Traveling around Central America – Last stop in Panama: Bocas del Toro

After a long bus ride, I arrived late in the afternoon in the small village Almirante on the Caribbean coast. Having left the highlands still wrapped in warm clothes, I stowed my sweater deep in my backpack and headed from the bus station toward the harbour. I hadn’t gotten far when a young guy in a truck stopped next to me and offered to take me there. Already slightly sweaty and still exhausted from the long bus ride, I gratefully accepted his offer.

The village was small and the way to the harbour took only a few minutes and I quickly found the pier of the boats to Colón Island, the main island of Bocas del Toro. I had already purchased my ticket in advance and got directly into the boat. It was already late in the evening and I was lucky to have arrived in time for the departure of the last boat. After about 20 minutes the boat docked on the island and I set out to find a hostel. I quickly found a nice and cheap one, stowed my lugage in my room and enjoyed the end of the evening in a small bar next to the hostel with some beers.

- Exploring Isla Colon -

Bocas de Toro is a group of islands in northwestern Panama, near the Costa Rican border and consists of six major and several smaller islands. In addition to Panama City, Bocas del Toro is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Panama and offers its visitors perfect conditions for surfing and snorkelling. Isla Colón, Isla Bastimentos and Isla Solarte are the most famous and most visited islands.

The next morning, I started the day with a filling breakfast in a coffee house by the sea and afterwards I went to search for a bike rental in the town. For this day, I had planned to ride around the main island and visit some of the famous beaches. The bikes in the first bike rental I found seemed a bit dated and did not even have gear shift, but since the fee was very cheap and because I thought that I would be biking on flat terrain, I decided to rent it anyway.

- I saw a lot of animals on my way around the island -

My first stop was at Playa Bluff, a huge sandy beach not far from the town. As the waves were quite strong, I just stayed there for a bit and decided to continue my way to the other side of the island to visit the beach Playa Boca del Drago and Playa Estrella. I had been quite content with my bike on the flat road to Playa Bluff, but now the path went up- and downhill again and again, demanded all my strength and I immediately regretted not having borrowed a better bike. 18km and about one and a half hours later I arrived completely sweaty and tired at Playa Boca del Drago. Even though I was exhausted, it was definitely worth the effort. I went for a swim to wash off the sweat from my body and relaxed for a while on the beach and enjoyed the sun.

- Playa Boca del Drago -

But my trip was not over yet: The beach Playa Estrella was still waiting for me! Since it was only possible to get there on foot, I left the bike near a small restaurant on the beach and made my way. It led about two kilometers along the beach and through the jungle until I arrived after about half an hour at Playa Estrella.

Playa Estrella owes its name to the variety of starfish you can see in the shallow water near the beach. I was fascinated by this beautiful beach and its starfish and even after a couple of hours I didn’t feel like leaving. But it was getting late and I had a long way back to the town. I packed my things, went back to get my bike and cycled home. Just before sunset I managed to drag myself back to my hostel.

- Playa Estrella -

So far, I had had luck with the weather but the next morning the conditions changed and it started to rain heavily. Due to that many of my planned activities, such as the visit of Isla Solarte fell victims to the bad weather. Then on the second day, the clouds began to thin out a bit and the sky cleared. I tried my luck and made my way to Isla Bastimentos and its two famous beaches Wizard Beach and Playa Red Frog. I was worried about the weather and when the boat docked about 15 minutes later at Isla Bastimentos it still was not raining, but the clouds seemed a bit denser again. Nevertheless, I started my way to Wizard Beach and took a small pad through the jungle to cross the island. Halfway it suddenly started to rain again and the road turned into a muddy stream and I could hardly get any further along a steeper stretch of the trail and needed the doble of time I had planded to get to the beach.

Due to the weather, I didn’t spend much time there and headed back early. The rain had gotten stronger, I was completely soaked and muddy and I decided to not make a side trip to the Playa Red Frog but to head directly back to the main island.

- Wizard Beach on Isla Bastimentos - the weather was terrible! -

Even though I had bad luck with the weather and my visit to Isla Bastimentos didn't turn out as I had imagined, it was definitely a real adventure. The days on Bocas de Toro were indescribably beautiful and I certainly plan to come back again!

If you liked this blog, I recommend you the first two chapters of my trip through Central America:

1. First Stop - Panama City
2. Panama’s highlands

Thank you for reading! Feel free to comment, upvote, follow me and resteem!

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!steemitworldmap 9.339743 lat -82.243835 long Panama - Bocas del Toro? D3SCR