After an epic fail by the bus driver – he forgets to pick us up from our hostel – we fork out for a taxi to take us the hundred miles to Santa Catalina on the Pacific coast. His company admits liability and our fare is refunded but we’re $50 down on the deal so I spend the morning writing them the shittiest TripAdvisor review ever.
Our taxi driver is much more reliable, he's also the most dexterous man on earth. He can drive, eat, chat to his pals, update his Facebook status and take photos all at the same time. The photos are of us, he obviously doesn’t get a fare like this very often and wants it recorded for posterity.
He’s a lovely bloke, we just wish he’d slow down a little bit.
The tribulations of the journey are soon forgotten when we arrive at our digs in Santa Catalina. The owner, Darcy, an entrepreneurial Canadian has designed and built the guesthouse on a hilltop overlooking the ocean. He’s done a terrific job, it’s the prettiest place in town with a stunning location and because we found it on AirB&B fairly inexpensive too. Which is always good.
The next day we take a boat tour over to Coiba Island with our Aussie and German housemates, Matt & Liz and Clemens & Toni (guess which ones are the Germans).
Coiba is the largest island in Central America. It’s so big that the majority of the densely forested interior is yet to be mapped. Initially it seems like any other tropical paradise, but go beyond the palm fringed beaches (which we don’t) and you come to a very different place with a dark and violent history. Between 1919 and 2004 it was home to Panama’s most notorious penal colony. Conditions were brutal and thanks to the tides and surrounding jungle, escape impossible.
The reputation of the inmates of this latino Alcatraz was so fearsome that the armed guards would lock themselves in their own cells at night for protection.
The reputation of the inmates of this latino Alcatraz was so fearsome that the armed guards would lock themselves in their own cells at night for protection.
The scuba diving in these waters is exceptional but it’s pricey so we make do with snorkelling instead. Matt works in marine conservation and has lots of fancy underwater filming gear so we get some fab shots of the reef residents.
A titan triggerfish. He was quite bad tempered and gave Wend the runaround.
A beautiful hawksbill turtle.
He wasn't fazed by Matt's ugly mug in the slightest.
A gang of white-tipped reef sharks.
They look mean but are completely harmless...
...unless you're the right size for a snack
A colourful spotted (but surly) puffer fish
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