A few days in Paradise

I am in love with Bocas del Torro, this place is absolutely wonderful. The locals are incredibly friendly and everyone here just seems to be happy. My days have been spent at the beach enjoying some sunshine, sport and good conversation with interesting people from around the world, and my nights have been spent eating good cheap food, and laughing and dancing with all of my new friends.

The highlight of my stay here was a camping trip 15 of us made out to a deserted island. We hired a boat to take us out to an island called Zapatia, and it was something straight out of a day dream. Imagine a white sand, tropical beach with crystal clear water, full of palm trees with coconuts, colorful tropical birds, and perfect sunny weather. We spent the days snorkeling, playing soccer, drinking coconut milk (with some rum thrown in for good measure!) and exploring the island. You could walk around the entire thing in 45 minutes, and we had it all to ourselves. At night, we built a bon fire, played music, sang, went swimming and cooked some crabs we caught, eating them hot off of the fire. There was a thunder storm in the distance that turned the sky all shades of purple and orange, it was like nature was putting on a show for us. Sea turtles came up at night to lay eggs, and dolphins swam in the water around us. Only three of us had tents, so the others built lean-tos out of fallen palm fronds.

It was an absolutely magical experience. One of the coolest things I have ever done in my entire life, without question.

That group of us have been hanging out this entire time. We all came for a few days, and we are all still here over a week later! Everyone is in their twenties, outgoing, educated and a ton of fun. The bond of friendship between us is really strong and I feel like these are people I have been friends with for years, and not just days.

Last night a festival started and we all went, eating cheap food, dancing to all the different types of music, hanging out with the islanders. This place just flat out makes me happy. This week spent here will be one that I remember for the rest of my life with fondness. This is the type of time that makes traveling so wonderful.

I needed this too, after being couped up in a hotel room and having to send my bike home. I am getting ready to move on though as I can only take so many Rum fueled nights before I run out of go power. I am looking forward to heading up into the mountains after this and having some time to myself and to get back into the outdoors. I am really looking forward to getting some climbing and rafting under my belt as well.

My camera is on the fritz right now, I think I got some sand in it. As soon as I have it fixed, ill put up the great pictures from the last few days. All my love to everyone back home!