Wednesday 9th – 13th December, Bocas del Torro, Panama

Our good run of upgrades and easy flying had come to an abrupt end. After waking early to get to Bocca’s del Torro, we weren’t too happy to find out that luggage didn’t make it on the same flight. More than two hours later our bags arrived and we were greeted at the airport by Alfondo, the driver at our remote eco hotel, Tesoro Escondido.
It was a mad rush, but within 15 minutes we’d done our grocery shopping for the next few days, found our swimmers, towels and goggles and we were on a boat to explore the islands that form the archipelago around Boccas del Torro. We visited Dolphin Bay and spotted many of these beautiful creatures swimming. We also visited a deserted white sand island and did some snorkelling after a seafood lunch and a siesta.
After a busy day, we headed back to our hotel which can only be travelled to by several kilometres of extremely muddy road... but a journey worth taking as our cabina was built on a cliff edge and had its own private beach. The only sound we could hear was the waves crashing over the coral reef into the rocks below us. Our cabina was decked out in recycled bottles and shells which reminded us of Byron Bay
That evening, we experienced the delights of Dorothy’s cooking. The little old French chef whipped up a seafood risotto, which was followed up with a chocolate dessert which is made from cocoa beans collected from the nearby farm. WOW.
The next day, I (Sav) went out for horse-ride through the local forest and along the beach.. it was a beautiful experience despite the fact that I had the most stubborn horse! Along the way I saw an abundance of brightly coloured butterflies, yellow tipped birds and a sloth sleeping in a tree!
In the afternoon, accompanied by three of the dogs from our hotel, we walked along the muddy roads to Playa Paunch, a local beach frequented by surfers. We enjoyed a margarita whilst watching the surfers try to avoid hard landings on the coral reefs before heading back to the hotel for another delightful meal where we were joined by a sloth and her new baby!
The following day it rained... which was perfect for a lazy day in. At 12, the red wine came out with the scrabble board and we spent much of the day lazing about before devouring a chicken curry made from freshly ground coconut milk and a flourless chocolate cake. Hmmmmm...
On our fourth day at Boccas, we went for a swim in the rain and in the evening had a night out with Aaron, Linda, Catherine and Amy from our hotel. After a few drinks and dinner we visited a nearby party island, consumed a thousand drinks, danced and even tried the “street meat” (local vendors selling dodgy kebabs). Three hours after finally getting home at 3.30am we were faced with the very unwelcoming prospect of getting up to catch our flight to Panama city. Let’s just say that it wasn’t a pretty morning and our only saving grace was that Catherine who was travelling with us, kindly offered to let us crash her room at the Marriott hotel until our flight at 3 in the afternoon.