Cayo Zapatilla

We had a relaxed morning as the water wasn't working in the hostel so we couldn't take a shower 😁 For breakfast we checked out several places on the way to the departure of the tour and then decided for a little café that offered Eggs Benedict, which I've never tried before. So the last two days have been our splurge days 😅

Also the prices have been more budget friendly in Panamá compared to Costa Rica. The boat trip started almost on time and we went to the first spot, Dolphin bay. As the name implies you can usually see dolphins there at the right time of day. Even though it's not the main season anymore there was still a small pack of dolphins around. The guide said that they are usually more playful but with so many boats around they don't come out and jump. And it looked and felt like the many boats are stressing them while following the dolphins closely. In the end as our boat accelerated there were some jumping in the trail of waves the boat left. So it really was maybe just the impression we had 🤷‍♂️
The next stop was at the Cayo Zapatilla, one of the most famous spots in Bocas del Toro. And this is well deserved, the beaches are beautiful, clean and with fine white sand. We took a walk around the island which is only about 2.5km in circumference. The water is crystal clear at most parts and it looks just incredibly scenic with the palm trees hanging over the water 🥰 We spent about two hours overall walking, swimming and relaxing at the beach before continuing on to a restaurant on one of the islands. We had brought some chips that we had eaten at the beach, so we instead of lunch we explored the waters around it by snorkeling. There are a lot of coral reefs 🪸 , unfortunately there were also a lot of dead coral around the docks. But there are a lot of fish species anyways! 🐟🐠 Especially under the docks they were swarming in all colours... We were absolutely amazed by the variety and how close you are to the corals.

From there it was a short stop until the so-called Hollywood Island because of its many seastars ⭐ They were all over the seabed in so many different colours... Around 4 we came back to Bocas Town and quickly had a shower before boarding the water taxi back to Almirante. The day has been perfect with no rain and just a little bit of cloud cover when we did the walk. We hopped in Ruedi and were on the road again back south to the Pacific side. Finding a spot to park and sleep turned out to be a little difficult because the first option didn't have parking except next to the road. Then we asked at a hotel but they didn't have a bathroom available... So we continued on for another half an hour and parked behind a gas station. It was pretty secluded next to a (closed) bar and we had the spot to ourselves.Read more