Bocas del Toro, Panama

Bocas is a collection off islands off the north coast of Panama, jam-packed with pristine beaches and laid-back bars, and where the main mode of transport is by cheap water-taxis between the islands. We decided to stay on the biggest island, where we had the best choice of accommodation and food, and make day trips to the surrounding area. It was a great choice, as we realised later that we could reach any of the other islands by paying only a few dollars to a local fisherman.

Crossing the final frontier

One of the beaches we visited was on the other side of Bocas Island, only a short (and bumpy) bus ride away. We crammed in along with an amusing mix of locals, their shopping, schoolkids and a couple of fellow travellers, and arrived at the other side of the island around 40 minutes later. Starfish beach itself was another 30 minute walk away, along the mangrove coast where we later saw a stingray and lots of crabs running around our feet. When we arrived at the beach we realised why it was so popular: just a few feet from the shoreline there are loads of massive starfish clearly visible from the surface. So we stuck on our snorkel gear and lay on the water watching them slowly move across the seabed. The savvy locals have also set up a few food and drink stalls, which happily sell you ice cold beers. We’re confident there’s little better than laying in a warm sea under the sun with a nice cold beer (or two) in hand.

Squawk!

After a day of starfish gazing and beer drinking, we made the short trip back along the coast and hopped on the last bus back to town. We had already experienced a mediocre meal in the town so we were starting to wonder if Panamanian food wasn’t so great. In order to make a more informed choice tonight, we consulted TripAdvisor and found that there were a few very highly rated places. We chose one at the other side of town, and were not disappointed! Our food here was stunning. Ali’s Mahi Mahi fillet in a passion fruit sauce was to die for, but SuperBabs hit the jackpot with her Grouper fillet in a soy and ginger marinade and coconut rice. It may have been at this point that we fell in love with Panama! Most of our days here were spent laying on the beaches, swimming in the warm, calm sea, with the occasional cocktail to cool down.The highlight of the bars was a little place called Bocas Book Store, which is run by a crazy American and has one of the best set ups we've seen: a book shop in a bar with a ping pong table in the middle. With that mix of activties and plenty of local regulars, it was a great place to relax.

Our very own desert island

We had heard that the best beach was at a placed called ‘Red Frog’, named after the bright amphibian who makes the place his home. We jumped aboard a water taxi and made the 20min boat trip across to the other island. When we arrived at the dock, we noticed lots of soldiers with guns surrounding one of the boats. While talking to one of the Captains at the bar later, we heard that they had discovered cocaine on board and had it all stacked up on a crate on the dock earlier in the day. The beach itself was great and the bar had an all-day happy hour and a great band playing calypso and caribbean rythms. After indulging in some of the potent rum punch, we got the shoulder shaking on the go and tried to join the locals in their grooving. I'm pretty sure there were a few raised eyebrows at the sight of casper having an epileptic fit.

After returning to our own island, we felt like keeping the party going, so we decided to check out Ladies Night at Aqua Lounge. It's a great bar set over the water, full of swings and pools to dive into, as well as free drinks for all the ladies. We took special advantage of it as SuperBabs spent the evening ordering the drinks, which got stronger and stronger as the night went on (ending up with 3/4 rum to 1/4 juice). The result was carnage. To the extent that we believed Gangnam style had come to Panama, and riding imaginary horses was acceptable behaviour.
 

Water Taxi

After a fairly delicate next morning, we had just one thing left to plan: a snorkelling trip to [name of twin islands?], which are a stunningly picturesque pair of uninhabited islands at the outskirts of the Bocas archipelago. It took us around an hour to get there (and some good haggling) with one of the water taxi companies, who left us to explore for as long as we wished. We had brought some lunch, so we really felt like we had our very own desert island for a day. After our return, we had one final meal in Panama at a place we’d heard a lot about during our time here. ‘Bibi’s on the Beach’ pretty much does what it says: it’s a lovely little restaurant set over the beach and affords the best view of the sunset from anywhere in the Bocas. We arrived early to help the place get rid of their cocktails and stayed on for dinner. More great seafood followed, but the best was probably the ceviche with pineapple and passion fruit served with banana chips. Yum!

Bocas Islands perfection

We loved Panama. It was the ideal country to finish our travelling in, with the perfect mix of beach life, great food and nightlife. Ali even managed to get his ‘genuine Panama hat’ that he had been insisting on for weeks. While we only saw a small corner of the country, we are hooked and will definitely be back here to see more – maybe we’ll even start here on our next trip!