Day 7, January 19th, 2011

Day 7, January 19th, 2011

Travel day. Breakfast at 7, roll out 8 AM to drive across the continental divide over to another state named, Boca Del Toro, to an island resort. It was a long, long day, traveling by day bus, stopping to see birds and little shops along the way. It was taking a very long time to get a short distance, but as the bus was making it’s way through the hills, the clutch went out. So we had to make a very short stop to wait for another bus, and transfer all of our baggage from one bus to another.

Once we were all settled, we were required to drive direct to our destination, no more stopping, we needed to get to the water taxi by 3pm to get to our hotel. It took us 7 hours to make the trek.

I write this blog whilst sitting in a fabulous sling back chair, on a balcony, overlooking the Caribbean Sea, in a little bay that is now perfectly still with the full moon gazing at its reflection. I’m loving this hotel, it’s named Bocas Inn and it‘s adorable. Our group occupies the whole Inn and we are enjoying the quietness and each others company, out in the open.

The only other thing we did tonight, once settled and sharing a couple of beers together, was to take a stroll down the main street. It’s charming and of course there are lots of little stores with brightly colored hammocks and shirts hanging up outside to entice you to come inside. A little group of us, Polly, Jan, Gary, Skot, Suzy and I all stopped at a stand that had some of the art that was displayed inside the hotel. Gorgeous vibrant paintings, that looked a little more Jamaican or African, then Panamanian, but we all loved them and made some purchases.

Then, just a little lighter in the wallet, we ventured off to dinner, on the water, overlooking the taxis. It was a fantastic fillet fish dish, grilled in garlic and tomatoes, served with coconut rice. Yum! We also enjoyed a view of the full moon rising. After dinner, in the darkness, I made my way back to the hotel alone, I was starting to feel the bugs biting, and decided to type my blog and rest for a little bit. Then Georgia and I went for another little stroll, in the other direction from before. It was a beautiful evening, the perfect ending to a long day.