We’d read that Almirante was a dirty crap of a town. It’s true. Almirante is certainly not any place you want to
get stuck. It’s basically the 'port', or a dock, to
get off mainland Panama and out to the archipelago of Bocas del Toro, our
destination. The Bocas del Toro
Archipelago is a huge scattering of more than 200 islets and another seven
islands just off the northwest coast of Panama. 'Bocas del Toro' is the name of the province on the mainland, the same name for the archipelago AND the name of the main town on Isla Colon. You can do a lot with one name
here.
Leaving Almirante gave us a bit of a glimpse on how the locals live, smattering of little shacks right on the sea, similar homes in respect to the many we’d seen on land. The local hustlers working to get your dollars, 'Come with me, come over here, come in my boat!' A bit disconcerting to say the least. We had a boat all arranged as part of the big transportation shuttle arrangement; just had to find the right one.
It's about a half hour boat ride to Bocas, Isla Colon. We ended up taking this ride, one way or the other, 4 times. It was the end of this first time out that Tom lost his footing getting off the boat and just about fell into the sea off the dock. Luckily, he was able to stop himself with the help of a few strong and attentive people right there with us. And the camera didn't drop in the water, either.
Our first stop in Bocas was to get a nice, cold beer. Toro Loco, billed as an expat bar, a sports bar, turned out to be pretty much that. 30" TV screens hanging from the ceiling, Nascar racing or live futbol.
Lots of clunky signs and a big wooden model of a boat. Decent drinks, fair food and the local cold Panama and Balboa beers. We met Cameron, who seemed to be holding court as long as we'd allow. Old expat, came to Bocas a dozen years ago from Florida, a musician. Not a very good one, sorry to say; he's got spirit, though. Cameron told us he's put together Open Mic every Saturday night, told Tom, "Use my guitar, sure it's okay." It was Saturday night. Less than 3 hours after arriving in Bocas, it was dark, Tom was on stage. A happy camper who I think was missing his guitar just a bit by this time. With two back-up guys, percussion and guitar, they hopped right to it. Fun times!
I asked Cameron where I could get a local sim card for my phone. His answer, “Any of the Chinos'll have ‘em. They’re all just around the corner.”
I sat there, a bit amused by this, remembering a similar conversation just about a year ago. I was in a tiny slip of a town in Spain, looking for an electrical adaptor. Walked over to the town square, lots of young folks having beer and enjoying themselves. Keeping in mind Rick Steves’ admonition, ‘when looking for English speaking people, go to the young ones, they’re speaking it.' And he's right. These guys told me, “just up that street, the Chinese store, go there.”
Anyway, back in Panama, we walked around the corner, found the 'chinese store' and a nice young English speaking kid behind the counter at the Supramercado Alba. William dropped what he was doing to help me out. He grabbed the correct sim card, opened up my phone, set the whole thing up in less than 5 minutes. Local phone now. $9. No more long distance, roaming, international plan costs. Another fine Rick Steves suggestion.
We learned a lot and quickly. We found out from one of the locals at the B&B that the vultures seen around town are very well liked there in Bocas. "They keep everything clean." And sure enough, they are busy litle guys at times all the way around.
It gets dark, and light, same time every day, all year long. Equator stuff, you know. Just about 6-6:30 pm and 6-6:30 am. Temperatures pretty much the same all year long, too. Very warm, nice and humid, HOT sometimes. My skin loves it, so do my joints. I don't know about you, I'm not accustomed to seeing lots of kids playing out in the streets at night back home. But here, it's the only time they have to play, since they're in school during the hot daylight hours. It was fun watching them play as we dined on the second floor balcony of Om (really fine Indian cuisine).
We soon understood that most of the locals don’t own a car. Cars, trucks, buses, mininvans are on the island for business use. Not much personal use for autos here. No petrol stations, easy public transportation. There are ferries of course that bring the vehicles back and forth from the mainland. Lots of bicycles, scooters, bike rentals. Seven to ten dollars a day, some with a handlebar basket. The land all around town is flat and open, an easy ride. We walked.
We knew ahead of time that the Panama currency is officially the Balboa, which is a quarter sized coin worth 100 cents. No need for currency exchange here. Everyone uses US currency/coin as a general rule, with Panamanian coins thrown into the mix. Obvious US influence starting with the Panama Canal in effect still today.
We stayed a few nights at Cala Luna, a little B&B above a sweet pizza/pasta restaurant on Calle 5, owned/operated by Albierto, his wife, a small staff & a sweet little doggy. They moved to Bocas many years ago from Sardinia for a more peaceful, quiet life. That night we had pizza; I chose artichoke heart/kalamata olives. Good food. Tom had chicken. They also serve a mean 'local chocolate' brownie with vanilla ice cream. Comfortable, very clean open air dining area, simple wooden tables and plastic stackable garden chairs, ceiling vans to cool. Albierto made it a safe place for me to practice my Spanish.
Weeks later, on our last night in Bocas, we returned to Albierto's for dinner. Dining next to our table were two people who came in, excitedly hugging Albierto; obvious they'd been there before. We eventually started talking together - they became one of my top three highlights of the trip. Sharon manages the Floating Doctors, John works with them. I first heard of this organization years ago when I was still living in San Francisco, have followed them online ever since. I'd actually planned to look them up while we were there. It was fabulous! http://floatingdoctors.com
John's former US Treasury. Secret Agent. Really. He's the one who answered my question about why the heck the US Coast Guard is hanging out in the Bocas Bay. I could tell you what he told us, but then I'd have to shoot you. Nah, it's all about drugs, and letting the guys have leave in Bocas.
Sharon's been in Panama a while, was part of the Floating Doctors relief work in Haiti after that devastating 2010 earthquake. Fascinating stories, so much to learn from them about their work with the Ngobe-Bugle villagers. The challenges they all face. Proper hydration, the difference between drinking coffee and plain water, the importance of saving rain water. Poor dentition, giving out toothbrushes/toothpaste wherever they go. Babies dying so often & so young that they aren't named until they're two years old. I'm telling you, if I was ever to go do something official again, it would be with the Floating Doctors.
That first night in Bocas, just before dozing off to sleep, I heard (& killed) my first mosquito. It was also my last one. Ha ha. All the scary stories about mosquitos, dengue fever, etc., turned out to be just stories. Well there were a few other little insect bites. Those big black ant bites on Bastimentos really sting, but only for a couple minutes.
Our second day in Bocas, we caught a bus at the town square, headed out on a 35 minute ride to Beach Drago on the north side of the island. We sat with with the locals, who boarded after stowing bags of groceries in the back luggage area.
The driver would stop along the way, drop 2-3 family members off and then carry on to the end stop at Beach Drago, a little stretch of beach with a few hostels, little B&B’s, restaurants scattered along the edge of the road. Looks like a really cheap place to return to stay in one place on the sea for a good long time.
We get off the bus, walk another mile or so, nice leisurely pace, enjoying the seashore, to find Starfish Beach. This was a little more formal setup, with plastic beach chairs/lounges for rent ($6), open air restaurants/bars, more cold cervezas. Blaring boombox music (generator run), big palm shade trees. You step across powdery ivory sand into the amazing Caribbean.
I could swim out as far as I wanted, buoyant in the warm salt water, no dangerous currents, just gentle waves bobbing up and down. Yes, we did manage to get a nice bright sunburn that first day! And it was a quite relaxing place to sit and read. I ended up finishing three books on this trip. Yay for us!
Every few days, we’d wash out a few articles of clothing, fold them over a line, or a hanger, or a chair, to dry overnight. Really easy to travel with just a few outfits, mix and match. More room in the pack for those important take home items that we found later. Panama plantation coffee, cacao/chocolate, hammocks and Tom's
Panama Hat.
So after just our first Bocas stay, we journeyed by boat to the biggest island in the archipelago, Isla Bastimentos. We'd return to Bocas soon, after a bit of exploration.
Cabin reservations on Bastimentos, at Up In the Hill, which turned out to be my favorite spot, even though I wasn't feeling well there for a day or so. Stomach stuff. My GI tract didn’t have an excellent holiday. Minor stuff, uncomfortable none the less. Freshly made mint hibiscus tea helped.
Anyway, Up in the Hill was
fabulous. It’s a local permaculture,
organic family owned farm run by Janette and Javier, who each moved there many
years ago, she from Scotland for the sun and sand, he from Argentina to surf. They found each other, fell in love and now are married with three fine
little boys who go to school a few steps away on the island. http://bocasdeltoro.travel/up-in-the-hill/
Javier cooks a lovely dinner each evening for the cabin guests. Lucky us. Delivers it right to our cabin overlooking the Caribbean, hammocks hanging on the deck. Just around the bend is Silverbacks break, well-known surf spot for those expert surfers we know and love. I walked down the hill to another beach, Wizard Beach, one afternoon, where I could get a good look at Silverbacks.
I was warned not to take any valuables, so didn't even take a camera. Petty thieves will steal what they can and I didn't want to be a target. I went off on the walk just after a good rainstorm, the trail was so muddy. I was quite the goof-ball to do that. Got to sit for a bit in the soft powdery sand, in awe of the scary waves, a nightmare of powerful riptides. Barely put me feet in and headed back before the sun went down.
Janette and Javier were so happy to see the rain. They save as much as possible when it comes. They're lucky enough to have an underground spring that they tap into when necessary. For instance, all the cabin water is on a pump, turned on and off when need be. No wasting any water there.
All around the hillside, we watched butterflies, listened to amazing songbirds including bright green, blue & yellow parrots, 'yellowtail birds', many, many others I wasn't able to identify. Throw in a dog or two, some free roaming chickens, and you've got farm. Never spotted the red poison dart frog.
We were part of a small tour group one day. The other four folks visiting from Wisconsin and Massachusetts. I’ve never run into so many Americans while on an international trip. Really, we were everywhere. And from everywhere.
We got to see how cacao is grown, what the trees look like, how it's harvested and dried. We knelt down to break off pieces of wild citronella & chaya, gawked at amazing pineapple plants, beautiful flowers, big, tall banana plants stirring in the breeze.
We enjoyed an amazing two hours or more with our guide, Santiago, walking up and down the farm on top of the hill with our walking sticks, ending the tour with a fine freshly made chaya empanada lunch. Topped off with home-made, fresh cacao brownie dessert & a little hibiscus mint tea.
It was a lovely relaxing few days, time to sketch, draw, read, hang in the hammocks, take walks up and down the hill, meeting and greeting people here and there. We were here the day Tom borrowed one of the little boys’ guitars and finished up a song he’d been working on for quite some time.
As the sun went down on our last day up on the hill, after our first big rains of the trip, it was with mixed emotions we packed for our trip the next day to go back to the mainland and travel on to Boquete, up in the rain forest mountains, between the Caribbean and the Pacific coastlines.
to be continued.....
Leaving Almirante gave us a bit of a glimpse on how the locals live, smattering of little shacks right on the sea, similar homes in respect to the many we’d seen on land. The local hustlers working to get your dollars, 'Come with me, come over here, come in my boat!' A bit disconcerting to say the least. We had a boat all arranged as part of the big transportation shuttle arrangement; just had to find the right one.
It's about a half hour boat ride to Bocas, Isla Colon. We ended up taking this ride, one way or the other, 4 times. It was the end of this first time out that Tom lost his footing getting off the boat and just about fell into the sea off the dock. Luckily, he was able to stop himself with the help of a few strong and attentive people right there with us. And the camera didn't drop in the water, either.
Our first stop in Bocas was to get a nice, cold beer. Toro Loco, billed as an expat bar, a sports bar, turned out to be pretty much that. 30" TV screens hanging from the ceiling, Nascar racing or live futbol.
Lots of clunky signs and a big wooden model of a boat. Decent drinks, fair food and the local cold Panama and Balboa beers. We met Cameron, who seemed to be holding court as long as we'd allow. Old expat, came to Bocas a dozen years ago from Florida, a musician. Not a very good one, sorry to say; he's got spirit, though. Cameron told us he's put together Open Mic every Saturday night, told Tom, "Use my guitar, sure it's okay." It was Saturday night. Less than 3 hours after arriving in Bocas, it was dark, Tom was on stage. A happy camper who I think was missing his guitar just a bit by this time. With two back-up guys, percussion and guitar, they hopped right to it. Fun times!
I sat there, a bit amused by this, remembering a similar conversation just about a year ago. I was in a tiny slip of a town in Spain, looking for an electrical adaptor. Walked over to the town square, lots of young folks having beer and enjoying themselves. Keeping in mind Rick Steves’ admonition, ‘when looking for English speaking people, go to the young ones, they’re speaking it.' And he's right. These guys told me, “just up that street, the Chinese store, go there.”
Anyway, back in Panama, we walked around the corner, found the 'chinese store' and a nice young English speaking kid behind the counter at the Supramercado Alba. William dropped what he was doing to help me out. He grabbed the correct sim card, opened up my phone, set the whole thing up in less than 5 minutes. Local phone now. $9. No more long distance, roaming, international plan costs. Another fine Rick Steves suggestion.
We learned a lot and quickly. We found out from one of the locals at the B&B that the vultures seen around town are very well liked there in Bocas. "They keep everything clean." And sure enough, they are busy litle guys at times all the way around.
It gets dark, and light, same time every day, all year long. Equator stuff, you know. Just about 6-6:30 pm and 6-6:30 am. Temperatures pretty much the same all year long, too. Very warm, nice and humid, HOT sometimes. My skin loves it, so do my joints. I don't know about you, I'm not accustomed to seeing lots of kids playing out in the streets at night back home. But here, it's the only time they have to play, since they're in school during the hot daylight hours. It was fun watching them play as we dined on the second floor balcony of Om (really fine Indian cuisine).
We soon understood that most of the locals don’t own a car. Cars, trucks, buses, mininvans are on the island for business use. Not much personal use for autos here. No petrol stations, easy public transportation. There are ferries of course that bring the vehicles back and forth from the mainland. Lots of bicycles, scooters, bike rentals. Seven to ten dollars a day, some with a handlebar basket. The land all around town is flat and open, an easy ride. We walked.
We stayed a few nights at Cala Luna, a little B&B above a sweet pizza/pasta restaurant on Calle 5, owned/operated by Albierto, his wife, a small staff & a sweet little doggy. They moved to Bocas many years ago from Sardinia for a more peaceful, quiet life. That night we had pizza; I chose artichoke heart/kalamata olives. Good food. Tom had chicken. They also serve a mean 'local chocolate' brownie with vanilla ice cream. Comfortable, very clean open air dining area, simple wooden tables and plastic stackable garden chairs, ceiling vans to cool. Albierto made it a safe place for me to practice my Spanish.
Weeks later, on our last night in Bocas, we returned to Albierto's for dinner. Dining next to our table were two people who came in, excitedly hugging Albierto; obvious they'd been there before. We eventually started talking together - they became one of my top three highlights of the trip. Sharon manages the Floating Doctors, John works with them. I first heard of this organization years ago when I was still living in San Francisco, have followed them online ever since. I'd actually planned to look them up while we were there. It was fabulous! http://floatingdoctors.com
John's former US Treasury. Secret Agent. Really. He's the one who answered my question about why the heck the US Coast Guard is hanging out in the Bocas Bay. I could tell you what he told us, but then I'd have to shoot you. Nah, it's all about drugs, and letting the guys have leave in Bocas.
Sharon's been in Panama a while, was part of the Floating Doctors relief work in Haiti after that devastating 2010 earthquake. Fascinating stories, so much to learn from them about their work with the Ngobe-Bugle villagers. The challenges they all face. Proper hydration, the difference between drinking coffee and plain water, the importance of saving rain water. Poor dentition, giving out toothbrushes/toothpaste wherever they go. Babies dying so often & so young that they aren't named until they're two years old. I'm telling you, if I was ever to go do something official again, it would be with the Floating Doctors.
That first night in Bocas, just before dozing off to sleep, I heard (& killed) my first mosquito. It was also my last one. Ha ha. All the scary stories about mosquitos, dengue fever, etc., turned out to be just stories. Well there were a few other little insect bites. Those big black ant bites on Bastimentos really sting, but only for a couple minutes.
Our second day in Bocas, we caught a bus at the town square, headed out on a 35 minute ride to Beach Drago on the north side of the island. We sat with with the locals, who boarded after stowing bags of groceries in the back luggage area.
The driver would stop along the way, drop 2-3 family members off and then carry on to the end stop at Beach Drago, a little stretch of beach with a few hostels, little B&B’s, restaurants scattered along the edge of the road. Looks like a really cheap place to return to stay in one place on the sea for a good long time.
We get off the bus, walk another mile or so, nice leisurely pace, enjoying the seashore, to find Starfish Beach. This was a little more formal setup, with plastic beach chairs/lounges for rent ($6), open air restaurants/bars, more cold cervezas. Blaring boombox music (generator run), big palm shade trees. You step across powdery ivory sand into the amazing Caribbean.
I could swim out as far as I wanted, buoyant in the warm salt water, no dangerous currents, just gentle waves bobbing up and down. Yes, we did manage to get a nice bright sunburn that first day! And it was a quite relaxing place to sit and read. I ended up finishing three books on this trip. Yay for us!
Every few days, we’d wash out a few articles of clothing, fold them over a line, or a hanger, or a chair, to dry overnight. Really easy to travel with just a few outfits, mix and match. More room in the pack for those important take home items that we found later. Panama plantation coffee, cacao/chocolate, hammocks and Tom's
So after just our first Bocas stay, we journeyed by boat to the biggest island in the archipelago, Isla Bastimentos. We'd return to Bocas soon, after a bit of exploration.
Cabin reservations on Bastimentos, at Up In the Hill, which turned out to be my favorite spot, even though I wasn't feeling well there for a day or so. Stomach stuff. My GI tract didn’t have an excellent holiday. Minor stuff, uncomfortable none the less. Freshly made mint hibiscus tea helped.
Anyway, Up in the Hill was
fabulous. It’s a local permaculture,
organic family owned farm run by Janette and Javier, who each moved there many
years ago, she from Scotland for the sun and sand, he from Argentina to surf. They found each other, fell in love and now are married with three fine
little boys who go to school a few steps away on the island. http://bocasdeltoro.travel/up-in-the-hill/Javier cooks a lovely dinner each evening for the cabin guests. Lucky us. Delivers it right to our cabin overlooking the Caribbean, hammocks hanging on the deck. Just around the bend is Silverbacks break, well-known surf spot for those expert surfers we know and love. I walked down the hill to another beach, Wizard Beach, one afternoon, where I could get a good look at Silverbacks.
I was warned not to take any valuables, so didn't even take a camera. Petty thieves will steal what they can and I didn't want to be a target. I went off on the walk just after a good rainstorm, the trail was so muddy. I was quite the goof-ball to do that. Got to sit for a bit in the soft powdery sand, in awe of the scary waves, a nightmare of powerful riptides. Barely put me feet in and headed back before the sun went down.
Janette and Javier were so happy to see the rain. They save as much as possible when it comes. They're lucky enough to have an underground spring that they tap into when necessary. For instance, all the cabin water is on a pump, turned on and off when need be. No wasting any water there.
All around the hillside, we watched butterflies, listened to amazing songbirds including bright green, blue & yellow parrots, 'yellowtail birds', many, many others I wasn't able to identify. Throw in a dog or two, some free roaming chickens, and you've got farm. Never spotted the red poison dart frog.
We were part of a small tour group one day. The other four folks visiting from Wisconsin and Massachusetts. I’ve never run into so many Americans while on an international trip. Really, we were everywhere. And from everywhere.
We got to see how cacao is grown, what the trees look like, how it's harvested and dried. We knelt down to break off pieces of wild citronella & chaya, gawked at amazing pineapple plants, beautiful flowers, big, tall banana plants stirring in the breeze.
We enjoyed an amazing two hours or more with our guide, Santiago, walking up and down the farm on top of the hill with our walking sticks, ending the tour with a fine freshly made chaya empanada lunch. Topped off with home-made, fresh cacao brownie dessert & a little hibiscus mint tea.
It was a lovely relaxing few days, time to sketch, draw, read, hang in the hammocks, take walks up and down the hill, meeting and greeting people here and there. We were here the day Tom borrowed one of the little boys’ guitars and finished up a song he’d been working on for quite some time.
to be continued.....
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