04 August 2009

Boca Brava Beaches

After Boquete, I bused and water taxid to the island of Boca Brava. There is only one hotel and restaurant on the island, and it was nearly empty. I arrive around 11 a.m. and immediately set off to find the beach. The lady said it was a short walk, that the first beach was a stony beach, and that the second was sandy. I walked for what seemed like hours through humid forest and came across the rocky beach. Small, pretty, yet not what I wanted.

The next trail, however, also brought me to the same beach! The third trail was what I wanted and led to a small sandy beach with hardly any waves--perfect for floating on the waves for hours. While sometimes it would be nice to have a whole beach to yourself, I didn´t feel safe swimming without anyone else nearby. Luckily, there was one other couple, and then eventually two couples more. I alternated tanning and swimming, until I eventually gave up on the tanning and just floated in the water for an hour or so. While I did apply sunscreen, I didn´t do it very well and have slight fingerstreaks on my sides!

After I had had my fill of sun, I hiked back, showered, and ate lunch. They had passionfruit juice (my favorite) and ice cream! There really wasn´t anything to do aside from lie on the beach, and only a few people to talk with. I ended up going back out to hike in the early evening and saw a whole colony of howler monkeys! I watched them awhile, then took lots of pictures of the crabs and insects on the beach, ate dinner, and went to bed at 9 p.m.!

In the morning, I awoke early to go kayaking before breakfast. After I ate, I boated and bused out to the Lost and Found Hostel that I had heard great things about.