Blog 6: Bocas del Toro and More!

Hola chicos –

Again, my apologies for the very delayed blog entry. I started my intensive Spanish class this month and my workload has doubled, so it’s been a bit difficult to manage the workload as I travel around! Nevertheless, I have some time now to detail what the past few weeks have looked like for me!

First weekend of February: Bocas del Toro, Panamá

This weekend, I spent 3 days in Bocas del Toro – a lovely collection of islands located in the Northeast Caribbean side of Panamá! This is how the trip went:

Friday (2/3):

We swiftly left San Jose, Costa Rica at a lovely 5:15AM to embark on what-would-be 10 hours of traveling. We stopped at a cute restaurant to have some breakfast (the food was really good at this particular restaurant), and then continued our bus ride until we reached the Costa Rica/Panamá border. I found the border so interesting because the border was a river, so we had to walk across a bridge to cross the border. We simply stopped at the immigration office before the border crossing, and what was even more interesting was that the Panamá immigration office was somewhat hidden after we crossed the bridge! If I hadn’t been with a group, I would’ve not known where the office was. Crossing the border was not what I expected at all, but everything went smoothly and we made our way into Panamá.

We then drove about an hour more (in another bus) to the boat port, which has boat taxis to-and-from Bocas del Toro. The views were already so stunning as we trodded along the Caribbean water to the island.

Upon arrival to the hotel, I spent the rest of the day recuperating and preparing for the next day of adventures we were about to embark on!

Saturday (2/4):

We spent the day doing a boat excursion across some of the different islands in Bocas del Toro!

We first went to this lagoon area that was known for seeing dolphins! Some of the dolphins got really close to our boat. I didn’t take the best pictures of them, but here’s my best shot of getting some a picture of these majestic creatures:

From there, we went to various islands and saw some of natural, untouched lands of the islands. Again, it was so pristine and beautiful to see such beautiful nature.

After having lunch at one of the small islands, we then headed to my favorite part of the trip: La Isla Bastimentos, a Marine National Park located on a tucked-away island. I can confidently say this island was one of the most beautiful places I’ve experienced on my trip thus far. Once we arrived on the island, we did a small hike that had some of the coolest plants I’d ever seen:

We were met with one of the prettiest beaches I’ve ever seen. I remember beaming and laughing uncontrollably when we first got to the beach. I was just floored that a beach like this could even exist in real life.

I wish we had more time to spend at this beach because it really won over my heart. I’m still so blessed I got to visit in the first place, and I definitely won’t forget frolicking in the water like a little kid as I took in the beauty around me.

After the beach, we headed back to our hotel and I had a relatively chill rest of the evening. The next day was filled with more adventures around Bocas del Toro.

Sunday (2/5)

We did another boat tour today visiting a few more islands around Bocas del Toro. We first visited a very tiny island that was known as “Bird Island”, as a lot of birds used the island to grow their eggs! Our boat guide told us that the birds make little holes in the land, and they lay their eggs in those holes until their babies are born. It was majestic seeing all of these tropical birds flying above us as we took in the beauty of this island.

We then went through an open canal that our boat guide told us was actually man-made to help with transportation within the island. It felt like I was riding a Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, but actually in real life.

We then went to a beach called “Playa de las Estrellas (del mar)”, which translates to “Starfish Beach”. It’s called this because many starfish (especially farther from people) inhabit the shores of the beaches. I saw probably 10-15 starfish… I had to be careful not to step on one as they were plenty abundant at this beach. While I don’t have any pictures of the starfishes themselves, I do have a picture of the beach:

After spending some time at this beach, we decided to head back to Panamá and spend the rest of the afternoon on the main island (where our hotel was). We had a great time enjoying life and enjoying the sun of Panamá.

I went to bed early in preparation for our early morning the next day.

Monday (2/6)

We swiftly left Panamá at 6:00AM (which meant a 5:30AM wake-up call) and headed back to Costa Rica. Nothing super eventful happened on the way back, just that I was definitely tired throughout the entire ride. I will say though – the beauty of Costa Rica even when driving is stunning. I sometimes just can’t even believe my life when I take pictures like this one from the bus:

I made sure to go to bed early in preparation for my first day of Spanish the next day.

Week of 2/6

I started my intensive Spanish class this week, and the difference between this one and the one I was originally placed in were striking. My professor actually cared about me and wanted me to understand what was happening in class. She makes sure to explain concepts several times in class, which helps so much in feeling like I’m actually learning stuff in the class. We’ve also talked about concepts that I’ve never learned before, so I actually feel like I’m benefitting greatly from the course.

I’m going to stop this blog here as I’m planning to write another one soon about the past week and this weekend’s adventures. Until then, pura vida chicos!