“I think you’re going the wrong way!” Our boat driver waved off our concern about the direction to our accommodation on Isla Solarte, clearly shown on Google Maps, as Heather held out the phone to show him – again. “No, I like to go this way!” he said. As he motored along the southern shore of the island, one of several in the Bocas del Toro archipelago, he asked to see the phone once more. Our location was clearly on the wrong side – Red Hill Villa was definitely on the northern shore. After circumventing the island and it’s profusion of mangrove-filled islets, our lodge came into view. The driver couldn’t help but smile, and we had to laugh, at his refusal to heed the proof of the map. “Free island tour!” he joked as we docked.

Most visitors to Bocas del Toro base themselves in Bocas town, on Isla Colon, where the mainland ferry arrives. Town offers most everything the young, partying backpacker could want – cheap hostels, cheap eats and cheap happy hours along with overpriced waterfront pub crawls and packed-boat island tours. Heather and I were looking for something different. Exotic wildlife was at the top of our list. We had picked two outer islands for stays of three to four days each: Bastimentos, which offered hike-to only Wizard Beach, popular Red Frog Beach for the wildlife and the village of Old Bank for access to restaurants and basic groceries (beer and wine). We also chose Solarte, which offered a fairly comfortable and totally secluded lodge with paddle boards, kayaks and a dock for relaxing over the water. Upon arrival to Old Bank we were a bit disappointed with our choice – the village was fairly decrepit, the homes along the waterfront were surrounded by trash and the restaurants seemed to be offering nothing more than the basic fried chicken/two starch meals common throughout rural Panama. Our lodge was rustic, to be kind, but the owners were real friendly and trying their best with what they had. But truth be told, the place really grew on me. Not town – that was still disgusting. Not the food – that was still bland and boring. But our lodge had a certain shabby charm to it (Heather never really came around). When we weren’t hiking to the remote beaches through the islands jungle interior, or walking into town for yet more beer, we relaxed in hammocks and played with Mommy, the lodge’s dog, watched sunsets and enjoyed conversation with the other guests. The best part for me, though, was the view from our room’s window just before falling asleep or after waking up. Just past the sea grape and coconut palms the sea crashed against the rocky beach and a nearly full moon painted the water’s surface a beautiful silver throughout the night.

At Red Hill Villa on Solarte we also encountered amiable hosts (David and Inga from Hungary!) and enjoyed hammock time on their dock (in the breeze and away from the bugs) along with Blacky, the lodge dog. We were able to paddle each morning before breakfast and access Red Frog Beach (it was actually closer to us here even though it was across the channel on Bastimentos). David ran us over in the lodge’s small skiff a couple times (spotting dolphins each trip) then we would cross the island on a paved path to the beach on the northern side. While the beach wasn’t swimmable due to rip currents and raging surf, a decent beach bar offered reasonably priced drinks, passable fish tacos, and, on our second visit, an amazing grilled lobster for lunch. But the highlight of each visit to Red Frog beach (I did mention the lobster, right?) was the wildlife encountered on the walk over. The area is known for hosting sloths and red poison-dart frogs. To say Heather was excited to get here and see these creatures would be understating the case. She had been talking about sloths since we started planning this trip back in the summer. So far, through out Panama we had not been able to catch sight of one. But Red Frog beach did not disappoint. The furry creatures could be seen in the trees feeding on leaves or napping on each of our visits. We also had good luck in spotting the namesake red frogs as well. And that’s no easy task as the critters are no bigger than the size of a thumbnail and like to hang out amongst all the debris on the floor of the rainforest.

 

A week in Bocas put the wrap on the Panama leg of our winter trip. We felt quite happy with our visit to Panama – sailing and snorkeling the San Blas islands; extended beach time with retired Canadians in Coronado; mountain hikes and craft beer in Boquete and finally sloths and frogs in Bocas. Our next stop will be just across the border – Costa Rica awaits!