I'd wanted to find somewhere for 3 days of complete chill out before a couple of days in Panama City and then home. There were lots of options in Panama but everything had good and bad points so I became really indecisive. One area I looked at was Boca Brava which wasn't massive on the tourist trail and sounded different to the other beach areas we'd been to on our trip. When I was looking into accommodation a place sprung up in the area which had amazing reviews but wasn't actually in the Boca Brava area I was looking at. In fact there wasn't even really a name for the area! I decided it was worth a shot though as the reviews were unbelievable!

We took a bus then boat to Pacific Bay which would be our home for the next few days. We were met on arrival at the beach by Frank the owner who showed us to our cottage overlooking the water. We then headed up to the main (open sided) lodge with even more spectacular views where they'd prepared us a gorgeous lunch. I won't bore you about the food but we had breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared for us every day and everything was ridiculous good with each meal so different from the last. Anyway after lunch we hopped on Frank's buggy for a tour of the place. The site is massive and includes 3 gorgeous beaches which are just used by the guests so basically completely deserted! It was also great getting to know Frank. He grew up in Panama, then moved to the states (mainly Boston) before returning home 20 years ago. He told us how he'd bought land in over 10 countries over the years but this was the only one he actually held onto and built on. Something just felt right he said....by the end of our stay I completely got why it felt right! Frank is such a hospitable man, has hilarious stories and such an interesting background (his CV ranges from being in the Navy through to owning restaurants and bars). One of my favourite stories he told during our stay was about the small island just off of one of his beaches. In Panama there is a very random rule that if an island is uninhabited then anyone can claim it as long as: they grow corn on it, take the corn to the government on an annual basis to weigh it and make sure it meets minimum requirement, and do this for 7 years. If you could see the island you'd see it's not possible to grown corn on but Frank decided each year he'd spend $100 to purchase the required amount of corn and take it to the authorities to 'prove' he was growing the corn. All was good until he had a visit from the authorities to see the island. Frank decided to show the man a good time and get him drunk. Unfortunately even though drunk he asked to see the island. Frank fessed up but said how about I give you $1k a year for 7 years and you pretend you've seen the corn. This guy agreed and visited every year to get drunk with Frank and collect his money. After 7 years and $7700 Frank owned the island and gave it to his daughter for her 25th birthday! This was just one of the great stories we heard over the next 3 days.

On our first evening we met and chatted over dinner with a lovely couple from Brooklyn NYC, Tera and Byron. It transpired we were the only four staying the next few days so we had the place including the three beaches all to ourselves! The place can actually take up to 20 but Frank said he ideally keeps it to under 14 which is honestly amazing given the size of the place.

The next day was Keith's birthday and a gorgeous sunny day. Soooo hot though. We spent the morning on North beach (mainly in the water) before heading to South beach (after a very long and lazy lunch) for some kayaking. Late afternoon we headed back to the lodge for beers in the hammocks. Another yummy supper accompanied by great conversations followed.

The next two days were pretty cloudy but warm. On both days we were exceptionally lazy: lie ins, late breakfasts, long lunches, chilling in hammocks, a couple of hours reading on the beach and swimming in the ocean, pretty much sums it up! The evenings were the winning formula of amazing food, lots of story telling and swapping with Tera, Byron and Frank (who called us all his 'kids'), and then late nights drinking and playing poker with Tera and Byron. We wanted 3 chilled out days at the end of the trip and it was by far the most relaxed (OK lazy!) we've been in the 3 months away so mission definitely accomplished!

It really was hard to leave Frank and the other 'kids' as we had such an awesome time with them and absolutely loved the place. I will be raving about Pacific Bay for years to come, as I imagine every other person who has been lucky enough to go here does. I really am hoping we can come back in the future to hang out with Frank some more.

Fair to say Panama has stolen my heart and one of my favourite destinations on this trip. Hopefully our last stop in both Panama and Central America won't let us down either!

Hasta pronto
SM