We knew that there were beautiful beaches and locations in Panama, especially in this area of the country, so we decided to hire our favorite Bocas driver Julio to take us out to one of them.
We had met Julio on our first day in Bocas and appreciated his willingness to meet our version of Spanglish with his version of Spanglish. We felt like locals yesterday when he gave us a friendly Central American beep-beep as we mutually recognized each other in passing on the street.
We have overhead others refer to us as “la familia” so we may be somewhat recognizable around here. Most other foreigners in town are pairs, retirees or similarly aged friends.
Julio drove us out to the Southeast end of the island where he dropped us off at a water taxi to get to a beach he assured us was very beautiful and “muy tranquillo“. The beach was called Playa Estrella which translates to Starfish Beach.
It wasn’t long before the kids spotted the first native starfish on the beach. There were a number of signs in several languages reminding visitors not to touch them (which seemed unnecessary to this band of cautious Adventurers but heeded nonetheless).
During our few hours at the beach, Dad floated and enjoyed several cervezas and Mom tasted one of the worst excuses for a Mojito. Los niños splashed in the balmy water amidst big and little fish.
The kids also discovered that $5 and a little bit of luck can find them riding ANOTHER banana taxi. You may remember this one in July in Minnesota. Sometimes it’s easy to see how things here are different from our normal life – but clearly banana taxis are universal.
These plastic lounge chairs slid easily into the warm water and provided a refreshing seat. The proximity to several beachside kitchens made it simple to request food and beverages and made us all very content to spend la tarde.
Dad was able to angle for a fresh curry picante salsa for the patacones that was terrific.
We finished the sun-drenched day back in town at a picnic table eating cena at a dockside restaurant steps from the “penthouse”. We had so much fun today!
Muy tranquillo – very tranquil
La familia – the family
Cervezas – beer
Los Niños – the kids
La tarde – the afternoon
Picante – spicy
Patacones – fried plantains
El Gordo – The Fat One
Cena – dinner
5 Adventures Together 
2 thoughts on “Bocas del Toro, Panama; Day 3”