Bastementos

 Local colour as you walk the path in Isla Bastimentos

 Town on stilts

 We saw many huge  star fish while at Bocas des Torro

 Roots restaurant is a local place on Bastimentos where they serve delicious Caribbean food for a great price.

Wizard Beach..a 20 minute hike through the rain forest. Mitch knows this place. The waves are quite big and there is a big undertow with rip tide. But it was fun to play in the waves after the hot hike. There are quite a few surfers around. apparently living in the many hostels and small hotels that dot the village.
We took a local lancha to get to Bastimentos (this is where Christopher Columbus stored his supples when he came to Bocas de Torro. They have kept the name.) There are no cars on the island, only a narrow  foot path through the village and then on to the various beaches. It has a very Jamaican flavour and the locals speak a patois called Gauri-Guari, a mix of Jamaican English, Spanish and Ngobi. It was a pleasure to hear the children speaking as they played in the pathways. The houses are very colourful as are the plants that grow everywhere. And to add to the mix there are the usual dogs, hens and ducks in front of most houses. Music blasts from many different places, making up a cacophony of sound that is wonderful...if you like the combination of reggae, rap and steel drums.
Michel tells me that he loves Bastimetos and I can understand why. It was hard to leave after only 4-5 hours. There is magic in the air. If we had walked further we could have arrived at Red Frog Beach, named for the many tiny poisonous red frogs that live there. But we were happy to enjoy the surf for a few hours, and after yesterdays long hike we were in for some R&R, Jamaican style.
We have really enjoyed our time in Bocas del Torro. For anyone wanting to see a different part of Panama that is very unique in its sights, sounds and local colour, it is highly recommended.