Our journey to Bocas del Toro began early Friday morning. Having gone out the night prior (and drank in excess to be able to sleep in those dodgy beds), our 7am wake up call wasn't pleasant to say the least. We took the Caribe Shuttle departing from Rocking J's for $32 each, which provided a shuttle to the border, a guide to walk us across, a shuttle to Almirante, and a boat ride to Bocas. There was a group of 15 of us that went together, most of the others were on a weekend trip from San Jose (on a study abroad trip for law school in Chicago). The border crossing in Sixuloa? was a bit dilapidated but the process was easy. You cross over this bridge that is missing entire boards which made crossing with a hangover and a suitcase trying. One misstep might land you with a limb through the bridge. Concentrate, Allison. Once we got to the Panama side, they asked for our passports and proof of departure. (If you don't have this, they will make you purchase a return bus ticket out of the country for US$14.) Once we paid our $3 entry fee, we got in the taxi with the groups bags and a girl with the law school group. Turns out, she was the best person to get in our car. Her name is Rachel and she was a Pi Phi at ASU, fellow Greek Sun Devil.. Whoop whoop! We all clicked instantly and formed a friendship with our "Bocas bestie". The ride from the border to Almirante took about 45 min and then we hopped on a boat to the islands. Our hostel for the night, Aqua lounge, came recommended from my friend Alexa and was located on Isla Careno? A 2 minute ride costing us $1 from the main island, Isla Colon.
Rachel and another fellow Sun Devil, Tyler and his brother Zach met us an hour later at Aqua lounge where we swang on the swings and jumped on the trampoline into the ocean. We ventured on to explore the island and made a pit stop for $1.50 cervezas at The Pickled Parrot, a bar/restaurant on the water owned by a 60 something year old from Kansas who's lived on the island for 20 years named George. George and his friend Nebraska Jim were the only ones there and we had blast hanging out with them! When the boys left to explore more, we ordered these delicious wings and a burger (and more Balboa's - a Panamanian beer). The longer we hung out there, the more we talked to Jim and George (who referred to himself as Jorge Rodriguez). Both are rednecks turned pirate beach bums who used to race cars in the states. They were a blast without being the slightest bit creepy, giving us free beers and koozies and good advice about Bocas. If you should ever visit you MUST go to the Pickled Parrot if only to try their BBQ and a Piña colada (made with real fruit and rum, then blended - deliciouso)!! We stayed there till sunset when the boys came back and we got a water taxi back.
That night Kristin and I stayed in but noticed that these dodgy accommodations were worse than we originally thought. Our private room with no AC or mirror also had bed bugs! Sick!!! Needless to say, we hosed ourselves down with bug spray and slept on our towels that night.
The following day we checked out of Aqua lounge and checked in to Rachels hotel.. A mere $33 a night (split in 2) as opposed to the $26 price tag at Aqua lounge. Hotel Christine is located on the main island, Isla Colon on Calle 3. It had a private bath, AC, and hot water! Talk about and upgrade and totally worth the additional $3 each. Side note: the everyday perks of AC, a hot shower, and drinkable water in the states is a luxury. I completely recommend anyone travel to somewhere these don't exist and you will have a reality check as to how good you really have it.
That day went to Red Frog beach on Isla bastemientos, a $7 round trip water taxi ride from Isla Colon. This is a MUST DO in Bocas! There is a $3 entrance fee into the National park and a truck will take you directing to the beach (or you can walk). Red Frog beach is gorgeous! Warm blue waters, soft white sand, and stunning scenery. What more can you ask for? However, the waves and undertow is strong so be careful when swimming in the ocean. After some fun in the sun Rachel, Tyler, Zack, Kristin and I went off to explore the rest of the island, but similar to the previous day the girls only got 15 minutes away and headed back because the terrain was too intense. The rest of the afternoon was spent sipping on Bloody Mary's and munching on nachos.
When night came, our "crew" had dinner at Gringos, a Mexican restaurant recommended by our redneck amigos at the Pickled Parrot. This place was the bomb.com. Large and strong $5 margaritas and food worrying of stuffing your face without feeling bad about it later. If you ever go, get the enchiladas. Deliciso!! After some pre-gaming back at the hotel with our crew and some additional law school folk, we headed to Aqua lounge. Yes, the same place we moved from the previous night.. Just because it isn worthy of sleeping there, doesn't mean it isn't the Saturday hot spot. We met up with Karen and Julie (our Irish gals) who had arrived earlier that day and had the time of our lives dancing and drinking the night away. Who cares if it was rainy or we were sweating our faces off? It was a blast! The native bartender might even have had a little thing for me because he kept giving me free Panama's mixed in with a few tequila shots all night. The night came to an end and we said our goodbyes to Rachel, who was leaving early in the morning. She was wonderful, a trip to Chicago is most certainly on my list of places to go next!
Our last day in Bocas was a little dreary, kinda like our hungover moods but we mustered up the energy in the afternoon to make the boat taxi ride to Playa del Drago on the opposite side of Isla Colon. This was quite expensive at $20/person compared to the $2 bus ride but time and that underlying hangover overrode the money factor. This place would be a wonderful place to go snorkeling. Calm, warm waters with starfish, stingrays, and fish galore! Not the nicest beach though, dark and hard sands... Nothing like red frog. That night we went to a place on the main street for dinner with Karen and Julie. This place had quite phenomenal food as well. We stayed out and talked for hours before heading home to sleep. Karen and Julie were amazing girls to be able to spend a week with. So happy to have met them in Monteverde, hopefully a trip to Dublin will be in the near future to visit! From there, it was off to bed - our 7:30am flight to Panama City would come sooner than we would have liked the next morning.
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