PANAMA, Panama
"Jump back, what's that sound
Here she comes, full blast and top down
Hot shoe, burnin' down the avenue
Model citizen zero discipline
Don't you know she's coming home with me?
You'l lose her in the turn
I'll get her!
Panama, Panama
Panama, Panama" Van Halen
Bocas Del Toro is a group of islands on the north western stretch of Panama and off the Caribbean coast. With water, emerald green turquoise blue and nearly transparent, its one of the most beautiful places I've seen on earth. With the sky extending endlessly and the water reaching the horizon, every breath I took was a breath of beauty, expanse and incomprehensible magnificence.
As you make your way across the border from Costa Rica to Panama, there are a few things to keep in mind:
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The ticket includes all forms of transportation, that is, the shuttle from Puerto Viejo to the Costa Rican-Panama border, the shuttle from the border to Almirante and thereafter, the boat to Bocas Del Toro. (At every stage, people from the shuttle service company who are helping you navigate through the border may try and charge you more money, so just be beware every time someone asks you to shell moolah on the border).
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Legitimately, as you leave Costa Rica, you are required to pay $8 and as you enter (and exit) Panama, you pay $4.
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You pay the exit tax at Costa Rica at a convenience store, which at times could be difficult to locate, but the shuttle service company ensures that they facilitate the process directing you to the right place.
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One can make the trip of crossing the border independently as well. You can take a bus from Puerto Viejo bus station to Sixaola the Costa-Rican side of the border. As you walk across the border, you will be in the town of Guabito. From here you'll be able to get shared vans to the boat dock at Almirante. If you would like to go by bus, you could take the bus to Changuinola and then change another bus to Almirante.
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The border shuts at 5:00 PM, so if you're traveling independently, aim to reach at an earlier time.
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Lastly, Panama is an hour ahead of Costa Rica so the moment you step across the border adjust your time, mind & body to an hour ahead!
$200 per person
3 Days
Getting There
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Shuttle Service from Puerto Viejo to Almirante and Boat to Bocas Del Toro
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Options of Companies:
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Name: Caribe Shuttle
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Cost: $33 one-way, $60 return (includes shuttle service to Costa Rican border, from Panama border to Changuinola & the boat)
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Review: It's slightly more expensive, but an extremely reliable company.
***vacilando recommended
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Name: Travel Site
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Cost: $25 one -way, $40 return (includes shuttle service to Costa Rican border, from Panama border to Changuinola & the boat)
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Review: You save money with this option, however, on returning from Bocas Del Toro, the company gives no clear instructions on whom to coordinate with, or even the meeting place.
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Stay
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Hostel Hansi: $12/night for single room with a shared bathroom (extremely clean)
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Facilities: Includes a supremely organized kitchen, where guests can cook
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Rating: 5 out of 5
***vacilando recommended
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Food Much
Isla Colon​
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Capitan Caribe: Interesting fusion - burgers with a Caribbean twist
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Hungry Monkey: Great deals on Tacos & beer, pitstop for snacking
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Currency
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​US $ are widely accepted and are the main notes in transaction.
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Panama Currency is known as Balboa and currently, only coins are being minted.
Tours ($25)
Tour 1
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Delfines Cayo Coral
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Red Frog Beach
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Hospital Point
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Tour 2
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Delfine Cayo Coral
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Cayo Zapatilla
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Parque National Zapatilla
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Tour 3
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Punta Caracol
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Playa las Estrella
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Bocas Del Drago
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Isla Pajaros
Highlights
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Bocas Del Toro
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Dolphin Watching
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Snorkeling in the midst of the ocean & the corals
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Boat rides to far far away islands
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Beautiful sunsets
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07/05/17-07/08/17
As I boarded the boat at Almirante, I held on tight for life as we zoomed at what seemed like 200 kilometers / hour. It took around 15-20 minutes to get to Bocas Del Toro and as I got the first glimpse of the main island, Isla Colon, I couldn't contain my excitement at the thought of spending the next few days at sea.
On the island of Isla Colon, towards the west coast lies Playa de Estrella, beach of starfishes. A trip to Playa de Estrella is part of a tour package that is offered by travel companies amounting to $25. However, you can take a return shared taxi for a mere $5 to Bocas Del Drago, from where you can walk along the coast for 30 minutes to reach Playa de Estrella or alternatively, take a boat taxi for $1.50. Being a burning hot day, I decided to jump on to a boat. As we drew nearer to the beach, I spotted one or two starfishes, which was extremely fascinating. This was the very first time I was seeing starfishes so up close and I was amazed with the speed that they moved smoothly gliding their way through the water.
The captain of my boat offered to drive me deeper into the ocean, where he knew that a school of starfishes lived and co-existed. It was incredulous to see a plethora of starfishies through the grass green water, ranging from the colors of yellow, red and orange. I could have spent hours simply staring loosing myself in the colors and dynamic stillness of everything that surrounded me. It's the perfect place to snorkel and discover life underwater. Rather than going deep into the ocean, you find fish life comes to you on the shore itself.
Bocas Del Drago, from where you can take a boat to Playa de Estrella. Bocas Del Drago is full of life and you can spend some time here, grabbing a bite before or after you head to enjoy the starfishes.
A range of package tours are offered, for you to be able to explore the province of Bocas and chain of islands that lie on the Caribbean Coast. I decided to take Tour 2 and get a peek-a-boo into the Delfine Bay, Zapatilla Island and snorkel amidst the Cayo Corals.
I got all set for the exhilarating day that lay ahead. This boat awaited me as I descended the steps into the-all encompassing water. At an accelerated pace, both the boat and my heart, sped along bumping wildly on the ocean waves and rough sea, as we made our way to the farthest destination. I discovered boats and me are not exactly second nature, so I had to hold on tight, continually engaging in self-talk on how to best optimize the situation :)
From Bocas Del Toro, we headed to Cayo Zapatilla, an island completely remote and as you can see, surrounded solely by water on all fronts for miles and miles at a stretch.
It was surreal as we docked at this piece of mass in the middle of nowhere. My legs were shaky from the incessantly bumpy ride and was I glad to stand on solid ground again! Looking around was overwhelming and I speculated that if left stranded, we would all surely be cannibalized into the wild - awful thought, I know :P But it seemed so real, given the extent of isolation and wilderness. The pictures barely do justice to the glorious sights I witnessed - a strong enough reason for you to add this place to your bucket list!
A panoramic glimpse of Zapatilla, where you can talk to the clouds, play in the water, roll in the untouched sand, get lost in the forest and hope to find yourself.
Cayo Zapatilla has a Parque Nacional (National Park), and it takes about 1.5 hours to walk around the entire island. You can walk into the thicket of the jungle fearlessly as there didn't seem to be any wildlife, given the distance of this island from the rest of the world! However, sea turtles do come and lay eggs out here so if you're visiting during the months of October and November, you may just be lucky enough to see the tortugas nesting. The entry fee for the National Park is $10, which is included in the tour package of $25. Beware if anyone tries to charge you separately for the entrance ticket.
En route to Zapatilla, we took a pitstop at the Dolphin Bay, where you don't have to play the game 'spot the dolphin if you can', because they are swimming around you in utmost abundance. Different from the Amazon River in Peru, where we really had to wait to get a passing glance, it was such a privilege to see the majestic beauties swimming around. I got a few videos of the delfines swimming in comradeship (up on Instagram), while grunting, communicating and flapping around for fun, without any fear or threat for their life.
The journey for the day culminated at Cayo Coral. We all stripped to our swimsuits, threw on our snorkeling gear and jumped right into the middle of the ocean to swim amidst the beautiful corals and wildlife. It's amazing how unaware we are of an entire dynamic world that exists under the ocean. I spent my time observing all the different schools of fish, many who seemed to be swimming hurriedly from one destination to another, often to a large coral that several of them seemed to call home. The ocean bed was covered with varying colors, shapes and sizes of corals - it was fascinating. As I was swimming around, I came across a purple jellyfish that put me in a trance. S/he danced its way around and I couldn't take my eyes off this spectacular creature, absolutely a phenomenal experience!
Each little island is a world on its own. One of the islands we crossed was a completely untouched sloth island. On many branches, we saw adorable sloths from our boat. The story goes that humankind hasn't laid feet on this island yet, but is intending too soon enough to explore the space and discover more of the habitants. In my opinion, it would be best to leave the island in its wilderness growing organically and providing a safe home for all known and unknown habitation.
Between Panama and Balboa the two local beers available in Bocas, I enjoyed the latter. Balboa is coincidentally also the local currency. Interestingly, there are no Balboan notes that are printed, only coins. Instead, the dollar is widely accepted as a form of payment everywhere in the country.
This trip literally entailed touching the tip of the country and I will be returning to vacilando through the rest of the nation, sooner than later! It's only goodbye, until we meet again ;)