Bocas del Torro, Panama

Before leaving Panama, we visited the Bocas del Torro, a handful of Caribbean islands that feature as Lonely Planet’s No. 1 hot spot for Central America and had also been recommended by the Canadian couple we’d met in Panama City. We had expectations of islands similar to the amazing San Blas islands but with a bit more to do whilst maintaining a chilled out, Caribbean vibe. Perhaps we could learn to fish, snorkel more, snooze in some hammocks at a bar, that kind of thing.

We have since discovered that opinions of this place fall into 2 categories; those under 25 love it and those over 25 hate it. Soon after arriving on the main island, it became clear that this was a place geared up mainly around backpackers just wanting to get wasted and have a party. Being in the over 25 category was perhaps the reason we felt slightly out of place amongst the bikini clad hen do-ers and the worldly Aussie surf types! Bar lined streets advertised all day happy hours and the island’s most popular club, Aqualounge had nights where ladies drank for free and where you could bounce off a trampoline or jump off swings into the sea to the sounds of some really, cheesy awful dance music.

A water taxi took us to the island where we then grabbed a taxi to our hostel, as although a small island, the only hostel we could find with space on a Friday night was a fair way out of the town centre. For this reason, on the first night we unintentionally managed to avoid the full in your face force of the backpacker town. The hostel itself was peaceful and beautiful, right on the water’s edge and looked picture perfect as we arrived at sunset.

View from the water taxi on the way to Bocas of the ramshakle houses on stilts in Almirante

Sunset out the back of the hostel (on the good side of the island!)

The next day, after an early morning swim and breakfast of muesli and a bunch of bananas we found on the free food shelf, we headed into town. We wanted to find a hostel nearer the much hyped party at Aqualounge later that night that we had arranged to go to with a couple of the guys we had met on the boat into Panama and who were now also on the island. 

After finding a not too bad hostel, we set about amusing ourselves for the day. The island was small enough to ride from one side to the other by bike and after an unsuccessful 2 hour search for a couple of bikes with brakes, we opted for the Caribbean style banana bikes and rode across the island. These bikes have no gears or brakes and to stop them you have to try to pedal backwards. It’s initially really weird but you get the hang soon enough. The problem was, in our search of a good deal, we’d picked up a pair of really ropey bikes without even considering what the terrain was going to be like. 

I still have bruises on the soles of my feet now from trying to pedal uphill in an equivalent really high gear in flip flops. The beach on the other side of the island was nice, but was nowhere near the class of the San Blas islands that we’d been spoilt with previously and due to the journey having taken so much longer due to the crap bikes, we only had 20 minutes of snorkelling time available before we had to leave to get the bloody bikes back on time. 

The water here was even too warm to cool down in!

The blessing was after all that exercise we were deserved of a hearty dinner which we had no trouble in finding. We started by taking advantage of one particular restaurant’s 2 for 1 deal on beer and then sneaked next door where the food looked better for some dinner. We chose Caribbean fish and chicken accordingly, with the restaurant’s own home-made ‘yo killin me man’ sauce and I washed mine down with a pineapple daiquiri. Heaven.

The most amazing pineapple daiquiri

Then it was Aqualounge time! We met up with a couple of mates at their hostel. Sander from the boat was there and he introduced us to a few mates of his, but unfortunately Suzi couldn’t make it as previously planned. After a couple of drinks at the hostel, we jumped into a water taxi and headed to the neighbouring island where the club was based (all of 30 seconds away). Before we knew it we were in a queue at the water’s edge waiting to have our bags checked, before having to pay $5 to get in to what sounded like Harpers on a Friday night. 

At this point we nearly did legs, but thought it would be a bit rude. So instead we opted for paying the entrance fee, downing our drinks, stripping down to our swimming shorts and bikini and launching ourselves off the swings and into the plunge pool below, together with a whole bunch of other 20 year olds. 

In fact, we totally out-gustoed them all by doing it 3 times in a row, swinging ourselves into synchronicity so that when we hurles ourselves off the swing, we hit the water with an enormous splash at exactly the same time. Sure, they all probably thought ‘ah, look at that sweet old pair having fun’ but at the time I didn’t care. It also gave us a reason for leaving as we were now soaking wet and cold with no towels. We said our goodbyes to Sander and his mates and jumped in a boat back to the island with new friend Kate, who we’d met at the bar also feeling her age and who had kindly offered to film the whole swing charade.

1, 2, 3...

... Jump!

And try not to drown whilst drunk!

After seeing Kate off in a taxi back to her hostel, me and Tim opted to grab a few cans at a kerbside bar and sat with our legs draped over the side of a mooring, discussing what we thought of the place, together with more general gibber about travelling and why mountains are better than beaches. We were soon enough beered out and after chatting to an old and seemingly nice Nicaraguan fisherman for 15 minutes or so, who first tried to befriend us and then just bluntly asked us for money, we headed back to the hostel to crash.

The next morning, on waking up at half past 10, hungover and salty in the tight confines of our double room which had a double bed and luckily a single bunk on top that could act as a shelf because there was no floor space, we decided to get out of Bocas and head to Costa Rica. A decision made with the hope of experiencing something a little more culturally distinct than Woking on a weekend, with great wildlife and birds to see. By having no time pressures or schedule to follow, we are privileged in being able to make snap decisions like this and we by no means ever take at tfor granted. We were near the border with Costa Rica and it was an exciting prospect that by later that evening we could be in another country. 

But first we needed to rid ourselves of our hangovers, so it was back to Lili’s café, where we had eaten the night before, for the famed, lonely planet recommended plate of eggs benedict with crab meat. It may have taken about an hour to come out, but that gave me plenty of time to gawk at all the starfish that lived in the waters surrounding the restaurant. I have never seen such giant starfish and even completely hungover, I was unable to contain my excitement.

Amazing giant orange starfish friends

The wait was worth it, the food was truly amazing and we realised that perhaps it was this plate alone that had given this island the status of No 1 Central American hotspot, because, in our eyes, to be honest, it didn’t have much else going for it. Not for a pair of oldies like us anyway!