BOCAS DEL TORO WITH NANA AND PAPA STONEY

We are so  grateful  to have Greg's parents visiting us in Panama (our first visitors!). Karen and Ed Stoney flew from the U.S. to Panama City, and then took another short flight to Bocas del Toro, where we met up with them.  Greg, Monica and I drove from Boquete to Almirante (just 3 1/2 hours), then took a boat from Almirante to Bocas.  The Caribbean archipelago of Bocas del Toro is beautiful, and there is so much to see, do, and explore.

We had the pleasure of staying at La Loma Jungle Lodge, a small solar-powered ecolodge with 4 cabins, located within the jungle on Isla Bastimentos.  The lodge is only accessible by boat, and a wonderful ambiance is created by the open-walled  wood cabins.  All meals are served at the lodge, with a majority of the fresh and local ingredients grown on site.  We all thoroughly enjoyed our 4 night stay at La Loma Jungle Lodge, and it was a special treat to be together on Thanksgiving.  

Some of the trip highlights included going to bed and waking up to loud thunderstorms and jungle noises, seeing white-faced monkeys, sloths, and poison dart frogs, a short climb up to the water pools, kayaking through the area's mangroves, jungle hikes, a visit to the Bahía Honda public school to donate school and art supplies, a trip to Sloth Island, snorkeling around Starfish Island and Coral Cay, a visit to Red Frog Beach, and a boat trip to the beautiful palm studded Zapatilla Island.  Our last day culminated with one of our favorite excursions - an incredible boat trip through the mangroves where we saw sloths and caimans and ended up walking through the jungle of a small Ngäbe indigenous finca to explore the bat caves.  

Our time spent with Nana and Papa Stoney was wonderful, and we will certainly treasure these adventures we had together!

LA LOMA JUNGLE LODGE

Early mornings and late afternoons were spent sitting in the hammocks of our La Loma cabin.  The cabins did not have walls and were open to the jungle.  It was such a treat to be able to wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night listening to the sounds of the jungle.

Our first morning we woke up to several white-faced monkeys in the trees outside of our cabin.

Montezuma Oropendola

Red Ti plants

Throughout our stay we spotted several different poison dart frogs.

Poison dart frog

Monica and Matt getting ready to do some kayaking.

Monica on her kayak

Nana and Papa Stoney are happy to be in the jungle!

Mangroves at La Loma Jungle Lodge

I was fortunate to capture this hummingbird on the torch ginger - such a beautiful sight!

Monica enjoying some hammock time

Matt enjoying some hammock time

Monica, Christina and Matt in the jungle

Love the bright colors and spots on this poison dart frog!

These palms, with their red colored trunks, are gorgeous!

Locals in Bocas del Toro paddle wooden canoes as their main form of transportation.

We spotted these beautiful oropenolas throughout the La Loma Jungle Lodge property.

Matt was thrilled to be able to hold this bright red poison dart frog.

Each day we came across various sloths at La Loma Jungle Lodge.  Unlike most, this particular sloth was moving around quite a bit.

Monica and Matt enjoying the hammocks at Nana and Papa's cabin in the jungle

HIKING UP TO THE POOLS

Even Nana and Papa made the steep and slippery treck up to the pools!

Monica on her way up to the pools

A CHALLENGING (BUT FUN) HIKE WITH NANA AND PAPA

Nana, Papa, and I decided to go for it and hiked the most difficult trail at La Loma Jungle Lodge.  The trails were steep and muddy, but the hike was well worth the challenge and was absolutely gorgeous.

The jungle at its best!  We loved trekking through these twisty and curvy vines.

All of the juices served at La Loma Jungle Lodge are freshly squeezed, and these naranjillo fruits, typical of Panama, provided some of the best.  

Towards the end of our hike, we were pleasantly rewarded with the sight of these small natural pools of water.

There is a chocolate farm on La Loma Jungle Lodge's property, and all of the chocolate served during our stay came from these cacao trees.  

Exotic mushrooms seen on our hike

A VISIT TO ESCUELA BAHÍA HONDA

La Loma Jungle Lodge helps support the nearby indigenous (Ngäbe) community of Bahía Honda by assisting with various educational projects.  Our family purchased needed school supplies (pencil sharpeners, scissors, water color paints and brushes...etc.) and donated them to the school.  The small school, which serves grade 1-6, is set back from the water and is only accessible by boat.  This is the sight as we pull up to get to the school.

This is the small school of the Bahía Honda community.

Students are listening as I'm sharing the reason for our visit and showing the school supplies.

AN EXCURSION THROUGH THE BEAUTIFUL ARCHIPELAGO OF BOCAS DEL TORO

The caribbean influence is shown in the thatched houses of the Bocas del Toro area. 

Beautiful water in the Bocas del Toro area

A QUICK STOP AT  ISLA PEREZOSO (SLOTH ISLAND)  

Our guide quickly spotted this one.

Monica and Matt are excited to find a sloth.

STARFISH ISLAND

This is Starfish Island.  It is basically a clump of trees, and at first sight, didn't seem like much; however, it ended up being one of the highlights of our day.  Snorkeling around the mangroves of this very small island proved to be a very special treat.

This small island got its name because several brightly orange colored starfish are seen in the area around the mangroves.

An underwater picture of marine life around the mangroves.

A nice variety of shapes and colors were seen around the mangroves of Starfish Island.

Greg was able to capture a photo of this barracuda.

Underwater beauty!

This purple and yellow colored coral is stunning.

CORAL CAY 

We had an opportunity to snorkel around Coral Cay then stop at a local restaurant on the water where we set up our picnic lunch provided by La Loma Jungle Lodge.

The Stoney Clan (Nana and Papa Stoney along with Christina, Greg, Monica & Matt)

After lunch, Greg and Matt threw some food into the water and enjoyed watching a fish feeding frenzy.

RED FROG BEACH

Roger, our boat driver and guide for the day, was kind enough to make a final stop at Red Frog Beach.  We were dropped off at a dock and took a nice 10 minute stroll through the jungle to get there, and the scenery along the way was spectacular.

Red Frog Beach

Greg and Monica on their way to swim in the waves.

ISLA ZAPATILLA

Isla Zapatilla is a palm studded island that is part of the archipelago of Bocas del Toro.  The sand is white, the water is beautiful, and the snorkeling in the area can be quite good.

Isla Zapatilla

Greg walking through the lush and tropical forest of Isla Zapatilla

We found a nice spot to have our picnic lunch.

Monica 

Greg enjoying a nice boat ride, with beautiful waters around Zapatilla Island.

BAT CAVES

Our final excursion while in Bocas del Toro was a thrilling boat ride throughout the jungle clad mangroves, with the bat caves being our final destination.  Milton was our boat driver and guide for the day, and his knowledge, patience and expertise made for an unforgettable experience.

Milton turned off the boat motor, and we slowly drifted and paddled the boat through the mangroves looking for birds, caimans, sloths and any other interesting creatures we could find.

Milton was an incredible guide and spotted 2 different caimans.

Caimans can be difficult to find, as they blend in with the muddy waters around the mangroves and barely seem to lift their heads out of the water.

Nana and Papa are prepared to walk through the forest (in the rain) on our way to the bat caves.

Beautiful red and purple colors on this pineapple

It was raining during our walk to the bat caves.  Sloths, such as this one,  tend to curl up in the rain, making it difficult to see their faces.  This sloth did not move at all and just appeared to be one big ball of fur attached to a tree branch.

This little boy was waking behind us on our way to the bat caves.

Monica and Matt following our guide, Milton, through the lush and tropical forest as we head to the bat caves.

A typical Ngäbe home in this area

We finally arrive at the bat caves, head on in, and wade through the water wearing our knee high rubber boots, hard hats, and headlamps.  

The number of bats was astounding!

We waded through the water as we explore the bat caves, and the further we traveled, the deeper the water got.  At one point, water was filling all of our boots, and Matt was chest deep.

This specimen found at the bat caves was quite large!

The bat caves were pitch black, but when we shined our headlamps above, beautiful stalagtites could be seen.

Monica and Matt follow our guide, Milton, as we head into the bat cave.

Greg and his parents (Ed and Karen Stoney) in front of the entrance to the bat cave.

Christina and Greg in front of a beautiful bamboo tree we encountered while walking back from the bat caves.

Matt and Monica were thrilled to be given some fresh sugar cane after our bat cave adventure - a nice ending to a great day!