We knew if we wanted to catch a glimpse of the sparkling aquamarine Caribbean in Panama, we’d have to head to the north coast. We chose Bocas del Toro. And yes, the Caribbean is on the north, not the east side of Panama. This is a stark and slightly trippy realization we only laughingly really processed when we got to this country. Are we the only ones?
Isla Bastimentos
We arrived to the island of Isla Bastimentos because we knew we wanted to stay far away from the tourist crowd and “Filthy Fridays” that accompanies Bocas Town on the main island. Isla Bastimentos is a low-key island offering tons to do outside of its main ramshackle and lazy fishing village of Old Bank. Old Bank is shaded like a Skittles package and is a predominantly Afro-Caribbean community where Guari-Guari—a mix of patois English and traces of Spanish—is the local language. After spending 2 1/2 months on the mainland, we felt really confused about what language to speak because the Afro Caribes all seemed to speak English, Spanish and Guari-Guari, and the Panamanian locals all seemed to speak Spanish. Thus, we found ourselves adapting our greetings based on what people looked like…
Most people live in elevated, sometimes a bit tattered, wooden houses, that line sidewalks and dirt paths instead of streets as there are no electric vehicles anywhere on the island.
We learned that the majority of the people on these islands worked at the Chiquita plant on the mainland until the 90’s, when, we’re guessing, robots took over. Indeed, this part of Panama is where the majority of your bananas are born, raised and educated.
The colorful pathway leading up to the main church. Right, the main church, as seen from the water. You can only get to Isla Bastimentos by water taxi which costs $3/person from Bocas Town. Water taxis add up fast here!
The Bar La Feria. It was bumping when we arrived but fortunately our accommodation was far enough away to only be lulled to sleep by the waves outside our door.
Main Street…aka the sidewalk that runs through town. This is the first place in Panama we’ve been that not everyone is wearing a mask.
One of the few restaurants/bars in the town. The food is simple and traditional. If you want more variety and cheaper costs due to competition, you gotta take the water taxi to Bocas which ends up costing $12 trip for the two of us so it kinda equals out.
The weekdays were very empty in Old Bank. Not sure if this restaurant is gonna outlast climate change….
Shopping was decently easy in Old Bank so long as you were resourceful. There were two small “Chino” markets. Errr….sorry, we’ve gradually adapted to the local name. In the “Chino” stores, (yes owned by Asian people, maybe Chinese?), we REALLY didn’t know what to speak. Especially when the cashier told us our total was “two treinta” in superb Spanglish.
There was also the “fruit and vegetable” lady who ran a green grocer out of her house. You had to ring the bell, she came to the window, and let you in. As elsewhere in Panama, groceries weren’t super cheap. We spent about $75 on groceries for the week and one trip to visit her was $9.50.
Another skippable walkway. This pack of melancholy dogs liked to hang out around here.
Heading toward our hut on the outskirts of the village. As you can see, almost every house, despite its condition, has a blue Cable Onda satellite dish. And the same houses all dry their laundry draped on the bushes in the front lawn.
Don’t worry. It may not be a “tourist town” but it’s still got some obligatory kitsch.
This way to the school. Sadly, still kidless.
A beautiful day in the Caribbean!
Our Budget-Friendly Paradise on the Sea
After another very long day of travel from Santa Fe, we nestled into our Caribbean front bungalow for a week ($33/night found on Airbnb.) We couldn’t have asked for a better place on Isla Bastimentos. We had our own hut and hammock, and a private bathroom with a hot shower around the corner. There was also a full shared kitchen, where we cooked our meals. The best part, however, was being seduced by the lull of the waves every night as we slept. And we also got graced with more sunshine than we thought possible during “rainy season.”
This eleven-year-old boy, named Felix, came up and said hello to welcome us. We love practicing Spanish with kids… they’re so forgiving and easy to talk to. He lives in Old Bank with his two sisters and parents. Sadly, his two brothers died when he was a baby and, although it’s a school day, he hasn’t been going to school for a long time because it’s all online and they don’t have internet. He loves to surf and to go see the frogs at Red Frog Beach.
The best part is the view from the bed. Paradise.
Our bed. The mosquitoes surprisingly aren’t crazy but we’re still glad we have the net.
Not a bad place to set up office.
Panamanian Lilly, the owner and her husband Dan from Boston, have run this property for three years. There are three units in total which makes to very tranquil and manageable. Lily, who speaks English and Spanish, couldn’t be sweeter or more helpful.
Mandy enjoying her morning tea on the porch.
The shared kitchen. All organic waste gets chucked outside the window over the sink. It’s kinda fun.
The community areas.
Mandy cooling off in the sea one afternoon. It wasn’t very deep here, but we were able to do the sitting duck thing. We were also in perfect line to also see the sunset here, but unfortunately, every night we were home it ducked behind the clouds like it was scared to finish its business.
At right, we definitely felt right at home. One morning we even woke up with a drunk guy on our porch. Yep, just like Portland.
Wizard & Red Frog Beaches (Isla Bastimentos)
One of the days on Isla Bastimentos, we chose to hike to and explore a couple of the beaches on the island, which included the secluded and enticing Wizard Beach and the more touristed Red Frog Beach, which comes with a small price tag. Red Frog Beach itself didn’t really feel like anything special despite its tourist draw. The best thing about it, for us, was the plethora of its namesake frogs scattered on the jungle floor just prior to arriving to the actual beach, despite the fact the guidebook said, “it’s unlikely you’ll encounter any frogs due to development, local kids trapping them to impress tourists and the tidal wave of day trippers.” Guess those people aren’t looking hard enough because we found lots 🙂
To get to these two beaches from Old Bank, there are two options. Take a water taxi for $3-$5/person round trip, or hike on the path to Wizard Beach conveniently marked on mapy.cz, our favorite trail app. Of course, you can guess the option we chose. Our plan was to walk there and take a taxi back to cut the price in half and do some exploring along the way. The path is marked by a big sign in Old Bank and is about 20 minutes through a quite mucky jungle path. We laughingly attempted to do this path with sandals first and had to turn around to get our hiking shoes. Good thing we did because our shoes were completely covered in blobs of mud and Mandy even did one of those elegant full-on mud submersions with one foot. And it definitely took us some work in the cleaning department to get them back to a clean and unstinky status. (Thanks baking soda!)
It was worth it we arrived to the virtually empty Wizard Beach, other than a couple (much) older white guys trying to surf. Wizard Beach is blanketed in powdery yellow sand and although the clouds took away from the beauty a bit, it was still a really beautiful beach.
A pool that may have been fresh water emerges from the jungle, and a wild orchid on the beach.
As we continued meandering on this very long and deserted beach, it kinda started to feel like the setting for “Survivor” or “Naked and Afraid.”
Especially as we headed toward the end of the beach…
…and the beach seemingly petered out with no visible path to continue onto Red Frog, despite what it said on the map.
…we remained clothed, but slightly anxious. Fortunately after a little maneuvering we discovered the path stuffed back into the jungle.
The strawberry poison-dart frog (Oophaga pumilio) is actually one of the more common poison-dart frogs in Latin America. Its range covers much of lowland Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
And after about 3 km of weaving in and out of the path, we spotted our first diminutive frog, which is not too easy considering they’re about the size of a quarter. Check out their little hands!! The frogs are extremely variable in color and despite the name also come in 15-30 color morphs of green, yellow, orange, blue, white, black and brown.
They tend to spend most of its time on the rainforest floor in leaf litter, however, they frequently climb trees and vines. They are are sometimes captured (illegally) and sold as pets. The frogs secrete a very powerful poison which may offer medical prospects, but no major breakthroughs have been made. Native human populations use the powerful skin toxins to lace arrow heads, which significantly aids in hunting. (https://animaldiversity.org)
We arrived to Red Frog Beach shortly after and were excited to eat at Nacho Mama’s which promised to be our first taco stand in Panama. Unfortunately they were closed. Ugh. A bit of a silly business decision considering how many people were on the beach!
We made a mistake of going the wrong direction through the private property of Red Frog Beach Resort, although it gave us a nice dose of travel high life. When we got to the end of the path, fortunately because we were going the opposite direction, we were able to dodge the $5/person entrance fee.
This private “shortcut” path spit us out to the private boat dock which still charged us $5/person to take a taxi back to Old Bank even though we were only going one way. We should have kept walking down Red Frog Beach to the public marina. Ah, well. Live and learn.
Cayos Zapatillas
We both remember the days of FT office jobs and that iconic stock image we’d gaze at longingly while on an endless annoying phone call. We always wondered…where does the computer wallpaper comes from? Well, we think we may have found where it at the Zapatilla Islands of Bocas del Toro. Or…at least one version of it.
The Zapatillas are two blissfully remote uninhabited islands off the coast of Isla Bastimentos and couldn’t offer more stereotypically idyllic beaches…ringed with white powder sand, crystalline tranquil Caribbean water, draping palm trees, and a piece of solitude if that’s what you’re seeking. And despite the fact that it’s rainy season in Panamá, we waited it out a couple days and ended up with a bucket-of-sunshine kind of day. One of the benefits of slow travel for sure!
To get there, it unfortunately requires a tour, which was basically a local guy boating us and three Germans the hour or so it took to get out to the islands, a pit stop for lunch and snorkeling, and a pause to see the sloths (our first!) on Sloth Island. The cost of the day from 10-5 was a very reasonable $27/person, which upon arrival, you realize instantly that seeing this little slice of stunning earth is 100% worth the splurge.
Wow, the first glimpses are just astounding . You feel like and hope there’s a smiling volleyball sitting on the beach and you’re being lured into a Castaway situation.
Zapatilla means a slipper in Spanish. The local legend is that the islands were formed when God stepped on earth, and that is why the two islands have the shape of his shoes.
And thankfully when you get off the boat, the marvel doesn’t stop. It’s pristine. Not an ounce of trash anywhere, thanks to its protected national park status. Sea turtles lay eggs here regularly from March to September. And although there were several small boatloads of tourists, the 35 acre island is more than big enough to spread out and find your own sliver of paradise.
Our sliver was under this particular palm.
Greg could hardly wait to do nothing but this.
While Mandy could hardly wait to climb up a palm tree and do this!
Pretending to be a supermodel. ? Truth be told, despite regular yoga, it was quite difficult to balance on this tree which was a good 6 feet off the beach, so she celebrated safely on the beach.
We don’t do these often but felt like the right kinda place.
A fisherman just off shore.
When we weren’t walking on the beach, there was a lovely shaded sand path around the interior of the island.
In the Zapatillas, we read there there are beautiful coral gardens offshore with a healthy array of tropical fish, including parrotfish, angelfish, and butterfly fish. We guess they smartly wanna keep it this way because this is not where we snorkeled. Instead, our driver took us to a random dock on the way back and we snorkeled from here. It was decent snorkeling, and we saw parrotfish, angelfish and a barracuda. Just not what we were expecting. We did learn you can rent this little green house, which seems like a nice place to hang out for a bit.
Pulling up to our lunch spot. Because of the high prices, we split an entire fish and avoided the pricy cocktails…
But before that, we got to sneak a peek at our first sloths on Sloth Island. We didn’t actually set foot on the island. Instead our boat parked underneath some trees while we hoped to spot one. Fortunately, we did! A momma and her toddler nonetheless. Female sloths give birth to one baby a year after a gestation period of six months. The babies stick with mom for the first six months (just in time to get knocked up again) but then start wandering off. In this case, the toddler sloth was too far away to see clearly but the mama hung around for us (pun intended.)
And yes, wow. The more we photograph wildlife the more we realize we’re due for a phone upgrade, as you can probably tell these photos are highly edited. ?
These adorable and lethargic animals are actually called oso perezosos in Spanish which translates to “lazy bear.”
The boat ride back to other side of the island.
Our co-captain for the day.
Playa Estrella & Bocas del Drago
At the northern end of Isla Colon, the main island in Bocas del Toro lies Playa Estrella, a starry land littered with the girthiest and most vibrant starfish we’ve ever seen, unruffled aquamarine waters, alluring palm trees and…wasps, that sting people who are allergic to them almost as soon as we arrived. (And we forgot Greg’s epi-pen?)
Fortunately, after running 20 minutes like a mad woman and speaking Panish (panicked girl Spanish), Mandy found a Good Samaritan at a local bar/restaurant who saved the day with shots of antihistamines. Greg’s hand swelled up like a chubby guy’s, but other than that, the crisis was averted and we learned a valuable lesson to never forget the epi-pen in our day bag! Clearly not everything is always perfect in paradise.
To get there, we took the local bus from Bocas Town (the “big” city of Bocas del Toro) to Bocas del Drago. We caught the bus in front of the main park for $2.50/person to ride about 17 km. It was a long, pot-hole filled adventure.
When you arrive to Bocas del Drago, you have two choices to get to Playa Estrella (Starfish Beach.) Walk 30 minutes down a dreadful path or take a $3 round trip water taxi ride. But if you took the water taxi, you’d miss views like this one.
I mean…really…it’s a hideous walk.
Gregarious Greg, before the day changed.
Arriving to Playa Estrella, we immediately watched from a distance with nausea as people scooped up the delicate creatures for photos ignoring prominent signs to keep their hands off so they don’t kill the starfish. Apparently, when out of the water they absorb air and cannot sink back to the bottom which kills them. Fortunately this little guy seemed safe.
These starfish were so striking in this tranquil glassy water and as we just barely started to take a hundred (non-touching) photos, Greg felt a little tickle on his neck. He swatted it away, and the little asshole went for it, right near his wedding ring, (obviously jealous of Mandy and trying to make a statement.)
Mandy stepped into high gear knowing we had little time and ran a bit less pleasantly back through the oceanfront jungle path. She flagged down a water taxi, who even after explaining the situation, said he would charge an outrageous $60 to take us back to Isla Bastimentos, but then oh-so-kindly dropped to $50. This was not our first run-in with exploitive taxi drivers. We didn’t have it, so she continued to the Yarisnori where a very kind lady in the restaurant saved the day with some shots of antihistamine. We sent them a very nice email after the fact. So grateful!
Looks like a very nice area to stay. Wow!
So, our day was over before it began, but at least we were able to enjoy this view as we waited for the bus to return to Bocas Town and wait for Greg’s meds to kick in.
The swelling begins, and lasted a couple days! It eventually was much pudgier than this and extended up his full forearm.
Bocas Town, Isla Colon
On another day, at the opposite end of Isla Colon is a whole other world. Bocas Town seems like a complete dream…to a 20-year-old backpacker. At this end of Isla Colon, the main island in Bocas del Toro, you’ll find…
- feisty and flirty tourist operators waving you over in English
- high end markets selling things like Bob’s Red Mill products for $10 bag,
- two for one happy hour specials,
- something called “Filthy Fridays”
- hostel options galore
- people offering you drugs
- and overflowing souvenir and surf shops selling things like “I ❤️ Bocas” t-shirts in neon prints (because I guess, god forbid, that’s in again?)
Anyhow, it clearly wasn’t our match made in heaven but it was fun to spend an afternoon in…you know…before the filthiness emerged ? But, it’s definitely bright and colorful!
The brewery which wasn’t open, and the thing we were most excited about.
Walking around Bocas Town is actually quite tranquil and nice during the day.
One of the many taxi boat stands.
A map of the Bocas del Toro archipelago, which are very close to the Costa Rica border. So where did it get its name? (Mouth of the Bull) Well, Christopher Columbus came here on his last visit to the Americas in 1502 and supposedly named it because….
- When Columbus landed at one of the paradisiacal beaches, he saw various waterfalls in the form of “bocas del toro” (mouths of the bull).
- It is also said that Columbus distinguished a large rock on Bastimentos Island (easily to recognize nowadays) that has the form of a bull that is lying down.
- It is also said that the sound of the immense waves that hit the large rock that has volcanic origin and that you can find on Bastimentos Island, makes a sound similar to the roaring of a bull.
Not really sure if we buy any of these but this is what www.bocasdeltoro.com says!
A typical local residence in Bocas Town.
The Super Gourmet for all your Ameri-needs.
Adorable waterfront restaurants
The public library. So cute!
Not gonna lie, Bocas Town is very inviting during the daytime.
Heading back to Almirante on the mainland. It was much easier and cheaper leaving than coming and cost $6/each for the 30-minute ride. Unfortunately, when we arrived we missed the last official boat at 6:30 and got suckered into paying a whopping $20/person to take us over because we had no other options. These people definitely know how to exploit tourists…certainly not a very welcome introduction to Bocas. Needless to say, make sure to arrive well before 6:30 pm or you’re taking quite a gamble. Here ends our time in Bocas del Toro.
