Bocas Del Toro, Panama

This previous weekend, I was fortunate enough to visit yet another beautiful country, Panama. I went with my study abroad program and 25 other students to Bocas Del Toro, Panama. The main purpose of our trip was to not only experience a new country and culture but most importantly to renew our 90 day tourist visas. Costa Rica gives two visa options to international students a free 90 tourist visa or a student visa good for the entire time you are studying (costs $300-$400). In order to renew these tourist visas, travelers must leave Costa Rica for 72 hours before returning. It was a 3-4 hour trip to the border crossing station near the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. We got our exit stamps and walked across the border into Panama. The entry process on the other side took a bit longer but it was an interesting experience overall. After making it back to our bus, we drove another hour to a port where we met our water taxis that we would take to Bocas Del Toro. For those of you who do not know, Bocas Del Toro is a small chain of islands off the coast of northern Panama in The Caribbean Sea. The water taxis took us an hour east to our destination of Bocas Town, the largest town in Bocas Del Toro. We stayed right on the water in La Terraza Hotel. I really enjoyed the nautical scenery. It was a nice change from all of the sand beaches I have become accustomed to.

 Walking across the border.

 Our seaside hotel.

 Your typical water taxi.

Despite waking up to rain Saturday morning, my friends and I enjoyed a delicious breakfast and waited out the storm. By the afternoon the sun began to poke out. We decided to take a bus to Starfish Beach on the other side of the island. I had never seen so many starfish in one place and so close up other than behind glass at an aquarium. We had a pleasant afternoon of swimming and relaxing in the sunshine. Instead of taking the bus back to the hotel, the group of students and I decided to hire a water taxi. I am really glad we chose to do this because it allowed us to see more throughout the islands. I was surprised to see remote cottages arranged over the water. I came to the conclusion that Bocas Del Toro would be a much more affordable option for a romanic getaway than The Maldives.

Fun with starfish at Starfish Beach.

Views from our water taxi.

 Little crabs who call this boat home.

On Sunday, we woke bright and early for an all day tour planned for us by our program. First thing on our tour: dolphin "watching". This pretty much entailed a fleet of water taxis, following two dolphins around so we could catch a glimpse of a fin or two. It was interesting to see dolphins in the wild but I could not help but feel guilty that we were so invasive in their environment. I would be against doing the dolphin watching in the future. The next stop was Isla Zapatilla. I can safely say, this was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. It had the bluest water and the softest sand. This was probably the highlight of my entire weekend. Later in the afternoon we went snorkeling off the side of the boat. We saw colorful fish and crazy coral. If only I had an underwater camera!

 Isla Zapatilla

I did not want to return to Costa Rica after this far too short visit to Bocas Del Toro. I definitely want to return to Panama. It was amazing to see such a difference in culture after just crossing over the border. Before I return to Colorado, I would love to venture down to Panama City, see the canal, and see what else Panama has to offer.