Boca Brava Chiriqui Panama

Is Island Paradise

Our Journey Begins to Boca Brava Chiriqui

Today is a huge multi-transport travel day as we leave from Bocas Del Toro and journey to Boca Brava Chiriqui. We have to go from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, so we are up at 6:00 am.

Locked In

Unfortunately, it is still raining and the whole accommodation property is locked up. Even at the front gate. Oh no – we can’t get out! I have to do something or else this will turn out to be a bad start to what we hoped would be a great experience. In such moments, travel experts would advise you calm down and think straight. Failure to do that would see you overreacting and wasting more time. I hope our family travel adventures today will not be delayed by this.

Taxi

After 15 minutes we decide to knock on a few doors and this works, but who knows who we woke up meanwhile.

By 7:30 am we walk out and instantly get a taxi. We feel thankful for this because it seems without the help of locals we don’t have much joy getting taxis here.

Water Taxi

We head to the docks and again instantly get a water taxi, so we are feeling like we have the right start.

My son gets to sit at the front of the boat and he is pleased. It is a bit choppy with the weather. Life jackets are few, which means there are people who fail to get them but they are hanging off the front seat so we should be fine.

Sunglasses Overboard

And then suddenly my sunglasses fly overboard. I am not as happy as they were my last prescription pair and I need them to see properly. thank goodness I have travel insurance!

We then taxi to the bus stop at Almirante (meaning Admiral) -and again it is a rush with no wait. But this means no time for the toilet.

The Winding Road

It is a mid-size coach – on a mission.

The co-driver refuses to stop for the restroom when I ask. My son is not feeling well, and I need a toilet.  We wind through the hills. The driver plays an M or R rated movie regardless of the fact that there are kids on the bus which happens a lot in Central and South America. I tell my son not to watch, but he is too ill and he doesn’t want to close his eyes as he will be sick.

One Sick Kid

When the bus finally stops, my son rushes to the bathroom to be sick and I am not far behind him. We have luckily met a lady on the first water taxi from Canada. She has sat with us and is talking about taking the bus to Boca Brava Chiriqui tonight. She originally had other plans but changes them, and she thankfully is able to help with our bags. We move to the front of the coach when I explain about my son vomiting.

Christian Kindness

Finally, we reach the bus terminal at David. We sit in our now regular table at our cafe at the bus depot – “we have become locals” we joke as this is our fourth visit. We are told we have to wait 1/2 hour for the bus to Horconcitos.

The minivan driver seems to like me which works to our benefit. We get a seat right at the front. He buys my son M&M’s and he is very kind.  This is the first kindness we have seen from strangers here and then we find out he is a Christian.

Food traders come to the window and we buy snacks for the trip – we had this in Fiji and it is common with buses.

The wait for the minivan ends up being over 1.5 hours until it is full and we head off. We leave and listen to his lovely Christian Spanish music and talk. He helps us stop the connecting bus to Boca Chica and we are off instantly. This driver will then swap us to Boca Brava Chiriqui transportation.

Beware The Exploiter

Weirdly then, the driver stops at a person and his home. I cannot tell if it was a male or a female which adds an element of mystery to this. They both tell us there is no food or water where we are going. They offer to take us in their truck to get supplies.  This is weird and it doesn’t feel right.

I tell our new travel companion that this does not add up with what I had researched about the island Boca Brava Chiriqui. I had earlier done so much research on our destination and discovered a lot about it.

I was sure there was at least a restaurant on Boca Brava Chiriqui. So we take our chance and leave. We pass a huge number of cafes and supply stores as we go and I feel sure we will have food and water there.

Water Taxi

The driver drops us at yet another water taxi for the day, and we head off again. As we arrive, I feel better. It looks like Boca Brava Chiriqui does have supplies.

Steps To Paradise

It also has about 100 steps that we have to climb to get our luggage to our room!

We check in and decide to share a room with Lynda, our new travel friend from Canada who will stay one night here. We stop and refresh ourselves with a drink and a bite to eat, and we end up sitting around for a while as we feel so relaxed.  Lynda and I talk and laugh and its great to have adult company.

We meet new travelers and make friends with the guys that later arrive too. Soon there is a bunch of us all sitting around like old friends.

Hotel Boca Brava

We head to our room and it is an ocean view set on a hilltop. We can see right out to the other islands. The breeze and the view are so lovely. This is a private island so this is it for accommodation. It has a fan and a private bathroom. Lynda has her own half to the room too, so that is nice.

 

Exploring The Island

We decide to go exploring and in the hope of finding the beach some distance away. We hear some howler monkeys and we hope to get a glimpse of the monkeys at sunset. Beautiful blue butterflies the size of sparrow birds fly past us. It is nearly dark – we can’t find the beach and so we head back.

Dinner

Dinner is at the Hotel Boca Brava Restaurant. It has great prices and the food is good. The new friends are fabulous to talk to and the breeze and the view are to die for. It’s a great night and we are so happy and our stay here turns out to be one of the best memories for us.

Our friend decides she is not leaving in the morning – she will stay another day. This is so quiet – it is a piece of paradise. It is a bit of a mixed crowd.

As we chat into the night, I know the next few days are going to be so relaxing. This is so far the nicest place to stay in when you visit Panama.

Questions and Comments

• Have you been ti Panama before?
• Did you visit Bova Brava Chirique island?
• How was your experience?
• Do share your comments with us below.

Boca Brava Chiriqui

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