11. Tag Bocas del Toro - Inselrundfahrt - 02.08.2023

Today we were woken up by the sun again and we decided to take a boat tour through the islands of the archipelago. We informed Simon during breakfast and he booked us 3 seats and a taxi to Bocas Town. Right after breakfast, our driver with his Hilux was waiting in front of the lodge and we drove into the city. He dropped us off at Hotel Selina and we agreed on a time in the afternoon for the return trip. At the hotel, we paid our fee to the guide and had about 20 minutes until departure. We sat in front of the hotel on lounge chairs and watched the hustle and bustle. Next to us sat a young man with long hair and many tattoos. Typical surfer and dropout, I thought. Suddenly, he spoke to us in accent-free German asking where we were from, and he introduced himself. He was also from Hamburg and was spending his vacation there, but he could also imagine staying there longer. He definitely planned a sabbatical of about 3 months next year to escape the cold, gloomy Hamburg winter. But before that, he would have to "save up". He also wanted to do a boat tour, but he had booked on a different boat than we did. He warned us not to stay at Hotel Selina, as you wouldn't be able to get any sleep there before 5:00 am. It would be a typical "party hotel". But we didn't plan on doing that either. Then we went to the boat. It was small, with 2-3 benches. Unfortunately, it was already full and our guide spoke to the people on the front bench. They got off and we were able to get on. Then we set off to Dolphin Bay, where we were supposed to keep an eye out and we actually saw several dolphins swimming and playing between the islands after a short time. Then we continued to a coral reef, where we had about 40 minutes to snorkel. Pauline jumped into the warm water without a snorkel. Anne and I preferred to enjoy the sun on the boat. Then we went out into the open sea and unfortunately, we had the misfortune of sitting right at the front. Since we were driving against the current, we slammed hard onto the bottom with every wave. We were only able to cushion the impact somewhat by bracing our feet against the bow. This torture lasted about 20 minutes, then we arrived at a beautiful palm island where we had about 1.5 hours to swim. Unfortunately, we weren't alone there. There were about 10 other boats that dropped off their customers there. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful beach with clear, warm Caribbean water. Then we headed back. In between, we made another stop for a drinks break and saw dolphins swimming very close to the boat again. We arrived back at Hotel Selina in Bocas Town around 4:00 pm. Then we took a taxi to our lodge at Bluff Beach and relaxed in the hammock with a sea view.