Bocas del Toro, Panama Photos

This was a family vacation for Dad's 70th birthday later this year. We found a house off the Caribbean coast of Panama and the whole family spent the week out there. Three miles by taxi to town. Plenty of coral beaches just a short walk out the door. -- Photos not taken by Charles are noted in the captions.

Casa Mono

Casa Mono is a three bedroom house with an additional loft, nestled in the jungle just off the Big Creek corner of Isla Colon. No AC was no problem - the ceiling fans worked while we had power. The island lost power for parts of three of our days. There was easy access to the beach road for walking, swimming and bird watching. See VRBO listing 291787.

Sunrises On The Beach

I made sure I went out for a walk every morning before the sunrise. The first two days the weather was dubious and I didn't bring my Nikon. The rest of the week I did, but the skies weren't always as pretty, of course. Mom joined me on most of my walks, and Kellie came on Thursday. Dan was out fishing most mornings as well.

Bird Watching

When the sun comes up, the birds come out. I spent a lot of the trip searching for birds with my camera. These are my best pics through the week.

Friday Feb 17 - Costa Rica Pre-Trip

Dan, Jill, Alexa and Haley flew in early to San Jose, Costa Rica. They spent the day Friday visiting the coast and surfing. These are Dan's photos from their day.

Saturday Feb 18 - Arrival Day

Dan, Jill and the girls made their way down Costa Rica and into Panama where they caught a water taxi to Bocas del Toro. Meanwhile Mom, Dad, Kellie and I flew from Raleigh to Miami to Panama City. Once there, we had a taxi ride across town to the regional airport and another flight out to Bocas del Toro. Once we all got together at Casa Mono, Dan and Jill made dinner.

Sunday Feb 19 - Local Beach and Trip to Town

Sunday morning the whole family went out to try the local beach. There isn't much sandy beach, but a lot of hard coral rock. Even so, we had fun looking for critters and playing in the water. We all taxied in to town for lunch and grocery shopping. After lunch a few of us went wading again, and Dan went toad hunting after dark.

Monday Feb 20 - Walk to Hotel La Coralina

Kellie stayed back at the house and the rest of us took a walk up the coast of Isla Colon. We went about one mile up to Hotel La Coralina, which has a nice restaurant on a hilltop overlooking the ocean. We had a snack of fresh fruit before hiking back to the house for lunch. Folks went back out to the beach in the afternoon and found an octopus in the surf.

Tuesday Feb 21 - Zip Lines at Bastimentos

Kellie and I had the day to ourselves while the rest of the family made a trek over to Isla Bastimentos. We spent our day relaxing at the house and made a trip in to town for more groceries and a local-food lunch. They visited Red Frog Beach and went zipping through the jungle.

Wednesday Feb 22 - Starfish Beach, Bocas del Drago

The family piled into a taxi and took a ride to the far end of Isla Colon, to the village of Bocas del Drago. Once there, we took a small boat around the coast to Playa Estrella, Starfish beach. At high tide, we didn't find a huge number of starfish, but we did see quite a few. We had lunch, swam, snorkeled, and relaxed before heading back to Drago. There Mom and Dad took a walk while the rest of us relaxed on the beach waiting for our taxi to take us back.

Thursday Feb 23 - Anniversary Day, Snorkeling Trip

Kellie and I were married 5 years ago today. We relaxed at the house while the rest of the family took an excursion to go snorkeling, see dolphin bay, and Zapatillo cay. I was fighting a head cold most of the trip, so a day off was needed. We listened to an audiobook, and I wandered the yard with my camera.

Friday Feb 24 - Return to Red Frog

Dan left early to go out fishing, and Jill and the girls were planning to meet him at Red Frog. Mom and Dad decided they'd rather go along than rest at the house as planned. Kellie and I had another day to ourselves. I climbed the hill behind the house for more pictures. We tried to visit Paki Point for lunch, but with no power on the island, they were not open.