Final days in Central America

Today I did the typical tourist Bocas del Toro thing, which is a boat ride around to some of the best spots. We went to Dolphin Bay, which is called that because, well, you get the idea. I had never seen them in the wild before so I enjoyed it. They were a little shy, which is understandable. You can see two in the center here and about half the boats that were there.



We visited Red Frog Beach on Isla Bastimentos, which was gorgeous. I don´t know why this picture is so dark. It was actually quite sunny.



We also snorkelled at two spots. I was so excited to see my first octopus. They´re quite skittish and adept at camouflage so it takes a trained eye to find them. The best time to see them is at night, so I was proud that I was able to spot one in the daylight. I dove down to get a couple pictures with my underwater disposable, being very careful not to spook it. Then I realized it was dead...

Unorthodox travel methods

One of the hassles of traveling, anywhere, is getting to and from the airport. The airport in Bocas del Toro is pretty convenient, all in all. My hostel is five blocks away from the airport.

The picture below was taken from the main intersection in town on Isla Colon. Three blocks away you can see a gate. Beyond that gate is the runway. The young men walking in that direction are going to the airport so they can be there when the next flight arrives. They´re touts, people who 'help' arriving tourists finding lodging, tours, etc.




I finished my Advanced Open Water scuba certification today. I went on my first night dive last night, which I can´t say I really enjoyed. It was pretty spooky, and I burned through my air pretty quickly. Today I went on my first shipwreck dive, which was more to my liking. I saw a school of squid, maybe 200 or so, the largest group my instructor has ever seen.

I have 2 days left in Central America. Saturday I leave the island for Panama City, then fly to Marrakech, Morocco the following day. As tough as it can be communicating in a Spanish-speaking country, at least I can sound out the words. In Morocco I won't even be able to read the alphabet. I bought a book-CD combination for Arabic so that I can at least say the key phrases. Then I need to do the same in Russian. And Mongolian. And Mandarin. And Thai...

You can only get to Bocas by boat or plane. I flew in, but I´ve heard that the boat ride to-from Changuinola is beautiful, through canals used by the old banana plantations. It´s $6 for an hour boat ride. So I looked into what it would cost to fly from there as compared to here. The cost is the same. And the flight from Changuinola connects here (after a 15-minute flight). So I´m taking the boat to Changuinola, then flying back here, then flying to Panama City. Not the way I would have planned it!

Bocas del Toro

I took a puddle jumper flight from Panama City to Bocas del Toro, a group of islands on the Caribbean near the Costa Rican border. It's supposed to be a good, cheap place to take scuba classes, so tomorrow I hope to start an Advanced Open Water class, which will certify me to dive deeper, explore wrecks, and dive at night, which I have to admit kinda gives me the willies.

This is the view from the balcony of my hostel. It's a dorm room for $10 per night. I've only been here a few hours but those real estate signs are tempting...