I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.: Carnavales in Bocas Del Toro!

CARNAVALES in BOCAS DEL TORO

On Monday, Andrea and I stood in line at the bus station for FOUR HOURS to get tickets for Friday. This was not the most enjoyable experience but we were very happy to have our tickets in hand without issue. We opted this year for a more low key Carnavales because last year was a little too intense for me. Read about it here: carnavales-in-las-tablas

On Friday, we arrived at the bus station an hour ahead of our 8 pm departure only to have me get sick just as they called to board our bus. I pulled through but was still feeling rough for the entirety of the 12 hour ride. Once we arrived in Almirante, the last stop on the mainland we hopped on a $4 water taxi to Isla Colon with the hope of an early check in as I was still very sick.

We made it to our hostel Panama's Paradise Saigoncito

My first day of non sickness and solid foods! We decided to head over to Red Frog Beach which is home to a very swanky resort as well as amazing beaches and as you guessed, red frogs (which we couldn't find one of!) We did however spot two huge sloths in the trees on the path to the beach. One even had a baby!

Red Frog Beach

The next day we took a tour threw a local group to several smaller outlying islands, and dolphin bay which as its name suggests, provided us with many a sighting.

Beached in the rain at Cayo Zapatilla. It was beautiful but so miserable because of the weather.

Ready for lunch at a little cluster of stilt houses. We had fried fish and rice.

I didn't spring for the lobster, which I regret.

On our last full day I went for a two tank dive off of Isla Colon at mangrove point and "the wreck" with La Buga Dive Shop. Due to the recent storms and the season, the visibility wasn't great. We had to settle on this site because of the unsafe current at the outer islands from the weather. We did however see tons of wildlife: lion fish, lobsters, stripped and spotted fish.