Red Frog Beach- Bocas del Toro, Panama

Most people would probably arrive to a place with some sort of a plan, an idea of where they might stay and what they might do, but not us.

After crossing the border at Sixaloa, Costa Rica, to Guabito, Panama completely unaware of what that experience would be like, we found ourselves squished aboard a mini van of young travelers destined for Bocas del Toro. We did, at least, know that we wanted to get there.

Upon arriving in Bocas on the main island, Isla Colon, our mini-van group became divided. I felt torn, and not quite sure what I should do. Stay with the pack? Ask someone to quickly use their Lonely Planet? We had met some nice girls traveling from Ireland and England who had been living in Liberia and teaching there. They heard that Aqua Lounge was the place to stay and so between the shouting boat men who were eager for our fare and the encouragement of our new found friends, we ended up crossing over to Isla Bastimentos.

Upon our arrival at Aqua Lounge, whose sign can be seen from across the water, I noticed the eclectic mix of individuals hanging out on the deck, in the bar, and around the pool. The vibe of Aqua Lounge is definitely relaxed and inviting. Local children swim around the hostel and jump on the water trampoline, while taking turns climbing up the ladders and splashing into the deck’s unique cut-out ocean pool, swinging off the large suspended wooden swings out into the ocean or into the pool, and doing cannonballs of the roof’s diving board.

From the moment we stepped onto the dock here, I felt welcome. However, the best part of my trip came on my second day at Agua Lounge when I met the famous Mr. Flowers of Bocas. After attempting to dance with a Panamanian man who was too drunk to dance for his own good, Mr. Flowers took my hand and we salsa’d all about the deck. He was an excellent dancer and it was shocking to find out later that he was in his sixties; his figure and manner would have you believe otherwise. Mr. Flowers is Panamanian and worked most of his life as an accountant in Panama City, but somewhere in between he found time to study and live in Cuba, in Haiti, in Washington D.C. and a handful of other countries. After living to work, he decided that it wasn’t the life he wanted any more and so he moved to Bocas where he’s lived for three years.

Walking around the main island with him, you would think that he had lived there forever. Nearly everyone we passed yelled his name, and he joked with them or said hello. In our talks, he told me about helping out with the construction of Aqua Lounge. He actually held his breath and swam 20+ feet below the water to shoot a gun which created the holes for the posts that hold up the building. He did all the electric work and plumbing in the hostel, and helped out with designing the cool cut-out pool in the deck, though he wanted it to be an octagon instead of round. Some day, Mr. Flowers wants to have his own place in Bocas, but for now he acts as the personal welcome wagon there and can be seen there working and mingling from sunup to sundown. The coolest part of my bonding experience with Mr. Flowers, who could be a public speaker, or a preacher, or just a consultant for the soul was that he gave me a glass bottle that he found on the island and loved. It has a round bottom and the words “Belfast” on one side and “Ross S” on the other. I did a little research and found out that it was made in the 1850-1870’s and shipped to Commonwealth countries like Australia, Canada, and India.

While the scenery alone would have been an incredible experience, my trip to Bocas was complete when I met Mr. Flowers.

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Filed under: News on May 19th, 2008