Bocas del Toro – 
Unfortunately, we cannot go sailing today… We got some emails back, though with no positive reply. Perhaps we were too spontaneously. After an amazing big breakfast we walk along the main street and opt for a tour to Zapatilla with Waterboa… Deepboarding. We have to drive to another island (East of Bastimentos) first and pick up a group of 4 at a hotel. Quite cool, to have your stay this far from town, but you will also probably have to rely on water taxis for everything you are planning to do during the day.
Explore a little further and find the real Panama.
Dogs, chickens, children run wild.
Litter and poverty remind you
this is still the third world.
Caribbean soul lives on Isla Bastimentos.
I guess Old Bank is Bocas without all the gringos.
Girl get braids, women manicures.
They speak island lingo with English words.
Watch yourself when walking
on the Basti jungle paths
lest you be robbed in the wild
by men with machetes and masks.
Surfers get to play
at Wizard or Red Frog beach.
Keep following the coastline
for one of the most gorgeous beaches you’ll see.
A stunning boat journey
through the national marine park.
Arrive in deserted island paradise
with millions of stars after dark.Camille Willemain
Sloth Island
We are about 16+ people on the boat, so it gets quite a little cozy. Well, let’s hope this doesn’t end in one of those typical tourist tours. Once again the main spoken language is German – DE/AT/CH have a strong presence in Panama. We drive through small mangrove islands and reach a larger “Sloth Island”. As the name suggests, there are lots of them. However, you need a good eye to discover them in the trees because they hardly move to be noticeable. The captain moves the boat into little bays of the island, so we can look deeper into the mangroves. We get to see 3 sloths – the last one is only about 3m from the bow, but has his back turned towards us and doesn’t seem to have any reason to turn around (the next tour boat is already approaching behind us) despite all the shouting of the folks in the boat – I guess this little furball already knows the whole procedure – “Zero fucks were given that day”. But one of the Austrians is apparently in desperate need of a framed sloth photo for his nightstand … So, he jumps from the bow on the mangrove roots, runs to the other side of the tree and starts waving and shouting to get the sloths attention – ignoring the “Hey, amigo!” by the guide. For real?
