Sunday 3 February 2013
Highlights: Swimming in the Caribbean Sea, Wild Water Boat Ride.
Today I ended up swimming and floating in the beautiful warm Caribbean Ocean in the Archipelago of Bocas del Toro 🙂
Our wonderful Chief Experience Officer (CEO) Lisa managed to get a great deal so we could ride around the archipelago looking for dolphins, a beach and a place to snorkel for $20 USD each plus the entrance fee to the national park area. In the end the boat we hired did have some engine problems but that is part of the adventure – You Only Live Once (YOLO)!
We did spot one dolphin swimming around apparently there were 20 or so yesterday but even one of these magnificent creatures in action is enough for me.
Getting to the small remote island was an adventure in itself. We changed to a fully open air boat for the ride over to this island after stopping at another island to put our lunch order in. This speed boat ride was wild with lots of bumps and we become airborne over parts of the ocean as we sped along. When we got to our destination you had to jump into the water holding you bag in the air and hoping the waves wouldn’t knock the boat into you – YOLO.
The beach / island was magnificent. I spent a long time in the water occasionally a wave would surprise me with its height and I was almost breathing seawater :). James liked to body surf into the sand and would turn and do it again. Evan tried her beSt Baywatch impersonation while Laura just wanted to have fun.
I did also explore the island as well, enjoying the scenery. At one point of the island you could see multiple waves coming from different directions hitting each other and exploding. One final swim and after 2 hours it was time to meet our returning boat and try to get back into the boat with some grace, I’m not sure I achieved this!
Our lunch location was nice enough although all the special mixed drink orders meant a long time waiting in the heat. The meal was a nice arroz del pollo but it left me not wanting to join snorkelling. It turned out only a few people were up for this activity especially after those strong drinks. The rest of us just sat by the dock watching the water and getting some rays.
For our boat ride back we had to ditch a few passengers because of the engine, James and Robin volunteered as they switched to another boat while we were out in the ocean. It was interesting to see the US Coast Guard in the bay, it shows the strong USA presence in this country.
The beautiful beach!!!
Nathan's Insights 