would like to be able to make but wouldn't trust myself to do it correctly. Aww shucks.

Good times around here with a bottle of Panama Jack rum (think of the irony) and a bottle of Coca Cola. No ice of course. This is a little slice of heaven that seems to be turning into more and more of a destination. You guys should all come before it gets too crazy down here. I think we are off for Nicaragua today. We will be catching a 1230 boat to the mainland and a 200p bus from the border to San Jose (CR). Hopefully a night bus to Managua in Nicaragua. This should be about a 20 hour journey so i might not be sleeping for a few days. Hope for a nice bus with leg room and no big dudes sitting next to me. Cheers yall.