Bocas del Toro, Panama. . .Great time, great people, great place.

Isla Zapatilla, part of an archipelago of islands off of Panama. 

We spent the last week poking around the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and visiting Bocas del Toro, Panama. Our excuses were two-fold: the kids had a 'rainy season' vacation week, and our visas were due to expire, so off we went.

We walked over an old rail bridge to enter Panama. In a different time, it had carried rail cars full of bananas.

You could see the river below us through the cracks in the wood. Sometimes the wooden planks heaved and moved if the person behind you got too close which made it all the more exciting. It was really a neat experience but not for the faint-hearted. Below is a picture of the river we were crossing over and our first look at Panama.

We felt triumphant reaching the end of the bridge. I knew I was going to love Panama already.

Bocas del Toro translates to "Mouths of the bull"; there are many legends attributing the poetic name to things such as snorting water, bull-shaped islands and so on but what we know for sure is that Christopher Columbus himself put in at these islands to repair his vessels on his last trip to the Americas in 1501. The islands lie just over the border from Costa Rica out in the Caribbean sea. As the kids put it, "this is what we thought the Caribbean should look like!"

Snorkeling was a great adventure.

We stayed on Isla Colon, a beautiful island Columbus named after himself. It's a vibrant, colorful place that makes you feel like you are stepping back in time. Brightly painted wooden buildings edged with fancy woodcarvings line the streets.

The water is always nearby. 

Water taxis are as important as regular taxis and bicycles- the common mode of transport. In 1993 there were only 3 vehicles on the island. Then, the tourists began to come, roads were paved, and now the main island is pulsing with neon yellow 'truck taxis'.  Candy-colored cruiser bikes still win the category of most popular mode of transport lending a mellow vibe to Boca. It was hilarious and memorable to see big, hulking men riding Pink Panther-pink cruiser bikes!

The locals were absolutely joyful, fun-loving, and kind. Some people say that Boca-town, the big town in the area, has gotten rough so we had low expectations. But, we experienced nothing but great conversations, delicious food, helpful people and an overall fantastic time.

If you look closely you will see these workers grinning and cheering me on to take their picture.

Part of our love of the place can be attributed to the Super Gourmet, a small store that was stocked to the nines for the many yachts that pass through. We believe it had a better inventory at half the cost of what we pay for our groceries outside of San Jose. Beyond the sign is the Caribbean, what a location! 

Cacao is a major piece of history around these parts and could be found in brownies, cookies and in the pod. Coconut oil could be had for a song and left one smelling like a coconut cream pie but turned blazing red skin coppery tan overnight.

The town square had a phenomenal playground and a bandstand, it too seemed stopped in time.

Massive trees lined the park.

Can you tell we were smitten with the region?

                 

Now imagine mounting a water taxi and whizzing by mangroves and dolphins; over crystal clear water, past indigenous people in dug-out canoes. . .you get the picture. 

As our friend Stefano declared, "This is wow."

Isla Zapatillas, Bocas del Toro, Panama

Seeing the marine biology up close was a real treat.

So was the fauna. . .the sand flies we could've done without. . .

Riding the water taxis was fun.

Our Captain, Roberto, stopped for gas. Of all coincidences, we passed a schoolmate of Gigi's named Santiago. We ended up spending the rest of the week together along with his sister Emma, and Dad, Stefano. 

Cheeky Santiago fools around with Baby-O. Can you guess that he wants to be a marine biologist? He jumped into the mangrove waters to fish out this starfish much to our shock and dismay!

Emma preparing to snorkel. You can see Baby-O's blaze orange bobbing in the background!

The biodiversity of the archipelago is so rich that the Smithsonian put a research lab station on Isla Colon. We were lucky to be there on a day that they opened up to the public. We didn't see any of the 15 Cayman that live in the waters surrounding the research station, but we did get to speak with a really neat German scientist who let the kids into her lab and showed them what she was working on.

There was this really sweet moment when the German scientist whipped out a vial which contained a blob-like creature and she looked at the kids and enthusiastically declared, "we're related!" She also explained that their prediction had not turned out to be right in their latest experiment (they'd been collecting specimens for three months and we got there just as they were cleaning off the evidence and beginning to settle into the data).  J has been knee-deep in science labs and preparing reports and presentations on what they find in the school science lab, so the visit was timely.

We met an earnest young American who was about to commence a study during which he would slowly kill off coral in different tanks. He had gone to University of Chicago and studied Biology, he shared with us that he thinks he wants to go on for a doctorate and become a professor.

The kids had fun touching lots of creatures.

An invasive species all the way from Asia who has made its way to this side of the world.

The boys found time to break open a coconut with a rod from a bike rack. Unfortunately, it was old and nothing much was left inside. That morning they had spent time at the hotel shimmying up coconut palms and getting to the liquid with sharpened sticks, at one point a Czech tourist helped hoist up one of the boys in collaboration with the effort.

We will remember Bocas as the place where Baby-O learned to 'swim' or bob as she called it. This included jumping off the boat into the open waters as we would snorkel off the boat. She loved it!

We had a great time meeting folks from all over the world including a programmer from Amsterdam who has been holed up for months in an attic writing a new search program hoping to strike it big. And then there was Travis from Australia, a sound producer, who had taken off six months to go surfing. The Belgian couple who were cooking meals for guests in exchange for a room. They wowed us with their incredible Spanish after only having been at it for three months! There were the three Danes with whom we crossed the border from Costa Rica. They spent the couple of hours of the trip teaching us all about Denmark; so much so, that Gigi is ready to head over tomorrow after hearing that university students are paid $1000 a month for being students!

Can you spot the three Danes?? Here we are at the Costa Rican customs window.

What was the most special was spending time with each other. The island pace was slow. Meals took at least an hour to be served. It was hot so we weren't moving very quickly either.

The only people who did move quickly were J and Santiago who spent 5 hours one day playing futbol/soccer. They played so much J rubbed half a toe off. 

We arrived back in San Jose today and I'm wistful to be off the road. I love to see places for the first time and in general be in a place I've never been before.  It feels no different this past week than it did twenty years ago when we backpacked around the world. Even with three kids in tow, especially with three kids in tow, I love to learn the lessons that await us.

The kids taking in the Caribbean from Roberto's water taxi.

It's not always easy traveling with an under 4 year old, but it's always illuminating. Especially when she shows us new ways to wear a life preserver.

 I know the kids quite honestly are dreading going back to school (send them some positive energy if you can spare it). It's really hard to be an outsider. It's really, really hard not to speak the language. It's the hardest not to have friends.  So even though we spent the week in a paradise, life is still life with all its daily trials.

Here we are mounting the water taxi which would be our first step back to Costa Rica. 

The thrills are big, but the burdens and challenges have been just as great. 

We are all growing and learning.

 It's hard to believe we are only at the two month mark, it feels like we've lived a lifetime.