Party week in Bocas Town

01/21/17-01/30/17

Ah, once again I can't keep up with writing. Somehow there's always so much going on. By now, I've already left Costa Rica behind, I'm in Nicaragua, sitting on the terrace of my current accommodation in San Juan del Sur, overlooking the town and the sea.

And now, three and a half weeks back. On Saturday morning, Papito and I will head towards Isla Colón, the main island of Bocas del Toro. We've already had a little preview and I'm excited to go back. We haven't even left our bay and I already have the first beer in my hand. It's maybe eleven o'clock or so and the sun is shining from the sky. On the way, Papito tells me that after dropping me off, he's going to Isla Bastimentos to get some weed. Bastimentos is the larger neighboring island of Colón, I don't know it yet and I would like to go there, which is not a problem. I even get to steer the little boat. It's super easy in the calm water, completely protected by islands in front of the open Atlantic. Once there's no more protection, it gets really fun. The little boat bounces over the waves and I have to make sure to reduce the speed when the waves get too big. But it's going pretty well and I almost bring us to the dock in Bastimentos.

After he has bought weed, dog food, and some crates of beer, he suggests going to Red Frog Beach. This is also on Bastimentos and is said to be super beautiful. I have the second beer in my hand and we head towards the beach. The village of Bastimentos is on the side facing away from the Atlantic, the beach is on the wild Atlantic side. Since you can't land there by boat, there is a dock on the calm side and you have to walk a short path through the jungle. But we don't reach the dock for now, as Papito sees a family waiting at another dock. We take them to Bocas Town and then make our way back to Red Frog Beach. In the middle of the way, we stop with the boat, I roll a joint, he tells stories and wisdom again, wonderful. The sun is blazing from the sky, I don't have any sun protection on and I'm a little tipsy after the third beer.

Finally, we arrive at the dock. Papito says it's no problem if I leave all my stuff in the boat. Well, then I'll trust him. We walk the beautiful path towards the beach. Normally, it costs $5 to enter. But not with Papito, who knows pretty much everyone and introduces me as his girlfriend. The beach is really a dream and the turquoise blue Atlantic is wild and beautiful. I can buy Papito beer number four. We sit under trees in the shade, which is probably necessary now, chat, and look at the ocean. It's already past four o'clock and I think I should slowly go to Bocas to find a hostel, so we slowly make our way back. Of course, my belongings are untouched in the boat.

When we arrive in Bocas, he takes me to the South Beach Hostel and I check in there. It feels a bit shabby, but what can you do? We end up in a local pool bar where only men hang out and I have another beer in my hand. But I can't handle it anymore and only drink half of it. I take Papito to his boat, thank him for everything, and we say goodbye. Then I lie down in bed, damn, a bad mattress and the upper bunk. But hey, I don't want to sleep, I'm finally back here and want to party. Hm, but with whom? Then a girl comes into the room, I introduce myself, her name is Jolynn, she's from the States and asks me if I want to go out and party tonight. Ah, I love hostel life. It's going well.

I quickly go next door to the street food stand to eat chicken with patacones and then join the others. We're not sure where to go tonight. Aqua Lounge? Summer? Or go to a boat party. Summer and Aqua Lounge are free, the boat party costs $10, but it's not available otherwise and we decide spontaneously to go there. We go to a bar by the water, where we will be taken to the party on a larger catamaran with a smaller catamaran. First impression, well, few people, just a string of lights as the only source of light, but now we're here. The catamaran is from the 60s, somehow cool, the only toilet for about 40 partygoers is in a cabin behind a curtain. Everything is a bit makeshift, but it's going to be a great party. Today, no reggaeton, but driving deep house. Very cool! Dancing in the light breeze under the stars until dawn. At 7 a.m. we'll head back to Bocas and to the lousy hostel bed.

The night is over after only two hours. I have breakfast with Jolynn, we hang out by the hostel pool. It sounds fancier than it is. It's a round, above-ground pool from the hardware store, about 1 meter deep and only cleaned once a week. Tasty! But at least it cools down the slight hangover a bit. Since the lower bunk has become available, I change to the lower bunk and sleep a little longer. Later, Elle from Australia comes, who takes my former upper bed. Since this is now the third WiFi where my laptop doesn't get internet, I think it's my computer's fault. I spend the next few hours googling the problem, applying suggestions, reinstalling Windows, and despairing over it. Awww!!! So annoying. In the evening, I give up, watch a movie on my phone, and go back to sleep.

The next morning, I feel like I've been run over. The mattresses are so bad. Only 10 cm thick and very soft, so it feels like you're just lying on the board underneath. I'll look for a new hostel. I just start walking, discover Hostel Hansi, and get a single room with a private bathroom for $20 per night. What a luxury to be alone again after three weeks in dorms. Everything is new, clean, the mattress is great, and the kitchen is well-equipped. Elle, who has now switched to my former lower bunk, helps me move my stuff to the new hostel. We still eat together and make plans for later.

For sunset, we take a water taxi to Isla Carenero and walk around the island a bit. Malin has finally finished our volunteer job today and is in Bocas Town. We meet her and some other people in the Aqua Lounge. This is one of the three clubs in Bocas and, like the others, is directly on the water, or rather, in the water, and you can swim in the sea from the terraces. The Aqua Lounge even has a diving platform, a trampoline, a swing, and a rope swing for jumping into the water. We do everything and have a lot of fun. Today, there is also a beer pong tournament that we participate in. Elle and I are the team "The Bong Peers". It's my first time playing beer pong, I'm bored to death, and I'm happy when we lose and the game is over. I don't need a drinking game to drink. It's going well without it.

Later, we take the water taxi to Bocas Town to Selina, a hostel with a bar, which is also on and in the water. We go swimming again. Then we walk to Iguana, watch the huge starfish crawl along under the wooden terrace, the stingray swimming past the club accompanied by small sharks, and dance and swim and dance. The whole magic ends abruptly at 3 a.m. Closing time. Quite early, I think. On weekends, it's one hour longer.

But the good thing about the "short" parties is that you're fit earlier the next day and can do something. I meet Elle again, we go to Isla Carenero and walk to a nice beach for swimming, or rather, splashing around, as the water is not very deep. In the evening, we want to have dinner together. Since I'm not allowed to have guests in my hostel, but the kitchen is much better equipped than in the South Beach Hostel, I make Bolognese in my hostel, take the sauce over to the South Beach, and Elle cooks the pasta there. That's actually the best you can do in the shabby kitchen. Now that I have a different standard again, I realize how bad the South Beach Hostel really is. But at least no one minds guests there, as nothing really matters there anyway. During dinner, I meet Moe from Cologne. He arrived today and hasn't slept at the South Beach yet. I tell him a bit about why I'm not there anymore. He can only stand it for one night and then moves to Mamallena Hostel. Later, we all go to Selina and then to Iguana to dance. I meet Jolynn again, who, like Elle, is leaving tomorrow.

The next morning, I still don't have a hangover, and I go to the Isla Bastimieto. Malin is staying at a hostel there for a few days and we want to explore two beaches. We start from the small town facing away from the open sea and walk across the high middle of the island. That's when I notice the effects of last night. It's pretty hot, humid, and windless. Since it rained last night, the path is quite muddy and we take off our flip-flops to avoid slipping. After about 30 minutes, we reach Wizard Beach. It's deserted, wild, and beautiful. After this extremely exhausting walk, we take an hour-long break to enjoy the sun, the sound of the sea, and the solitude.

When Malin is swimming, I suddenly realize that we're not quite alone anymore. About 20 meters behind us, sitting in the shade of the palm trees, are two police officers. This seems totally strange in our paradise. But it somehow makes sense, as we had heard stories of people being robbed when they made the walk from Wizard to Red Frog Beach. Seems like pure prevention and we're glad because we want to make that walk. So we start walking, alternating between sand and the adjacent "jungle". It's beautiful and wild. Again and again, we climb over dead trees washed up by the sea, wind, and salt, lying on the sand like sculptures. The great thing about this beach is that it is left completely untouched and humans hardly interfere, if at all. Unfortunately, there is also scattered garbage washed ashore here.

We reach the end of the beach and now have to go through the jungle again. There is a worn path, but it splits a few times. We can't really tell if we're going the right way. We come to a rocky section and have to climb. Well, not without danger with flip flops. At that moment, you think how bad it would be to fall now. Good thing we're two. After the climbing, we arrive at Red Frog Beach. At first, it's as beautiful and wild as Wizard Beach, but gradually becomes "normal" as there are bars and accommodations here. We're almost bored with this part of the beach and still have the wonderful images of our great walk in our heads. A wonderful experience and absolutely recommendable. We grab a small snack, go swimming, lie on the beach a bit more, and then head to the dock on the other side of the island. Malin goes to Bastimentos and I go to Bocas Town.

In the evening, Malin and Maren come to Bocas Town. The two met in Venao and are now in the same hostel in Bastimentos. I show them my hostel and we decide to share a 3-bed room from tomorrow. After three days alone, I'm really looking forward to it. We go to a cheap fast-food restaurant to save money, and it's definitely edible. Afterwards, we visit Moe at Mamallena Hostel, which also has a terrace by the water. We all go swimming again. Then we walk to Iguana, watch the huge starfish crawl along under the wooden terrace, the stingray swimming past the club accompanied by small sharks, and dance and swim and dance. The whole magic ends abruptly at 3 a.m. Closing time. Quite early, I think. On weekends, it's one hour longer.

The good thing about the "short" parties is that you're fit earlier the next day and can do something. I meet Elle again, we go to Isla Carenero, and walk to a beautiful beach for swimming, or rather, splashing around, as the water is not very deep. In the evening, we want to have dinner together. Since I'm not allowed to have guests in my hostel, but the kitchen is much better equipped than in the South Beach Hostel, I make Bolognese in my hostel, take the sauce over to the South Beach, and Elle cooks the pasta there. That's actually the best you can do in the shabby kitchen. Now that I have a different standard again, I realize how bad the South Beach Hostel really is. But at least no one minds guests there, as nothing really matters there anyway. During dinner, I meet Moe from Cologne. He arrived today and hasn't slept at the South Beach yet. I tell him a bit about why I'm not there anymore. He can only stand it for one night and then moves to Mamallena Hostel. Later, we all go to Selina and then to Iguana to dance. I meet Jolynn again, who, like Elle, is leaving tomorrow.

The next morning, I still don't have a hangover, and I go to Isla Bastimieto. Malin is staying at a hostel there for a few days and we want to explore two beaches. We start from the small town facing away from the open sea and walk across the high middle of the island. That's when I notice the effects of last night. It's pretty hot, humid, and windless. Since it rained last night, the path is quite muddy and we take off our flip-flops to avoid slipping. After about 30 minutes, we reach Wizard Beach. It's deserted, wild, and beautiful. After this extremely exhausting walk, we take an hour-long break to enjoy the sun, the sound of the sea, and the solitude.

When Malin is swimming, I suddenly realize that we're not quite alone anymore. About 20 meters behind us, sitting in the shade of the palm trees, are two police officers. This seems totally strange in our paradise. But it somehow makes sense, as we had heard stories of people being robbed when they made the walk from Wizard to Red Frog Beach. Seems like pure prevention and we're glad because we want to make that walk. So we start walking, alternating between sand and the adjacent "jungle". It's beautiful and wild. Again and again, we climb over dead trees washed up by the sea, wind, and salt, lying on the sand like sculptures. The great thing about this beach is that it is left completely untouched and humans hardly interfere, if at all. Unfortunately, there is also scattered garbage washed ashore here.

We reach the end of the beach and now have to go through the jungle again. There is a worn path, but it splits a few times. We can't really tell if we're going the right way. We come to a rocky section and have to climb. Well, not without danger with flip flops. At that moment, you think how bad it would be to fall now. Good thing we're two. After the climbing, we arrive at Red Frog Beach. At first, it's as beautiful and wild as Wizard Beach, but gradually becomes "normal" as there are bars and accommodations here. We're almost bored with this part of the beach and still have the wonderful images of our great walk in our heads. A wonderful experience and absolutely recommendable. We grab a small snack, go swimming, lie on the beach a bit more, and then head to the dock on the other side of the island. Malin goes to Bastimentos and I go to Bocas Town.

In the evening, Malin and Maren come to Bocas Town. The two met in Venao and are now in the same hostel in Bastimentos. I show them my hostel and we decide to share a 3-bed room from tomorrow. After three days alone, I'm really looking forward to it. We go to a cheap fast-food restaurant to save money, and it's definitely edible. Afterwards, we visit Moe at Mamallena Hostel, which also has a terrace by the water. We all go swimming again. Then we walk to Iguana, watch the huge starfish crawl along under the wooden terrace, the stingray swimming past the club accompanied by small sharks, and dance and swim and dance. The whole magic ends abruptly at 3 a.m. Closing time. Quite early, I think. On weekends, it's one hour longer.

The good thing about the "short" parties is that you're fit earlier the next day and can do something. I meet Elle again, we go to Isla Carenero, and walk to a beautiful beach for swimming, or rather, splashing around, as the water is not very deep. In the evening, we want to have dinner together. Since I'm not allowed to have guests in my hostel, but the kitchen is much better equipped than in the South Beach Hostel, I make Bolognese in my hostel, take the sauce over to the South Beach, and Elle cooks the pasta there. That's actually the best you can do in the shabby kitchen. Now that I have a different standard again, I realize how bad the South Beach Hostel really is. But at least no one minds guests there, as nothing really matters there anyway. During dinner, I meet Moe from Cologne. He arrived today and hasn't slept at the South Beach yet. I tell him a bit about why I'm not there anymore. He can only stand it for one night and then moves to Mamallena Hostel. Later, we all go to Selina and then to Iguana to dance. I meet Jolynn again, who, like Elle, is leaving tomorrow.

The next morning, I still don't have a hangover, and I go to Isla Bastimieto. Malin is staying at a hostel there for a few days and we want to explore two beaches. We start from the small town facing away from the open sea and walk across the high middle of the island. That's when I notice the effects of last night. It's pretty hot, humid, and windless. Since it rained last night, the path is quite muddy and we take off our flip-flops to avoid slipping. After about 30 minutes, we reach Wizard Beach. It's deserted, wild, and beautiful. After this extremely exhausting walk, we take an hour-long break to enjoy the sun, the sound of the sea, and the solitude.

When Malin is swimming, I suddenly realize that we're not quite alone anymore. About 20 meters behind us, sitting in the shade of the palm trees, are two police officers. This seems totally strange in our paradise. But it somehow makes sense, as we had heard stories of people being robbed when they made the walk from Wizard to Red Frog Beach. Seems like pure prevention and we're glad because we want to make that walk. So we start walking, alternating between sand and the adjacent "jungle". It's beautiful and wild. Again and again, we climb over dead trees washed up by the sea, wind, and salt, lying on the sand like sculptures. The great thing about this beach is that it is left completely untouched and humans hardly interfere, if at all. Unfortunately, there is also scattered garbage washed ashore here.

We reach the end of the beach and now have to go through the jungle again. There is a worn path, but it splits a few times. We can't really tell if we're going the right way. We come to a rocky section and have to climb. Well, not without danger with flip flops. At that moment, you think how bad it would be to fall now. Good thing we're two. After the climbing, we arrive at Red Frog Beach. At first, it's as beautiful and wild as Wizard Beach, but gradually becomes "normal" as there are bars and accommodations here. We're almost bored with this part of the beach and still have the wonderful images of our great walk in our heads. A wonderful experience and absolutely recommendable. We grab a small snack, go swimming, lie on the beach a bit more, and then head to the dock on the other side of the island. Malin goes to Bastimentos and I go to Bocas Town.

Evening comes, Malin and Maren arrive in Bocas Town. The two met in Venao and are now staying in the same hostel in Bastimentos. I show them my hostel and we decide to share a triple room from tomorrow. After three days alone, I'm really looking forward to it. We have dinner together and go to bed early. Today, Saturday, is the last big party. Tomorrow is the last day and on Monday, Maren and I will continue to Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica.

But yes, today is the final party at Summer. Shake your booty and raise your glasses one last time. Of course, we go swimming again. The mood is high, the music today somehow not as good as usual, but still danceable and we have fun. Then something happens that still makes me think of the party today and has limited me quite a bit for two weeks. We're swimming and splashing in the water in our bikinis or underwear. Malin is already back on the dance floor when Moe throws me, along with my dress, into the water. As wet as I am, I go back to dancing and think it's funny to hug Malin like that. Apparently, she doesn't think so at all and hits me so hard with the heel of her hand in the ribs at the level of my heart that I lose my breath. Good to know that she can defend herself in case of an emergency, but it's a slight overreaction in this situation. Well, I can breathe again, the party goes on, as always, until 4 a.m. and then off to bed.

The next morning, I still don't have a hangover, but the pain from the bruised ribs is immense. I can hardly get up from lying down, I can only lie on my back anyway, I'm short of breath, coughing, talking loudly and moving hurt, and I can only straighten my back with strong pain. I don't even want to know what it would be like to sneeze. Now, there's no more sports for me. Great, my toe is working again.

But I try not to see the whole thing too negatively and go to the beach with Malin. But it's just impossible to ignore and it limits me in everything I do. Gradually, I realize what I can't do anymore and also that traveling with a backpack tomorrow won't be easy. We chill at Aqua Lounge for sunset and then make our way back to the hostel.

For our farewell dinner, Malin, Maren, and I go to Munchies, the best burger place in town. They really have very delicious burgers and very good live music that evening. Maren is really tired and leaves early. I, the little glutton, absolutely want to go to Iguana for dancing one last time. Malin and I also go there. I try to dance, but I can't even do that. Even small movements hurt and I sit down. My mood is pretty down when I start reading a long article about bruised ribs. Very frustrating and I already want to go home at 1 a.m.

And still, I don't really want to leave here. Bocas was the first place that I immediately liked so much and we had a great time here. But you have to move on and see something new. So, tomorrow, I will leave my dear Bocas del Toro and head towards Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica.