Bocas Del Torro - We learn to dive!Sep 9, 2008
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Bus ride to Bocas - traditional indigenous house on hillside
Arriving to Bocas - traditional island homes
PK's nifty mohawk!
| September 3-8 Bocas Del Torro (nickname: Bocas), is an archipielago of 6 densely forested islands located approximately 25KM (yes...we talk in kilometers now too) off the coast of both Panama + Costa Rica. The islands are in the Caribbean Sea with extensive coral reef ecosystems and tropical fish right at your feet - that is underwater! Our word for Bocas is "clear" because there are crystal clear waters in every direction! We could see right through to the bottom even when several feet up in our boat. Not to mention, our island Isla Colon (the largest + most developed of the 6), was surrounded by all the other islands which we could see from the docks. There are few cars on the island, people primarily get around by bicycle or water taxi. Most of the homes are colorful little wooden shacks that house an entire family. The population is a mix of Latinos, Black, Indians, plus now the resident gringos that all seem to mesh very well together. Bocas still has a pretty laid-back Caribbean vibe, however this is quickly changing as foreign investors (primarily Americans) are snatching up land for retirement. We sadly saw a sign indicating that Subway was "coming soon". Our hotel was owned by an American retiree who wouldn´t budge on price - but we must admit that this clean, AC room was a nice break from hostel life - aahhhh...and the bathroom! The weather was just beautiful for us with few showers. Although it´s now rainy season in Central America the sun has kept on following us throughout the whole trip - we expected much more rain so we are very HAPPY about this. When it rains here at night the entire sky lights up with lightening like nothing we´ve ever seen - you´d think to be a bit scared, but it´s truly incredible! Most of our days were spent learning how to dive so we could get certified and enjoy the underwater world throughout the rest of our trip, plus Panama is still fairly cheap to learn. This was a breeze of a sport for Peter, but was the scariest thing Jenn has ever attempted in her life!!!! The course required 3 days of instruction, tests + open water dives. On the 1st day Jenn totally panicked under water and almost gave up. Ya´ll it´s just not normal to breath underwater, you really have to find your center and trust that you are in fact breathing! On day 3 we passed with flying colors and our 25yr old instructor Hector, who had no mercy and taught under the philosophy of tough love said he was very impressed! We celebrated with a night of drinks + dancing in the town (nobody boogies down like Brazilians!) at an open-air club where guests were jumping right into the sea! Once acclimated, diving really is incredible - there is a whole other world under the sea that we never think about! We saw all kinds of things - lots of colorful tropical fish, lobster, crab, huge sea snails, puffer fish, jellyfish, sea spiders, tiny shrimp-like animals - but not that we eat, huge slug-type animals at the bottom...we even saw an underwater shipwreck. And the brightly colored coral is amazing in and of itself! This was definitely a unique part of the adventure. Bocas was definitely a favorite to both of us so far - hurry up and get here before the major development boom! Off to Costa Rica next.... |
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