I bounced out of bed this morning, excited about today’s diving adventures and exploring Bocas del Toro’s famous Starfish Beach, also known as Boca del Drago. Unlike yesterday, the sun was shining brightly and our boat departed from Bocas Watersports promptly at 9:30 a.m.
Oddly enough, the day’s main attraction was not the colorful coral and wildlife under the sea, but our tour guide himself. About 15 minutes (and 60 feet deep) into the dive, Leandro began blowing gigantic bubbles that looked exactly like smoke rings.
The bubble rings floated to the surface, maintaining their shape. …
Rain, rain, go away. This was the mantra repeating in my head as we approached Bocas Water Sports Dive Center. It had been thunder storming all morning. Our boat captains, Leandro and Modesto, wisely postponed the trip by one hour, but the clouds looked just as ominous.
In most circumstances, rain has no effect whatsoever on diving – clearly, it doesn’t rain underwater. (This fact becomes humorously obvious when you stop to think about it.) However, when lightning makes an appearance, all trips are called off.
Finally, Leandro decided to risk that the storm would get better …
Last night, Kim and I took the evening bus from Liberia to San Jose and spent the night with a friend. This was designed to break up the long trip ahead of us to Bocas del Toro, the picturesque chain of Panamanian islands. On a bright Saturday morning, we rolled up to San Jose’s Caribe bus station at 5:30 sharp.
After waiting patiently, we were finally next in line at the ticket booth when the person in front of us purchased the very last seat on the bus. What bad luck. We vowed to arrive …
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