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Our Year of Adventure
It was slow morning while we waited to see if we could move to a smaller, and cheaper, room. We had to wait until the people in the other decided whether they were staying or moving on. In the meantime, we were looking for different accommodation options in the islands - we plan to spend quite a few days here but on different islands.
Finally, at 11am we got the call to say we could change to smaller room. The new room is cheaper but better for us because it has a balcony so we can at least sit out and watch people going by. We moved our bags to the new room, swapped keys and headed out for a late breakfast. It turned out to be a very unremarkable plate of food and very overpriced for what it was. We had read that Bocas was more expensive than other places in Panama.
The rain started just as we were finishing our breakfast but we decided to stick around and use the remainder of our 1 hour free WiFi. We then happened to see the guy who 'reserved' us the seats on the water taxi yesterday. He works selling shaved ice... too bad it started to rain and in general business was not going that well in the rainy season.
The rain was not easing off, if anything, it was getting harder so we made a dash for it using the shop canopies for shelter. David asked about diving in a couple of shops and it seems that visibility is only about 6m at this time of the year and price is around USD70 for a 2 tank dive. Being keen for business in the slow season, Maria could come along and snorkel for free.
The lady in the second dive shop gave us the run down on the weather - apparently rain is typical all year round, but now in Panama's rainy season it lasts for longer periods. If it starts to rain before midday, like today, then usually it doesn't ease off for the rest of the day. Mornings are usually dryer and if it rains in the afternoon, it is more periodical. So in summary, today we should grab a six pack of beer and watch the rain on the balcony.
David did have a beer but the rain did ease off, much to David's disappointment for his newly acquired knowledge of island weather. We went to Tourist Information office which was opposite our room. They had no maps but otherwise gave some good ideas for what we could do in the area. Afterwards we headed off towards the Central Park where there was a conservation booth selling tours to see the turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs - we will definitely do that but not tonight.
We walked to other end of town to the Saigon area, trying to find another accommodation we had been told about but with no luck. We carried on up the road and stumbled across the Bocas Brewery. With seven locally brewed beers on tap it makes for a difficult choice but fortunately they sold a 'flight' including a small taster glass of each one. They were surprisingly good.
We went to a small local no-frills cafe, El Chitré, for dinner. Rice, lentils, salad and meat of your choice for a quarter of the price of last night's dinner. They had the biggest jar of hot sauce on each table with what looked like Chinese soup spoons to ladle it out - it wasn't hot to taste but left a lingering numbness on the lips and in the mouth.
Finally, at 11am we got the call to say we could change to smaller room. The new room is cheaper but better for us because it has a balcony so we can at least sit out and watch people going by. We moved our bags to the new room, swapped keys and headed out for a late breakfast. It turned out to be a very unremarkable plate of food and very overpriced for what it was. We had read that Bocas was more expensive than other places in Panama.
The rain started just as we were finishing our breakfast but we decided to stick around and use the remainder of our 1 hour free WiFi. We then happened to see the guy who 'reserved' us the seats on the water taxi yesterday. He works selling shaved ice... too bad it started to rain and in general business was not going that well in the rainy season.
The rain was not easing off, if anything, it was getting harder so we made a dash for it using the shop canopies for shelter. David asked about diving in a couple of shops and it seems that visibility is only about 6m at this time of the year and price is around USD70 for a 2 tank dive. Being keen for business in the slow season, Maria could come along and snorkel for free.
The lady in the second dive shop gave us the run down on the weather - apparently rain is typical all year round, but now in Panama's rainy season it lasts for longer periods. If it starts to rain before midday, like today, then usually it doesn't ease off for the rest of the day. Mornings are usually dryer and if it rains in the afternoon, it is more periodical. So in summary, today we should grab a six pack of beer and watch the rain on the balcony.
David did have a beer but the rain did ease off, much to David's disappointment for his newly acquired knowledge of island weather. We went to Tourist Information office which was opposite our room. They had no maps but otherwise gave some good ideas for what we could do in the area. Afterwards we headed off towards the Central Park where there was a conservation booth selling tours to see the turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs - we will definitely do that but not tonight.
We walked to other end of town to the Saigon area, trying to find another accommodation we had been told about but with no luck. We carried on up the road and stumbled across the Bocas Brewery. With seven locally brewed beers on tap it makes for a difficult choice but fortunately they sold a 'flight' including a small taster glass of each one. They were surprisingly good.
We went to a small local no-frills cafe, El Chitré, for dinner. Rice, lentils, salad and meat of your choice for a quarter of the price of last night's dinner. They had the biggest jar of hot sauce on each table with what looked like Chinese soup spoons to ladle it out - it wasn't hot to taste but left a lingering numbness on the lips and in the mouth.
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