Isla Bastimentos, Part III

Red Frog Beach

Today, like my other days here, I hopped off to the beach in the morning where I stayed until late in the afternoon (about 4pm I suppose).

I decided yesterday that I was going to hike to the beach in the other direction (west this time I think).  I was enjoying "my spot" so much that I failed to set out on my adventure at a reasonable time.  Since the sun sets early (in Panama, around 6.30 I think), 4pm really was too late to start an adventure.  I was not interested in struggling through the jungle at night without light.

The trail.

I still managed to see the next beach over, Wizard Beach, but I was only able to stay a few minutes.  The beach was very nice and I wish I could have spent more time there, but of course there's nothing I can do about that now.

This hike west was a bit harder than the hike east I went on yesterday.  My flip flops really weren't cut out for the short steep inclines, but I managed.

Along the way, I saw a number of red frogs.  The jungle is
rather dark, even at 4pm, so I had a bit of trouble
photographing them.

When I was very near Wizard Beach (the hike from the hostel to Wizard Beach is something like 45 minutes) I heard a sound and thought someone was going to meet me on the trail.  I was nervous until a cow stepped forward and surprised me.  I didn't know there were any cows on the island.

In fact, there was a whole heard of cows that had come to the ocean to drink.  I snapped a number of photographs, but the cows were skittish and retreated if I stepped forward.

I walked past the cows to arrive at Wizard Beach around 5 pm, too late to do anything other than sit on my towel a few minutes and watch the waves. When I arrived, there were a couple of small groups of people, but they soon left via water taxi and I had the beach to myself for a few minutes before I had to leave.

Tomorrow, the 31st, I fly back to San Jose and then take the bus to Montezuma.  Originally I was going to go to Quepos and visit Manuel Antonio National Park, but I decided that was too difficult.  And besides, I want to see monkeys and Montezuma has monkeys.  The only difference is that at Manuel Antonio I have to pay $10 entrance fee and in Montezuma I don't!

I love this picture!  It's such a juxtaposition with the cow at the
beach and the tiny islands in the background complete with
palm trees!

Heard of Cows

Wizard Beach on Isla Bastimentos

Isla Bastimentos 5.27.2011 - 5.30.2011

Monday, May 30th, 2011

It’s my last morning on Isla Bastimentos and it’s raining. I had planned an early morning trip to the beach one last time, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen unfortunately.

~~~~~

The rain has stopped and I’ve checked out of the hostel. I’ve gone back down to the beach one last time. Because of the rain, the ocean is overflowing. The tide is coming up much more than it usually does at this time of day. And I’m left, sitting on a fallen, bleached tree, feeling very sad. I’m sad to be leaving; the beaches here are probably the best I’ve experienced. I’m sad I’m all alone and lonely; I have no one to share this experience with. No one I show pictures to later will understand.

I have so much to tell of my experience here on Isla Bastimentos that I don’t even know where to start - I suppose I will write chronologically, starting with the water taxi gone wrong.

From Isla Colon, I hopped on a water taxi to Red Frog Marina on Isla Bastimentos. Sadly, I was confused. Pretty much everything on this island is named for a small red frog with black spots on its back. For example, I am now sitting on Red Frog Beach. The hostel I’m staying in is owned by Red Frog Resort. So of course when the guy asked if I wanted to go to Red Frog Marina, it sounded right.

I arrived in the tiny village, called Old Bank, expecting to see a sign directing me to the hostel. Unable to figure out where to go, I asked a woman passing by. I was on the wrong part of the island and would have to take another water taxi to where I wanted to go. She pointed to a red boat a short distance away. A man on the porch of his stilted house intercepted me and said he could take me on his boat for $8. He said $8 was the best he could do for 1 person, gas being as expensive as it is. He wouldn’t be able to take anyone back on the return trip. Realizing I had little choice, I agreed.

The man readied his boat (which meant he emptied the bottom of water). I got in and he started the boat. After about 30 seconds, the man stopped at a stilted building a few doors down to get gas from a man sitting in a foldup chair. Most buildings are on stilts on these islands. The man zipped through the mangroves and to the correct dock. 
 
From there I easily found my hostel - there isn't much on that side of the island.
 

~~~~~

 

I settled in and then put on my swimsuit.  I didn't want to waste any time getting to the beach.  I put on sunscreen and then set off down the path through the jungle to Red Frog Beach.

The beach is quite amazing.  I wasn't sure what to think at first.  I went down to the beach around 10.30, but there was no one else there.  It felt strange to be the only person on the beach at a completely reasonable hour.  Rather than turning right (which would have taken me to the beach lounge), I turned left.  Still  sunburned from Playa Estrella, I wanted shade.  I found myself a little nook between some trees and settled in.

"My" spot on the beach.

Despite applying sunscreen and spending the day in the shade (and moving with the shade), I became even more sunburned.  Painfully so.  I am over being sunburned, I really am, especially since I've been making an effort to NOT become sunburned.

As soon as I noticed I was burned, I went ahead and packed up to go back to the hostel and take a shower. I had planned on spending the whole day at the beach, but I only made it until about 3pm.