Aug 2, 2012 - No Hablo Espanyol!!

We emerged from the bus a groggy mess in almirante, the port to use to gain access to the archipelago of bocas del toro on the Caribbean side of panama near the border to costa rica.  This bus was far removed from the luxury of SE Asia last year.. Instead of the comfortable sleeper buses we were sat upright with passport checks every 40mins to an hour making proper sleep very hard (not to mention some wagon of a big black woman putting her feet in the back of my seat to be sure I was awake!  The world over though there is always someone...

Jul 24, 2011 - Bocas del Toro

We ended up leaving Costa Rica and took a bus trip into Panama and our first stop was to Bocas del Toro. Bocas del Toro is a small town with a Caribbean style feel. The first full day we were there, we had all signed up for snorkelling and even though it was raining a bit in the morning, it ended up being a wonderful day. The water and coral here was amazing and the sailing boat that our group took was great. The water was warm regardless of the cloudy day and the coral was very interesting. I was generally one of the first to jump into the...

Jul 16, 2010 - Volunteer time

This past week we spent in two different locations working with leatherback and hawksbill sea turtles. Our accomodations were very much on the rustic side - no running water and no electricity. We did night patrols to monitor the turtle activity which was more difficult than we had ex pected, walking the beach at night with no light. It felt like we were never dry the entire week! But T an and Alec were rewarded b y seeing a mama turtle making her nest and laying the eggs and then also seeing some new hatchlings make their way out of the...

Jul 10, 2010 - Scuba Certified!

After 3 full days of training and testing, the whole family is now officially PADI open water scuba dive certified! It was challenging but we all did it - some easier than others. Tan had a bit of a problem with the swimming requirements and I freaked out a little taking the regulator out underwater but we all managed to get through it. Alec scored a 96% on the final exam and wa s definitely the best out of all of us both written and in the water. They gave us 2 free dives the next day which were really fun (no testing, so that made it fun...

May 6, 2010 - Bocas del Torres

Woken up at 5am by howler monkeys that sound like chubacca being harpooned, and other very loud jungle noises - is crazy and cool. Minibus pick up at 6am - drove to border - very low key easy border crossing (walk accross bridge) then another mini bus to port Almirante - quick breakfast (apple,pear and coffee for matt, katie was more desperate so took the ham out the ham sandwich she was offered). Boat to dolphin bay to see... dolphins! Then onto to Coral Cuay for snorkelling to see most amazing rainbow coloured coral and tropical fish....

Apr 25, 2010 - Bocas del Toro, Panama - Pics Need Captions

Sunday Got wrong info from Charlie of Cabinas day before...he said buses leave every hr beginning at 7:30 am, so we take taxi to bus stop only to find out bus for Sixaola leaves at 8:30! (one at 7:30 goes to SP). A wait in the covered bus stop place - it's raining - and promptly at 8:30 bus pulled up, we got on, and some 15 min. later it stops. Engine trouble...tho we hear nothing wrong that might indicate trouble...oh well, we wait for the 9:30 bus to come by, which it does, we pile on and off we go. A bit worried since the LP says the...

Mar 6, 2010 - Bocas del Toro beach and sloth

Hi Everyone, Wow how time flies. I hadn´t realised it was so long since I last wrote. We have travelled through the whole of Costa Rica since leaving Granada. It really is a beautiful country with volcanic mountains rising high almost as soon as you leave the coast. Still I´m jumping ahead. The most fascinating thing we did in Nicaragua as far as I´m concerned was to stay with a farming family for a night on Omotepe, an island in the vast Lake Nicaragua. They do not own a motor vehicle so we were introduced to horse and home made cart...

Feb 24, 2010 - Bocas del Toro

I arrived in Bocas del Toro Sunday afternoon. By luck, I was offered a ride by Colette and Kenneth (see previous entry) who had also decided to spend a few days in Bocas. This saved me a lot of effort and sweat, since the alternative was to take the bus (actually two buses) from Boquete. The climate and culture here are very different. In fact it feels like a different country. Bocas is on the Caribbean coast of Panama and that is exactly what it feels like: a Caribbean place. I don't think I like it very much. The people in the town don't...

Jun 17, 2009 - Bocas Del Toro

17 June Set off from Boquete and board the "school" bus travel for an hour or so before getting on another much smaller bus come people carrier. Our backpacks are loaded onto the roof and we squeeze sardine like into our chairs. During the 3-4 hour journey several people board the bus and accommodate the aisles. At one point I was going to ask our guide what the Spanish was for "could you stop elbowing me in the head!". After various people using my shoulder as a makeshift chair for their sweaty behinds we disembarked ready to catch a boat...

Oct 9, 2008 - Goodnight Panama! We love you! [the crowd goes wild]

So that's it. As they say in Guarani, opama. (Not Obama, but if subliminal messaging gets through, so be it.) Two years, seven months and nine days. It was such a treat to have my sister come down for my last few weeks of traveling (even though she says that dad forced her to so that I would be sure to get on the plane to go home). All the same, it was a great time. After getting quickly out of Panama City, we barreled on to gorgeous Bocas del Toro. We spent our days there island hopping, laying in the sun and hiking. Or maybe we went...

Sep 9, 2008 - Bocas Del Torro - We learn to dive!

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...

Aug 6, 2008 - Bocas del Torro, Panama

After a whirlwind trip around Costa Rica, I was excited to cross the border down into Panama and spend a couple of relaxing days exploring Bocas del Torro...Panama's new island hot spot. Unfortunately, it rained most of the time we were there. In fact, we were out exploring the most beautiful island I have ever laid eyes on when we were suddenly attacked by a huge storm. We had to jet off the island pretty quickly...or we may never have gotten off, our boat was too small to handle that storm! Nevertheless, it is a beautiful area that should...