Bocas del Toro

Since I wasn't raised in a family that prioritized travel, I always thought that trips beyond the states were these impossible adventures out of my reach. After being given this amazing opportunity this summer, I'm glad to say that I have discovered all on my own the real value of exploration. Every new place I visit makes me feel more lucky than I was the day before. And for a girl who even feels lucky to spend time in Knoxville or Athens, Panama is a bit overwhelming. Bocas Town is certainly no exception. I love that this place isn't your typical tourist trap, and how little things make it feel special.

Like the...errrm...interesting view out of my balcony window:

The...errrm...interesting local businesses:

(Bocas Town Books might be my new favorite establishment)

And the cutest hotel room infestation anyone could ever hope for:

Ok, infestation is a bit of an exaggeration...we've seen 2 of these little geckos in our room. We've also seen 50 cent beers at the hostel across the street, hippies riding all types of boards (skate, surf, and long), and delicious bagel sandwiches about 20 feet from our door:

Also notable, is that neither Buck nor I realized that we had entered a new time zone when we crossed the border, so we wondered why everything was closed as we tried to have dinner at what was actually 10:00PM. We had pizza that night and have since had pizza for dinner at 3 different establishments all three nights we have been here. Pretty classy, eh? The best pizza so far was from "The Black Olive" where we had greek pizza and falafel for a total of $11.

What else...

I bought this book used at the Bocas Book Store:

(and will in the future lend it to anyone who would like a good laugh)

Everything is splendid (as my good friend LBach predicted)! What's not to love about a week spent in a beautiful place just walking, eating, lounging, and exploring? Tomorrow we will take a boat tour to Isla Bastimientos to try and find some poison dart frogs...then back to the San Jose airport and finally back to the states.

CRAZY!