Nov 7th 2007
We just got back from Bocas Del Toro (northeastern part of Panama on the Caribbean Sea) where we were for 3 sleeps and 4 days. On our second day, we went for a boat tour and saw dolphins, fish, coral, a sting ray, sea urchins, trees, water of all shades of blue and green, red frogs, crabs and mud. We started our tour at Dolphin Bay where we saw a baby dolphin swimming with a mother dolphin. And one of the dolphins that we saw had a partly bitten off fin. One of the other dolphins would slap its tail on the water. We aren’t sure why it was doing this, but he did it over and over again. We noticed that the dolphins would do 3 shallow dives, and then, put their tail way up in the air and deep dive.
We then went to Crawls Cay and went snorkeling. Josh said that he saw characters from “Sponge Bob” like Patrick, Sponge Bob, Mr. Crabbs and Plankton. The coral was cool. The water was salty and warm. Mom and I saw a big neon turquoise and purple fish. It was beautiful. I saw a large crab, but I was the only one that saw it. We saw green-neon, purple, orange, blue, black and gray coral.
We just got back from Bocas Del Toro (northeastern part of Panama on the Caribbean Sea) where we were for 3 sleeps and 4 days. On our second day, we went for a boat tour and saw dolphins, fish, coral, a sting ray, sea urchins, trees, water of all shades of blue and green, red frogs, crabs and mud. We started our tour at Dolphin Bay where we saw a baby dolphin swimming with a mother dolphin. And one of the dolphins that we saw had a partly bitten off fin. One of the other dolphins would slap its tail on the water. We aren’t sure why it was doing this, but he did it over and over again. We noticed that the dolphins would do 3 shallow dives, and then, put their tail way up in the air and deep dive.
We then went to Crawls Cay and went snorkeling. Josh said that he saw characters from “Sponge Bob” like Patrick, Sponge Bob, Mr. Crabbs and Plankton. The coral was cool. The water was salty and warm. Mom and I saw a big neon turquoise and purple fish. It was beautiful. I saw a large crab, but I was the only one that saw it. We saw green-neon, purple, orange, blue, black and gray coral.
Family snorkeling in Bocas Del Toro
After snorkeling, we went for lunch at a restaurant in the middle of Crawl Cay. At the restaurant, we saw a shark in captivity. The waiter threw our leftover lunch food off the dock and gave it to the fish. There were hundreds of fish fighting for some carbonara, spaghetti and chicken. Josh tried to catch a minnow with his hands to feed to the shark. But no such luck.
After lunch, we went to Red Frog Beach. We had to 5 minute walk from the dock on a secret path through some jungle to get to the beach. Tarzan could have lived here! The beach was amazing. At the beach we rented boogie boards. The waves were perfect for boogie boarding. When I was boogie boarding a wave caught me by surprise and I flipped over. Mom said she saw my legs go flying. I got salt water in my eyes. It sure hurt. I also swallowed some salt water and didn’t feel very good for a while. Don’t worry, I didn’t blow chunks! That flip made me a little afraid of going back in so I played in the sand for a bit by myself. The sand was velvety soft. Every time a wave would come, the sand under my feet would get sucked away back into the sea.
After snorkeling, we went for lunch at a restaurant in the middle of Crawl Cay. At the restaurant, we saw a shark in captivity. The waiter threw our leftover lunch food off the dock and gave it to the fish. There were hundreds of fish fighting for some carbonara, spaghetti and chicken. Josh tried to catch a minnow with his hands to feed to the shark. But no such luck.
After lunch, we went to Red Frog Beach. We had to 5 minute walk from the dock on a secret path through some jungle to get to the beach. Tarzan could have lived here! The beach was amazing. At the beach we rented boogie boards. The waves were perfect for boogie boarding. When I was boogie boarding a wave caught me by surprise and I flipped over. Mom said she saw my legs go flying. I got salt water in my eyes. It sure hurt. I also swallowed some salt water and didn’t feel very good for a while. Don’t worry, I didn’t blow chunks! That flip made me a little afraid of going back in so I played in the sand for a bit by myself. The sand was velvety soft. Every time a wave would come, the sand under my feet would get sucked away back into the sea.
Sydney and Josh at Red Frog Beach
Then we went to Hospital Point where mom and dad did some more snorkeling while Josh and I played on the beach.
We had quite a day. We celebrated Dad’s birthday that night by eating a lobster dinner. Yummy!
The next day we went to see some friends of ours, Emma, Easton, and Everett and their parents, Jody and Trent, that were staying across the bay from our hotel. Together we went to Starfish Beach for the day. We got to see and hold starfish of all shapes and sizes. We saw a starfish eating a slimy jellyfish. It was gross. Emma and I found around 100 sea shells on the beach. On the walk back from Starfish beach, Emma and I tried to catch a crab, but he was too fast for us! At the end of the day, we all went back to the Schmuland’s hotel for a swim in the pool. And all the kids played “Survivor” in a little lagoon tucked away behind a palm tree. We also had a sand ball fight. No one won, but boy we got dirty and gritty. We also played on the hammocks and tried to catch frogs. Josh is the only one that caught one.
Syd, Josh and Emma swimming
Hanging out at Dragoon Beach- Bocas Del Toro
Starfish Beach
Taxi ride, Bocas style
Survivor
We then had a great dinner in a cabana on the water at the end of the dock. I ate pasta, veggies, coleslaw, chicken, toast and spaghetti. I was hungry from all that playing.
The next morning, we took a water taxi back to the mainland and headed back to Boquete. Of course, when we returned, it was raining, again. We were able to go to one of the gardens in Boquete. It was surprisingly huge and beautiful. There were little paths to take everywhere. There were little bridges, fish ponds, water falls, streams, lots of people from all over the world, flowers, plants, pools, flower tunnels, playgrounds, houses, hotels and a look out.
Sydney and Josh at the Boquete garden -Oma you would love this place!
After the garden, we went to a coffee shop. I got an iced cappuccino. It was caffeine good!! My family thought I would go crazy, but I didn’t until that night, during a Dutch Blitz competition. Then I crashed hard.
“Oh, can I can feel the buzz!!”
And that was our little 4 day vacation.
2 comments:
Good Post! Thanks for keeping us updated. Glad you didn't blow chunks.
Yes, thanks for not blowing chunks. Sydney, I miss you so much and am so glad you're having such a wonderful time. Keep writting to let us know about everything you're doing. I hope to talk to you on the phone soon.
love you
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