bocas, day two

Nadiv woke up at 7:30 to the soothing Caribbean sounds of children screaming right outside our door. I slept until 9:30.

We spent the morning in Bocas Town doing some business. We got money from the ATMs, which were thankfully working. We had a delicious breakfast (our first tasty meal in this country) next to two New Yorkers, who gladly shared all their advice on the islands. We bought some super-power bug spray and I got to do internet. We also walked to the airport and bought plane tickets to get back to Panama City. Nadiv was quietly outraged that the transaction took a whole hour and decided that he doesn't like "island time." I have no sense of time so it did not bother me.

We spent the afternoon at Red Frog Beach, which has regular beach sand and big waves a lots of people. We spotted our first two Israeli guys which I consider a big accomplishment. We have seen far fewer Israelis than I counted on. It has been rather disappointing.

We took a long walk up the beach away from people. The shore was littered with fallen trees, but the sand was clean and the effect was beautiful wilderness. We saw some snails on trunks, took some pictures, and marveled at nature. We walked quite a ways until the sand gave way to jungle and there was no way to pass without starting a trek. The way back was much faster and we saw a red frog in the bushes!

After that, I spread out the sarongs and tried to read on the beach while Nadiv played in the water. He almost died in a riptide but got out just in time. I say, "almost died" because that was what I was thinking the whole time while standing on the shore and trying to wave him in. He wasn't noticing (or caring) that everyone else had gotten out of the water. He also didn't hear the people next to me whistling and shouting. A Caribbean dude was walking up to groups of people asking if Nadiv was with them, and when I said that he was my boyfriend, he busted out a string of urgent Spanish that I understood as, "He is about to drown and must get out now." (I have no idea if that's what was said.) Eventually Nadiv noticed me waving and got out, probably about five minutes later, but since I have no sense of time and was on the verge of panic, it seemed like an eternity. What was going through my head was this: I have taken my lovely boyfriend to a beautiful island and now I have to watch him float away into the ocean. Dramatic? I know.

The riptide experience put a damper on the whole beach vibe, so we left to find a new hotel. On Isla Bastimentos we found an awesome place right on the water for dirt cheap. Nadiv met a local girl and fell in love with her. Her name was Naomi. You might think that I was jealous but she was only seven years old.

Back on Isla Careneros, the sunset from Los Balcones was stunning and we chatted with the owner while watching from the dock. We took showers and then Nadiv folded the twenty shirts he brought and tried on each one. He ended up with -- surprise! -- a black Polo tee.

We ate dinner at the worst Thai restaurant ever, Lemongrass. If you should happen to find yourself on Isla Colon in Bocas del Toro, do not go there. Not only was the food not Thai, it tasted bad. They even fucked up fried calamari rings, which Nadiv says is nearly impossible to do. (Have you ever had bad onion rings?)

After dinner we played cards on la balcone of Los Balcones. The breeze off the water felt great even though it was blowing the cards around. Nadiv accidentally got the night guard to make him a rum and coke. Then he busted out the Smirnoff Ices he bought on the main island and drank like a real man.