Travel and Adventure by Various Travel Authors

By Stuart Wasserman

"What was so special about Panama?" a friend asked after my return.

"Caribbean waters at just $13 a night, that's what," I said.

"But it was a hostel," he parried.

"So what?" I said. "The young kids don't discriminate, and for two nights I was lucky enough to have an entire dorm room to myself."

I had just returned from the Bocas del Toro archipelago in northwestern Panama, just below the border with Costa Rica. The archipelago features eight main islands and more than 200 islets scattered in every direction.

The Bocas Bound Hostel where I stayed is a 10-minute walk down a jungle path away from the isolated beach. A restaurant is located in a separate building from the dorm rooms and in a huge open-air space there are a pool table, a pingpong table and an Internet station that guests can use for free.

And then there are the waves. I could body-surf during the day and look at stars at night. There are also other beaches to explore, but the waves get smaller and smaller as one moves around the island.

Bocas Town is the metropolitan hub of the islands with plenty of good restaurants such as Guari Guari and The Last Refugio. The latter is owned in part by a chef from Washington, D.C., who makes wonderful soups. Just down the block I walked into the Casa Verde on a Thursday when they offer their weekly special nacho plate for $2.50 and a bottle of local beer for a buck. Casa Verde is a stylish little hostel with an active bar in an outdoor patio near the water's edge.

Only one building stands on Red Frog Beach, and that is the Punta Lava Bar and Grill, which overlooks a stellar Caribbean beach. Just behind the grill is a solidly constructed walkway that leads to a big wooden deck built over the water — a perfect place for me to practice some morning yoga stretches just after sunrise.

Bocas Bound and the Punta Lava Bar and Grill are located on Bastimentos Island, which is a $5 water taxi ride away from Bocas Town. The beach area is considered a nature preserve, so there is a $2 fee to enter this part of the island.

Travelers could take a cheaper water taxi to Old Town in Bastimentos ($3) and hike over a hill to Wizard Beach. From there it is another 35-minute walk along the water's edge to Red Frog Beach. It is a worthwhile hike, but sandals that strap to the feet are essential because muddy parts of the trail feel like quicksand.

A young British pair, Adair Farrar and Rachel Easter, were on a four-month journey through Central America. They told me the Red Frog beach hostel, Bocas Bound, was their favorite on Bastimentos.

"In some ways we felt bad about supporting the development of the island, but essentially we wanted to enjoy our traveling," Farrar told me.

"This was much easier in what felt like a safer, cleaner and more beach accessible environment. Our favorite beaches were Red Frog and Turtle, which we really enjoyed at sunset and sunrise."

When I reached Bocas Town I knew I wanted a good night's sleep, so I stayed a little out of town in an American-owned B&B. The friendly hosts are Jack and Lee, a couple from Ohio who own and run the Bahia del Sol, a five-room inn located about a 20-minute walk from town. They also manage the Koko Resort next door, which consists of six comfortable cabins overlooking the water with primo sunsets. At a scrumptious breakfast they point their guests to varied fun day-trip options and activities.

Karen and Scott Bredbenner were guests from Alaska. Jack pointed them to a nearby botanical garden built up over the last 10 years by a woman named Linda Gillingham, a native of England. She named her garden "Finca Los Morros." The Bredbenners enjoyed the garden so much they went back for a second visit.

Another couple took off for a day at Starfish Beach. Yes, they reported there were starfish and a tranquil beach that was safe for kids.

Taxis from the B&B into town cost 50 cents per person. The taxi fleet in Bocas Town is made up of brand-new Toyota trucks that are clean and painted yellow.

WHEN YOU GO

While in the past Panamanians used to visit Bocas by driving or flying from Panama City, now Nature Air flights make the Bocas del Toro region more accessible. The young environmental airline, founded by a Berkeley graduate, has inaugurated a flight between Managua, Nicaragua, and San Jose, Costa Rica. From there it was just a 50-minute small plane ride to Caribbean waters and my stay at Bocas Bound on Red Frog Beach: www.natureair.com.

Bastimentos Isle: Bocas Bound Hostel, where I stayed for $13 per night, also offers private rooms for $35 a night: www.redfrogbeach.com or 507-836-5281.

KoKo Resort, six waterfront cabins built over the water that offer stellar sunset views starting at $90: www.kokoresort.com; 614-559-9933 or in Panama 507-6695-6286. Koko Resort and Bahia del Sol B&B are located in the heart of a residential community, so visitors get a glimpse of Panamanian life.

Another possibility is Casa Verde: www.casaverdebocas.com or 507-6633-8050/

Bastimentos Sky Zipline: Panama 507-6507-4646 or info@bastimentossky.com

Stuart Wasserman is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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