We crammed in along with about 25 other people into a 20-seater mini bus at the bus terminal in David. A few people climbed onto cushions in the front, Bex sat on one of the fold-down seats in the aisle and Brad sat on the stairs near the door. It was a bit cramped but the bus attendant organized us well, a nursing mother pulled out her nipple for the baby, a pinata and cake were gently packed in, and everyone seemed content for the long ride. People jumped on and off at the villages along the way, but we stayed on for the whole four hours. As the bus climbed up into the Chiriqui mountains, the lush greenery thickened around us, exotic red plants exploded skyward like fiery torches, and the humid air gave in to a cool rain shower until we were enshrouded in fog. After coming back down the mountain to the coastal lands off the Caribbean, we left our bus and jumped onto one of the wooden benches of a water taxi, the small shaded speed boat that would take us 45 minutes off the mainland to Panama's well-known island getaway of Bocas Del Toro.

Bocas del Toro is the name of the state, the archipelago and of the town on the main island, Isla Colon. The town is also called Bocas town and most travelers in Panama excitedly talk about 'Bocas', meaning the whole area that so many visitors have come to love. Upon first docking in Bocas Town, we noticed the small town Carribean atmosphere. Around the grassy main square, there were only a few quiet streets running parallel to the water, dotted with colorful old homes interspersed with low lying hotels, cabinas and cafes. It's the kind of town where everyone knows each other, and after just a few days we were waving 'Buenos Dias' and stopping to chat in the street with all the travelers and locals that we had met. We spent leisurely mornings swinging in hammocks, and late nights drinking and dancing on the wooden docks at the Wreck Deck bar, staring down at the shipwreck sunk below the water. We had a great time with a Panamanian friend Alejandro, a local surfer named Alex, an American sailor named Brian, and especially two crazy Chicago guys Julian and Rich, who became great new friends of ours.

Though Bocas Town is the main village, the main attractions in Bocas are the surrounding beaches, islands, and clear warm waters. Julian joined us to explore some unknown shores one afternoon in our own kayak adventure. After swimming off their dock and jumping on their floating trampoline, we rented kayaks from Cap'n Dons water sports shop and paddled for hours across the ocean to a secluded beach. To go with the ceviche lunch that we'd brought over, the boys got some help from a passing local to crack open a coconut and then we had a snorkel over the fish and squid crowded coral. The other best way we found to enjoy Bocas was with a day trip boat tour. A few companies offer these day trips, but because we went with Boteros Unidos, we had a small group of just five people on our comfortable boat for the day. We cruised far out into the archipelago to see dolphins swimming, then onto snorkeling and lunch at the floating restaurant of Coral Cay, and finally to relax at gorgeous Red Frog Beach, a short walk through the jungles of Bastimentos Island National Park, the only place in the world where the tiny, bright-red poison-dart frogs live. And if the day could get any more idyllic, we then comfortably retired from it at Hotel Tierra Verde on Isla Carenero, a very rustic and quiet island. The wonderful owners of the Tierra Verde had built a home just back from the water and made it into a cozy bed and breakfast where we spent two very tranquil nights. We strolled along the water and through the local village on Isla Carenero and personally renamed the island Crab Island, as we had never seen so many crabs in one place! They were always too shy to let us get very close to them, but we had fun watching them wave their one huge claw at us in defense.