How I wish, how I wish you were here

We’re on Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro, Panama.

On our way here today, we were told ‘you’re going to paradise today’.

We’ll let you be the judge of this.

The first thing we did this morning when we got up was to have a cold shower (argh!) and pack our bags.

We then went for another excellent breakfast at Bread and Chocolate.

Boarding our private transport to the border, I couldn’t help but regret the fact that we didn’t have an extra day here. We probably won’t come back to Puerto Viejo and yet, there is definitely an extra day to be spent here – the waves are that good!

After approximately 45 mins, we got to the border. We queued for our exit stamp whilst Brian queued to pay our exit tax. We crossed the border by foot – a bridge over the river that is the physical border. How exciting?

On the other side, we queued to get into Panama. They take things seriously here with face and finger print scanners. Meanwhile, Brian queued to pay our entry tax. In the duty free, we bought rum from Panama, and white wine.

A short journey to a pier. Many banana plantations along the way. The landscape is more parched.

The boat journey was about 20 mins. It was so good to get a breeze.

Upon landing, the humidity hit us. We checked into our room and then walked the main street to another pier.

After fifteen minutes or so, we landed at The Blue Coconut. The island is predominantly mangrove. We got to the bar just in time for happy hour, and we had a voucher for a free beer. We swam – the water was just the right temperature. They have hammocks in the sea and free snorkelling gear you can borrow. We saw a sting ray, many starfish and pretty fish.

We ate, we drank, we swam. We reckon this is the first time so far that we’ve had a truly lazy afternoon. We watched the sunset and then hopped on the boat back to town.

We had a quick shower – oh my it’s so humid here – and hit the town. Andy bought himself a new t-shirt (a cool hippy one, oh yeah!). And then we went to Om Bar and Restaurant. We started with cocktails. I had a Maracuya Maravilla (passion fruit, rum and cane sugar fermented together for two weeks). And then we shared a curry. Because really there is only so much rice and beans you can eat. Yes, it was tasty. But you can’t really go wrong when you’re sitting above the water and there’s great live music. The band (from Argentina) played many many great songs. I may have got up to dance. We certainly sang from the top of our voices.

The couple at the table next to us are five months into a six months trip, and we shared a few stories and tips.

Our way back to the hotel took a bit longer than it should have. But then again, we were stuck behind a man taking his plane for a walk.

In other news today.