Ringing in 2019 on Bocas del Toro

Panama – December 2018

On December 31, 2018 I complete my first overland border crossing outside of Europe. I take a minibus from Puerto Viejo, CR to Almirante, PA. From there I change to a speedboat which takes me to the main island Colon. The boat is crammed with people and there are not enough life jackets for everyone. Fortunately, we all survive the 1 hour ride and arrive safely. Originally, I was going to stay at a hotel in Bocas, the only city on Colon island. However, by the time I wanted to book the room, all of the places were already full or way too expensive. The next best option was booking a room on Isla Bastimentos.

So I am now taking another boat to the bigger, less populated island. The small motor boat would normally fit about 8 people, except one of the other passengers brought a huge mattress which is wider than the vessel and takes up half of its length. Nobody seems to be impressed by it though and once everybody takes a seat, the captain unties the rope and starts the motor. We’re racing out of the harbour and along another island. The mattress is now aggressively flapping up and down to the point I fear it will just fly off. The captain slows down the boat, but one of the other passengers is not having it. He simply jumps on the mattress and weighing it down with his body weight, he tells the captain to speed up.

We arrive at Isla Bastimentos after around 10 minutes and I pay the captain 1 Dollar. I walk down the single street in Old Bank, where my hostel is located. To my left there are houses built on stilts directly at the waterfront and behind the buildings to my right, the lush green jungle begins. I reach the Dreamcatcher Hostel a little while later and walk up the stairs to the entrance where the owner Fabi greets me warmly.

I am shown to my room which I share with 3 other guests who are all out for the day. I unpack my bag and then head to the restaurant area. Tosh, Fabi’s boyfriend, invites me to the big New Year’s Eve dinner with all guests. I gladly accept and spend the rest of the afternoon on the terrace, reading my book and occasionally letting my gaze drift over the incredibly blue ocean. Gradually all the other guests return from their day surfing at Red Frog Beach or hiking in the jungle. I meet Charlotte from France who’s currently working at an orphanage in Bogotá, Dario who’s a graphic designer from Quito and Victoria and Bruno from Brazil.

We help Fabi set up the table for dinner and I briefly chat to Swiss family with two little boys who’s not staying at the hostel, but heard about Tosh’s cooking skills. Tonight Spanish is the common language and I enjoy learning about all the places I am still to visit on my journey south. The meal of fish, rice and vegetables is delicious too and I couldn’t be happier. At around 9pm Fabi asks us if we wanted to join her and Tosh to go partying on the main island. Their friend has a boat and would take all of us. Of course we agree and half an hour later we’re off to the private jetty.

The night is warm and humid – just what you’d expect from a caribbean island. The whole town is out on the streets, music is playing from every bar and there are food stalls selling empanadas and meat skewers. Fabi shows us her favourite bar and we enjoy the fresh air from the ceiling fan, while Bruno gets everyone a round of drinks. We’re dancing the night away and shortly before midnight, Tosh calls us out on the main square, as there is a firework scheduled for 00.00. The first hours of 2019 we spend bar crawling from one place to another, drinking rum and dancing salsa.

At around 4am Fabi’s friend calls and tells us he will soon drive back to Bastimentos for the last time. So we quickly pick up some empanadas on the way to the terminal and hop into the boat. In the middle of the ride back it starts to rain and with the mist of the waves, all of us are soaking wet by the time we arrive at the hostel. Fortunately, the air is still warm and we sit on the terrace to dry before going to bed. 

That’s one of the most memorable New Year’s parties I have experienced during the past years. Read here how we spent the first day of 2019 in Bocas del Toro.