The Beginning

We left the states on March 31 and landed in Panama City on April 1st. We took a taxi for $20 to the bus terminal then took a collectivo to Santa Clara.

Santa Clara has a beautiful beach but that is about it. We were planning on spending the night there before we headed out the next day for Santa Catalina. First thing we did was jump into the ocean, which was a bit colder than we imagined, and then walked around the beach trying to figure out what we were going to do for the night. Nicolas was able to find a guy who would let us put up our hammocks and put our stuff in a locked room for the night for $5. The chief for one of the only food places was missing so we ended up drinking beer and eating chips for dinner.

We woke up the next morning and Nicolas looked over at me and said “vamos a Bocas del Toro”. There wasn’t any swell on the Pacific side but there was a bit of something on the Caribbean so he decided during the night that it would be better to go there. I was pumped, seeing the Caribbean has been a dream of mine for a while and I was finally going to see the beautiful blue colors I always drooled over in photos.

So we took one bus after another to find ourselves at Almirante for the night. We didn’t see a hostel as we drove in on the bus so we caught a taxi. He took us barely 2 blocks and charged us $2. I was frustrated but held my tongue. It was late and all I wanted to do was fall asleep so I could wake up and see my dream.

I woke up like a kid on Christmas morning, super early bouncing up and down to wake Nicolas up. We bought some bread, cream cheese and bananas across the way then walked to dock where we took the boat to Bocas del Toro for $6 a piece. 

Easter weekend on the beach in Bocas del Toro

Once we arrived we realized things were a bit hectic because it was Semana Santa, Easter weekend. Everything was booked so I sat a cafe while Nicolas looked for a place to stay. He came back a bit later saying he found us a private room but was going to cost $20 each which is way above our budget but there weren’t any other options. We dropped off our stuff and ran to the water. We found ourselves at shitty beach which is full of seaweed but we didn’t care. The water was warm and we were in the Caribbean. 

Our first night sleeping in our hammocks on the beach in Santa Clara, Panama.