edwards block

After the night at hotel-hole-in-the-wall, I moved to Bocas town. Things are pretty tight here as well (if this is off-season, I’d hate to be here in February), but I found a place that is central, has a large balcony overlooking the town, has a mosquito net and a fan that could propel a small aircraft, is reasonably secure, and is actually quite nice, for only $4 more than the last place.
I spend most of Saturday afternoon at a quiet waterfront cafe, with chairs on the edge of the small dock, reading, writing, people watching, and sipping tea (OK, maybe just a little more sitting around). Later, I ate the greasiest pizza I’ve ever had (though it did taste really good), and then spent the evening stretched out on a sofa with Virginia Woolf.

I thought I needed a little activity and socialisation, so I signed up for an all-day snorkeling tour on Sunday. It started at 9:30, and end at 4:00.

As the lancha (boat) left port on a sailing trip for a six hour tour, it started pouring – really pouring. This only lasted for about an hour. We stopped in Dolphin Bay for about 20 minutes to look at dolphins. It wasn’t exactly an eco-tour. Three boats roared around the dolphins in circles, forcing them to swim in circles, leaping from the water regularly. I and an Austrian guy next to me were appalled, but all the latinos on board were thrilled and screaming in glee. So much for the romantic image of sailing along with the sun shining and dolphins leaping along the ship playfully, making happy dolphin noises.

After tormenting the marine life, we were dropped at a pier on a local island, which contains only a restaurant/bar, and which is surrounded in shallow water and coral. They provided the snorkeling gear, but unfortunately, this did not include fins, just the mask and breathing tube. They claimed that they were helping to preserve the coral by discouraging people from walking on it with the fins, but I suspect that it was more to avoid the cost of stocking an assortment of fins in a range of suitable sizes.

As it turned out, the area where the coral is found is between two islands through which the tide flows. Without fins, we had to swim continuously, and somewhat aggressively, to avoid being washed to sea. The only people that stayed in the water for more than ten minutes were those that had the foresight to bring their own fins. The rest retired to the restaurant bar to dry out – the rain having stopped.

A few people packed lunches, but most of us had opted to buy lunch from the restaurant, as had been advertised as a handy option. I went to the counter to ask for filete de pollo, but the guy would not take my order until I told him which of the several tour captains had brought me, obviously so that the commission on the vastly overpriced (for Panama) food could be paid correctly. I looked around for the captain, so that I could point him out, and spotted him – bussing tables. Surmising that the restaurant was simply an arm of the tour company, resentment got the better of me and I opted not to order, satisfying myself with the Powerbars and water that I had brought with me.

Three hours later, we departed for the next stop, a beach where we could lay in the sun. As it was now pouring again, the ride was less than pleasant. The boats roar across the water at full speed, driving the rain under the raised canopy. To make matters worse, the canopy ripped in the wind, which exposed us directly to the driving rain. At this point, a mutiny was threatened if he failed to make for port, but we finally agreed to stop at Red Frog beach for a walk in the forest and see the red frogs.

The forest walk, out of the wind and under the shelter of Almondro trees, was actually quite pleasant, the trees teeming with birds that could be heard but not seen. We looked at the red frogs, then walked back to the boat and returned to port, most of us shivering and looking forward to the cold showers provided by our hotels (mine had non-functioning water heaters).

Tomorrow morning I fly out to Panama City, where I will visit Pipeline Road, a birding site that seems to be well known by avid birders, as well as look at the canal and the old city.