Bloggingsouls.com: Day 5: Bocas del Toro

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October 26, 2008

Day 5: Bocas del Toro

Wednesday, we had another boat excursion planned, this one to Dolphin Bay, Isla Bastimentos, and two popular snorkeling destinations. Our first stop was Dolphin Bay and we spent about a half an hour eagerly scanning the water for dolphins before we finally saw a few dorsal fins popping out of the water which were spotted by other boats. We were happy to see dolphins but I was hoping for something akin to my experience in Trinidad where we had seen dolphins jumping in the air. Then we went to our first snorkeling spot, Cayo Coral. I had forgotten to bring my snorkel and neither Adam nor I are good swimmers so we both opted to wear life jackets and swim around the surface to look at fish and coral. I really enjoyed it though I managed to break our boat guide's ladder in attempt to climb back onto the boat. Our next stop was Salt Creek Village, a small indigenous village on Isla Bastimentos. The entrance to the village is a narrow creek surrounded by mangroves and after we disembarked the boat our guide brought us to a small building where we were taken on a tour of the village by one of the village residents, a young guy who seemed rather sullen about the prospect of showing two tourists his village (the only time he smiled was when Adam yelped as his flip flops were submerged in mud). The sun was quite strong and I was already a little tired from snorkeling and by the time we reached the local rainforest, I was pretty sweaty and I'm sure, not looking my best. We trudged through the forest as our guide pointed out small red frogs and then made our way back to the building. The experience of walking through this small village was pretty surreal though and, perhaps because I was quite wiped out by the time we climbed back to our boat, the image of schoolchildren and mangrove trees made all the more darker by the bright sun made for an even more surreal sight.

"I think I need to jump back in the ocean," I told my guide when he asked us how we were and we made our way to Red Frog Beach, located on the other end of the island. The entrance to the beach is actually a fifteen minute walk from the beach and the walk takes you past a forest with palm trees and other vegetation which also felt surreal. Red Frog Beach is one of those beaches with a few palm trees but, otherwise, no shade, and while I enjoyed walking through the warm ocean waters, I didn't have a significant desire to stay long and Adam informed me he wasn't feeling too well so we didn't stay long. I convinced Adam to let me snorkel and our last stop was Hospital Point, another popular snorkeling spot which is quite close to Bocas Town. I really enjoyed snorkeling here--there were lots of cool fish and coral and I really could have snorkeled here all afternoon but poor Adam was in pain so I kept it short and we headed back into town.

Poor Adam was hit with a double whammy--heat stroke and some kind of gastro-intestinal bug so I headed out for dinner this time on my own. Unfortunately, around this time Bocas Town was hit with heavy rain (fortunately, however, we managed to elude rain during the rest of our time in Bocas) but I braved the rain and headed back to El Ultimo and had some yummy pork tenderloin braised in balsamic vinegar dish and a caiphirina. The strength of the rain storm was impressive and I was reluctant to walk back since the streets aren't paved so I managed to squeeze into a taxi with other occupants and get a ride back to the hotel for a mere 75 cents.

Salt Creek

Salt Creek.jpg