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We got up and packed our things since we were moving hotels today and as we were packing noticed the electricity, and therefore water, was out. We asked around the hotel and I guess it was scheduled to be out until noon for some maintenance, but of course they didn't tell any of the guests about it :) No big deal, we still could have breakfast, so we ate and then left our bags at the hotel while we went off to go diving. We showed up just in time to get all of our equipment and get on the boat, which turned out to be the smallest scuba boat ever (just a long motorboat with bench seats and a few spots to put our tanks).
Since our boat was so small, we had to go back to the docks to change in our empty tanks for new ones. After a 20 minute break, we were off to the 2nd dive spot. We got in the water and were headed down, when Mario signalled to go back up. He said the air in his tank was tasting funny and so I tried it and agreed - it tasted like a faintly like the smell of WD-40 or some kind of oil or gasoline. Our guide finally came to the top when she realized we weren't there and she tried it and thought it seemed fine. We both disagreed and were about to just head back to the boat when she told Mario to just switch tanks and vests with her and she'd use it.
After the dives, we grabbed some lunch and headed back to our hotel to check out and pick up our stuff. By this time, the mid-day sun is beating down on us and the last thing we want to do is carry our full packs! Luckily, we didn't have too far to go - just a short walk back into town and then a 2 minute water taxi ride across to the island of Carneros. We thought we were staying at a place called Tierra Verde, but as it turned out, we actually were booked about 2 hotels down the beach at Casa Acuario (Mario had made so many phone calls yesterday trying to find us a room that we were understandably confused!). Anyways, we lucked out and Casa Acuario turned out to be amazing. Our room is attached to the dock and right over the top of the water. We can hear the waves crashing all around and we have gorgeous views from every window. Another bonus is that the owner is super laid back and friendly and so are the other guests. We took a dip in the water to cool off from all of our backpacking, and I settled in at the deck with a book (Mario wants me to mention that I stole the book from our last hotel, but I think of it as a book exchange with out a book to give in return). Either way, he "stole" one too. Mario took a ton of pictures all around and we're thinking of trying to make a deal with the owner :)
We're looking forward to another beautiful day tomorrow and plan to pretty much relax all day and rest up before a big travel day on Sunday. Day 17 - Bocas del Toro < | Index | Photo Galleries | > Day 19 - Bocas del Toro © 2007 Blue Ocean Studios, LTD. All rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Services | About | Contact Prints | Return Policy | View Cart World Travel Galleries | World Travel Blog | Links |
Another amazing day in Bocas del Toro...We woke up to a beautiful blue sky with very little clouds and calm seagreen waters. I have to say thanks to Dani and Neal for recommending this place! 
We had heard the diving wasn't that great from a couple of guys staying at our hotel last night, so we had low expectations on what we would see. I have to say it turned out to not be so bad! On our first dive, we went down about 55 feet and were under for 50 minutes. In that time, we saw a ton of coral that came in all different shapes and colors. There had to be every color of the rainbow (our favorite was one that was half bright blue and half bright orange). Another cool one were tall tubes that are bluish purple. There weren't too many fish to see compared to other dives we've been on, but we did manage to spot a few large schools of fish. 
We didn't think it was a good idea for anyone to use the "bad air", but she insisted and we finally just said OK. Needless to say, she ended up being fine, but to us, it wasn't worth the risks (that's good Scuba training! :))!! On that dive we ended up seeing a couple more exciting fish - one being a huge barracuda that was swimming off in the distance. To me, it looked big enough that I thought it might be a dolphin! Second, our guide pointed out a shark that was napping under a large coral reef. We couldn't really see the whole body to know how long it was, but I can tell you, I wasn't about to hang around to find out! 
We went to dinner at what is known as the best restaurant on the island (there are only 3...), the Sunset Grill. You have to walk there along the little paths on the island and on the way we passed through a lot of small houses up on stilts that the locals live in. Beneath the houses there is blackish/brownish smelly and dirty water with who knows what in it - no wonder they are all on stilts! We took the long way there, not knowing which way to go. We ate dinner with another couple who is staying at our hotel and the food was definitely worthy of calling it the best. We had to have the dessert - a fresh banana bread with baileys and ice cream on top! The other couple knew how to get back the short way and a random friendly dog joined up with us to escort us back :) 