When I was researching this trip I had an inkling that a week on the beach would be very welcome after a month of intensive prep work, a two week conference and our hikes in the cloud forest. The last leg of the journey over to our first place in Bocas del Toro, right on Red Frog Beach on Isla Bastimentos, involved a bit of a sweaty walk across the island laden with my rucksack – but as soon as I sank my toes into the warm golden sand and realised that the most important decision I’d have to make each day was where to go snorkelling, any residual stress melted away. We’d picked it because of the chance of seeing strawberry poison dart frogs close to our tent, and I was delighted that they were absolutely everywhere and that they were 100% as cute as I had imagined. Their little calls accompanied us on our way to breakfast, where we’d often see the area’s resident two toed sloth snoozing in one of the nearby trees. Then it was often a case of a walk or boat ride through tropical paradise to reach that day’s snorkelling location- if you ever find yourself there, the reefs by Hospital Point were so good I almost had to be physically dragged back onto the boat when it was time to go home. We’d usually be back in the afternoon in time for a little walk over to the side of the island, to watch the fiddler crabs potter about the mangroves and keep our eyes peeled for the bottlenose dolphins that were regularly seen in the little bay.
I’m not sure that anything could have prised me away from Red Frog beach other than the lure of Eclypse de Mar, our second place to stay, which was closer to the main town on Bastimentos. I’d never thought we’d be able to afford somewhere like it, with its pastel colours, over the water villas and its incredible location nestled in the forest, so I had to pinch myself on the first few mornings where we stepped out onto the boardwalk, and again as we watched the parrots fly over the bay at dusk with a frozen margarita in hand, and again when we were told that the place had its very own nature reserve and caiman pond, and again when- you get the picture. We continued our exploration of the area, one of the highlights undoubtedly being a lunch at a permaculture farm where every dish was like distilled sunshine.
More than any of the other places we visited on this trip, Bocas del Toro blew us away with its beauty and its wildlife. It’s by no means undiscovered, but I think by virtue of staying on Isla Bastimentos the whole time we felt like we’d been let in on a very precious secret. I’d love to go back and see some of the other islands in the archipelago- but after a week of living in this blissed out state it was time to pack our bags and begin the long journey home. I love you Panama- till next time?
