really not sure, all depends on how good the swell is on the pacific side. I was thinking like the last 5 - 7 days of the trip. around the 23 - 25. Where do you plan on staying at? It would def. be cool if we could meet up when I get there, im sure you'll have that place wired by then.
Yeah, most definitely. Don't know if you read the other posts..but Jon will be there for a bit of time in March as well. I'm not sure where we are staying, gotta figure out what places are there and what are good. Pretty much got the consensus that you can get a place for about $12-15 a night.
just returned from bocas and wrote-up a little travel guide. check it out and lemme know what you think: http://jerseymobb.com/2009/02/16/bocas-del-toro-travel-guide/
Very good write up!! Always good to hear first hand... How much did you guys pay for the place you stayed at?
42 a night split between two people, which included free breakfast and free internet access on your laptop. not sure if the hotel computer was free.
Looking to stay this January. Where did you guys stay? Did you guys do a guided boat tours? Looking at tesora escondido lodge. Its near several breaks within walking distance. But would like to explore other breaks, I'm wondering if its possible that people in town give boat surf tours for a daily rate. PM me and that works too.
i just went there this feb.. it was sick, but not what i expected... the people aren't as friendly as in CR, and one thing i really didnt like is it wasnt all that cheap to get a boat to the surf spots, and you cant see the surf from the main island, so you have to pay to check, and maybbe you'll get lucky.. But as for surf, its sick! nice reefs and beaches! Great waves! Lots of cool bars too, things really get exciting at around 12am-1am, but when your back where your staying everthings super quiet, not a noise outside. and things were a little expensive compared to puerto viejo, but i would definatley wanna go back to bocas!
i was a peace corps volunteer in bocas back in the early 90s before it was 'discovered' and i've been going back pretty much every year since (i study creole languages like the creole english spoken in bocas). the place is changing fast. back in the day i had pretty much every break to myself other than the occasional australian (generally cool) or brazilian (mostly kooks). it was paradise and i've got some stories to share on yankee's thread about tales from the dark side...anyway, if you think the people aren't as friendly as CR you should stay in bastimentos (old bank) rather than isla colon. it's a ten minute boat ride to an island with no roads - just a sidewalk - and you can walk across the island on a muddy trail to backside beaches or hire a boat for the day without all of the craziness of the bocas scene. it's a bit more intense (i.e. not as many tourists) but the people in old bank are the friendliest on the planet if you take the time to hang with them and don't just treat them like transportation service providers. pm me if you want the names of some houses to stay or trusted boat captains. i guarantee you they won't let you down. have a great trip and make sure you try the seco con leche
i went to bastimentos in one of my days there, incredible beaches. i took the trail to red frog beach.. definatley worth it, except the waves were only two feet and yes, isla colon is crazy, a little upsetting to see hoe built up things get, but still an awesome place. and rgnsup, on isla colon, theres a bar with a sunken ship in the middle (forget the name) but you have to check it out, its awsesome
find your own boat taxi, never take a lead from the street kids. hustle all prices, $5/head round trip is suitable. dance with the eurotrash. barco hundido. aqualounge. bring a pair of baggies with a solid zipper to hold your taxi cash. never leave anything alone, it will vanish. go to playa bluff. stay in town if you want to have fun, stay in the jungle if you want to find peace. forget a boat tour, do your homework and explore on your own. bocas is one of a kind, full of travelers from around the world, beautiful women and such a diverse culture. how can someone say the people are not as nice as CR? who cares, you sound like a gigantic wimp. if you plan your trip around the personality of the locals then you should reconsider why you're traveling. talk to people, learn something about other cultures and appreciate the present.
nickzilla tried to pm you but it wasn't happening so i'm gonna throw this out publicly: if you get to old bank look up alberto forchiney. nobody in bocas goes by their real name, so when you get to bastimentos walk down de creek (or have your water taxi drop you off) at the end of town where the sidewalk ends (by the cemetery) and the trail to first bay (aka wizards beach) starts. when the sidewalk ends ask anyone you see (and this being bocas there will be a bunch of people hanging out doing nothing) for CHUB. his whole family lives in all the surrounding houses. just say: weh chub deh? to any adult or child and you will soon be introduced to a truly righteous individual who will hook you up (housing, dp to silverbacks, anything). no sketchiness at all.
My experience was getting there from Costa Rica... I had flown into San Juan then to Puerto Jimenez to visit my girlfriend, staying there at the time. We stayed there for a few days, hit Matapalo, then went to Gulfito? across the bay. From there, we took buses to Panama, did the border bribing, finally got across and into Boca. It took a full day to travel from Pureto Jimenez to Boca, without a car. I imagine you would travel a different path if coming directly from San Juan. And hopefully you have a rental car, that could cut the travel time. Don't know what the weather is like right now, but lots of land slides when we went that we drove around in Panama's mountains. Don't remember that many in Costa. Got to boca, found a nice place on the water for I think 40 bucks/night. The gf wasn't that excited for surfing, so I think we spent one day relaxing, and one day took a boat to a place to surf. I think it was the dump, but I'm not sure, it was 5 years ago, and I hadn't researched it before we went because i wasn't expecting to go there. Anyway, it was raining that day, and from what I understand, there was a river that opens when it rains, and basically sewage and garbage comes out to the ocean. We were surfing, and smelling this crap for awhile. Later we went on the beach and walked up, saw this river, and were super grossed out. Anyway, it was a bad experience, rained all day, boat was late picking us up, had soggy peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. We laugh now, but go a little more prepared than I did. I think with some research you'll have a good time. Waves were definitely fun though. Although, I don't know if you'll find anything better there that you wouldn't find in costa rica. It's alot of traveling from San Juan if you want to waste two days. I'd recommend stopping at Puerto Jimenez and going to Matapalo. by far my favorite spot. But again, I only spent 3 days there, one surfing. Matapalo pictured, me on the wave, buddy in front coming in.
Spent about 2 and a half weeks at Tesora Escondido! As you can see, I started this thread. If you talk to Moniq (I believe that was the ladies name who owned and ran it) ask her if she remembers Mike and Drew from NJ. The place was rad and really good. 5 minute walk from Bluff and about 20-30 minute walk to some reef breaks. One problem with staying here is you are isolated from everything. Taxi's wouldn't even go out to Tesora and you had to walk half way and it was still a ton of money. Can you even still get out there by car? The beach and roads were getting washed away when I was there.
