The main island is Isla Colon. Here is where most hostals and night life is concentrated, and also where most people live. The other main island is Isla Bastimentos. I liked this one better because of the forest, beaches and wild life. Also, the Ngobe Bugle indigenous live here, on the sourthern part.
Seems to be it rains constantly here, and during the days I visited, it was cloudy practically every day the entire time. Still, I really had a lot of fun here, thanks to a group of friends from Norway, Colombia, Italy and Panama. By the way, bar hopping under heavy rain the entire night is fun! Try it.
Sixaola
There are two border crossings from Costa Rica to Panama, Paso Canoas on the south, and Sixaola on the north, passing through Puerto Viejo. The latter takes less time to cross.
Sixaola is big in banana production. Most people who work for the banana companies live in homes that were built with subsidies from the companies and community associations. The banana fields are large, and lifelihood here is dependent of this industry, which is practically the only one.
The bridge connecting the two countries is very deteriorated. It has to be crossed by foot, and loading trucks are the only vehicles allowed to cross it, and when they do, the entire structure shakes. There are wholes on the floor, and the river can be seen bellow. It doesn´t seem it is gonna fall any time soon, and it is not dangerous to cross it either, despite its look.
On the Panamenian side there is the town of Guabito, from which buses can be taken to other terminals for buses to Panama City and Almirante, near Bocas del Toro. Once on the other side, you know you are in Panama. The army forces are very much present, asking for passports and ID to the locals, and giving traffic tickets for expired registrations and the like.
Welcome to Panama.
Isla Colon
Bocas in Isla Colon is very different from any beach town or island I have seen. The architecture of the wooden buildings downtown is colorful and features nice details. Many of the houses were actually built by the United Fruit Company in the early 1900´s for the banana workers.
In general, the dollar goes a long way in Panama, but in Bocas prices are a bit high. Still, one can always go away from downtown and look for local places to eat, do some shopping, and of course, support the families who run their own businesses. The place is a bit touristy, but still has a good amount of small Caribbean town life left. I stayed at Gran Kahuna. Around it there are plenty of hostals and hospedajes to choose from at various prices.
One night I went to Iguana´s for a reggae concert. The energy was intense, just like the smell of weed and beer. Most buildings are made of wood around here, and those next to the shore line are over the water. The concert was so good that people were jumping really high and fast in a very small room, raising their beer bottles and going along with the rhythm. The floor turned into a trampolin and at times felt as if it was gonna give in. It was a hot night, but I was not ready to swim with other 60 people and half a building around me. My buddy Juanito from Italy, on the other hand, was determined to bring the entire place down!
The next evening I went to Barco Hundido, where in fact, there is a ship uder the water that sank many years ago. I danced some soca, calypso, reggaeton and salsa, and had a little too much Balboa, a local beer. Like every night, it was pouring rain, which made it even more fun since there are no walls and there is a view of the other islands from anywhere in the club.
During the day I walked around downtown and saw some nice houses. The downtown area is large, but easy to walk. The houses are colorful featuring combinations of bring red, blue, yellow and green. The lower level in some houses is open and people use the space for living rooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, common meeting areas and for storage.
Isla Bastimentos
Isla Bastimentos is a few minutes away by boat. This is the place to come see nature. There are also a few hostals to stay at for a less noisy vacation and to be closer to the forest and the wild life.
I took a 6-hour tour for $20, no meals included, to visit the island and other places around it. One of the stops included the Dolphin area, where the mammals come out close enough to fully appreciate them. During mating season they tend to come closer to the boat and are easier to touch. This time, they were not horny and the sky was a bit cloudy, but at least I saw about 7 of them, including a mom and her baby. Close to this area there are good spots for snorkeling, too. Down there, the coral reefs have brigth and many colors, and some fish. A little further away, there are small islands and mangroves where the boat can go through. There, we found a sloth, always smiling, and veeeery slow.
In Isla Bastimentos, we stopped at Frog Beach for a swim. The place is called like this because of the large amount of these animals in the area. They are more common inside the forest, but some local children catch them to show the turists for a picture at $1 each. It is nice to support the local economy, but this one might not be a good one because the frogs often die from the activity. Later during the day, the frogs sing very loud along the main road back to the boats.
The beach here is good for a swim and some surfing, mostly for beginners. It is a bit too crowed, but nearby there is Wizard Beach, which is more isolated and just as nice. Lava Lounge is the only restaurant, and they serve food with NY prices, so it is best to bring lunch and something to drink.
When I left, I took a boat back to Almirante, then a mini bus to David for yet another bus to Panama City. The first mini bus was extremely crowded and the 4-hour ride was uncomfortable. It was after 7 p.m., and it was peach dark out there. People were getting in and out, and I kept wondering where they were actually going to. For the most part, there are no street lights on the road to David, and the few houses I got to see had no lights on their own either. I asked, and someone told me that many houses around the area simply don´t have electricity, and some of them even lack running water. For the entire 4 hours and before getting to David, I saw maybe 10 houses with light inside, even though we passed by many neigborhoods.
The 6-hour ride to Panama City was in a larger bus, but also uncomfortable. The AC was probably at its highest, and the space in between seats was a bit too short for my long legs. In short, I could not sleep, and ended up with pain in my neck and back. Other than that, I was happy to have arrived in the city early in the morning, and to have had enough time to look for a hostal and then walk around and see a little bit of Panama City in the following three days.
Photo albums this week
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