Bocas Del Toro, Panama

Hola, Panama.

I was looking forward to Panama for many reasons, but also because their currency is the US Dollar, even though the call it the Balboa. Calculating the exchange rate of dollars into Costa Rican colones sometimes got me confused.

You usually have to show proof of an onward ticket from Panama to be allowed entrance through the border. It's generally known that if you do not have onward travel, the boarder patrol requires you to purchase a $15 bus ticket back to San Jose, Costa Rica. Though this is what most people do, it is rarely used in the end. I believe we were not even asked for this because we were with a large group and the crossing was organized by a travel group. From Puerto Viejo, you take a shuttle that drives you to the border, then you walk across a bridge, get your stamps then take another shuttle to a water taxi for a 30 minute ride to get to Bocas Del Toro. Literal translation is Mouth of the Bull.

The Sixaola Bridge:

We found a very simple place to stay called Hotel Cayo Zapatilla. Everything in Bocas is within walking distance and this was right beside the park. Double occupancy, private room and private bath with hot water for a total of $15 ($25 if you wanted a/c) is a pretty good deal.

We took a stroll around town to check things out. Bocas is a very small island and it's easy to walk from one end of town to the other.
This house looks like it was built with quality...

Public transportation options in other countries always amazes me

Fire Station:

We were quickly approached with flyers and advertisements for ladies night at a local bar called Barco Hundido, which basically translates to Sunken Ship. This had to be good.

We rallied the troops and went out for a night on the town and a Welcome to Panama drink. We also met some other people staying in our hotel and convinced them to come with us. 

When we got there, we knew it was going to be trouble for some as drinks were $1 each and good music was playing loud. While checking out the place, we walked to the back deck, right on the water. The moon was full and bright white. Then we noticed something beautiful, a white ring around the moon. I couldn't even get the entire ring in the photo, but you get the idea. *After researching it at a later time, I learned this is called a Lunar Halo and is caused by a reflection of light from the moon on particles in space, suspected to be ice crystals.* 

Everyone that was on the shuttle from Costa Rica was out and we were all having a great time.

First tastes of typical Panamanian food weren't really that different from typical Costa Rican food.

Since I posted on the message boards on CouchSurfing for the different countries I intended on visiting, I had been in touch with quite a few people who were locals to these areas as well as travelers who might be crossing my path along the way. One of those people was David and we finally met up in Bocas. He is from the US but is half Panamanian and has been living in London for a few years.

Across the way from the main island was a hostel/bar called Aqua Lounge. It is right on the water and has a deck for lounging and dancing, bar for drinking, part of the deck is cut out for swimming in the ocean water and to top it off, there's a diving board above it. Am I the only one who sees pending danger in this combination?? While I was there, I only saw one person get pushed in and their body subsequently slammed into the side of the swimming area. That'll hurt in the morning. We did see some pretty amazing stunts and I was able to catch a few at the right time on camera.

And we can't forget about Toby, The Elbow Licker. He thinks that if he walks up behind someone when they're dancing and licks their elbow, they won't feel it. Umm... what?? That has got to be the weirdest thing I've heard in a very long time. None the less, a photo with him was necessary.

After chatting with David about his plans for Bocas, we agreed that we both wanted to get SCUBA certified. I checked into it before I left the US and it was about $700 and took five days to do Open Water. Here, it was only $225 and three days. That was a pretty easy sell for me. There are quite a few places on the island that offer diving certification, but we were referred to La Buga. Irving was our dive instructor and was informative as well as entertaining. The whole course was so much fun and the feeling of being under the water without having to hold your breath was amazing. I knew then that I was hooked.

Most of our party got split up after Bocas. Trine and I were going to Boquete. Katey and Shawn were headed back to Costa Rica. David had to go to Panama City but I would see him again soon.

Ciao, Panama!!