So first stop in Panama was to Bocas Del Toro province, an archipelago in the north of the country on the Caribbean side. Bocas is made up of some inhabited islands but a lot which just have mangroves, palm trees and the odd monkey and sloth on them. The boat ride from the mainland was a great opportunity to see the landscape of the archipelago which sort of reminded me of a mix of Thailand and the Maldives. On arrival at Bocas Town which was on the main island of Isla Colón we hopped straight onto a water taxi to take us over to Isla Bastimentos. We pulled into the dock right outside of our cute hostel which looked very inviting with people lazing outside it in hammocks. We were told on check in that the electricity was down but they had a generator so we could still get a cold beer! Water was also limited due to it being the end of the dry season and it having not rained heavily for a while. Our whole stay was without electricity and with limited water which really wasn't an issue but did make us so grateful for the things we take for granted living in the UK. The first arvo we took it easy just staying at our hostel swimming off the pier, reading and sleeping in hammocks and chatting with fellow travellers.

The second day we booked a boat trip with 6 others to an island that looked like it was straight out of Robinson Crusoe. Before reaching there we stopped off to snorkel (best snorkelling I've done on the trip), and also had a slow cruise along the shore of sloth island to see some of this funny looking and acting animals hanging in the mangroves. As we were leaving the snorkelling spot a big boat came hurtling towards us full of police. A long story short our lovely Captain was grilled for ages, shouted at and fined a couple of hundred dollars. It all appeared very unnecessary and over nothing (for example one fine was for a passenger manifesto which was at the hostel and not on the boat which as the captain pointed out isn't helpful being on the boat if it sinks and you need to know who was on it!). One thing we've learnt though is if the police want to do something they'll do it and you just have to go along with it (especially when they have the number and size of guns these guys had). So drama over and we continued on our way. Unfortunately the weather had taken a turn for the worse meaning we went through a big storm to reach Isla Zapitilla and then it rained on and off whilst we were on it. Regardless though the island was ridiculously beautiful with turquoise water and stunning beaches lined with Palm trees. I can only imagine how breathtaking it would be on a sunny day. After some swimming and wondering around the island we jumped back on the boat to head back. On the way back a few of us had a go on something called a wish tube. Basically it's a 'hang on for as long as you can whilst being thrown around at the back of a speedboat' activity! It was actually pretty tough but Keith and I had fun jumping on and off it (in between me trying to retrieve my bikini!). That night we grabbed a water taxi to Bocas for a really good sushi supper and a few drinks. A great day ended back at the hostel for a couple of night caps whilst listening to chilled music and swaying in hammocks.

We woke up to a stormy Easter Sunday. It cleared around lunchtime so we headed over to the other side of the island to Red Frog Beach which was beautiful and had lovely turquoise water. There was a great atmosphere on the beach with some tourists but also lots of locals on it. There were a couple of chilled beach bar restaurants and stands so we were happy as Larry for the afternoon! The sun was setting as we took the water taxi back to our hostel. For our last evening we headed back to Bocas for Calamari, curry and live music (ok a few margaritas too!).

We loved our couple of days in Bocas and was definitely my favourite beach destination we've been to on our travels and somewhere I can see returning to.

So far so good Panama!
SM