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Panama Travel - On a boat in the Bocas del Toro just off the Panama CaribbeanFor many of us who have traveled extensively throughout the world, some of the most surprising and exciting experiences come when caught between the “old” and “new” world. We seek those areas not known by many other travelers for such a chance to excite our senses. While traveling the islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama, called Bocas del Toro, I encountered such an experience – one of my best to date! The 10 small islands in this archipelago have only one island which has a “real” road. Cars are scarce and most travel consists of smooth boat rides in long canoe-like, hand-carved vessels with engines of various strengths attached behind. Traveling between islands for meals – normally of fresh fish or lobster with vegetables - is common and the dinner atmosphere of sparkling, moonlit water and a sky lit brilliantly by the stars is incomparable. One night such as this, I found myself perfectly relaxed after a lingering dinner, “fat-and-happy,” and ready for a smooth boat ride back to my hotel located on another island for a perfect night of sleep. The locals are friendly and courteous and it did not strike me as unusual when asked if I would mind taking a small detour to pick up another passenger. A bit of extra time on the water on such a night would not be a problem for me in the least. In route to our destination, I noticed we were heading further away from my hotel than I had expected - out into the open waters on the boundary of the island group and the Caribbean Sea. We picked up speed and headed towards what appeared to be nothing. I asked politely where we were headed and the boat steersman smiled and pointed – “There.” Where's “there” I wondered? And then I saw it – a four story “monster” cargo ship I had mistaken for a mountain. My heart raced and I felt flush at the realization that our “extra passenger” was onboard that moving ship and this steersman's job was to pull alongside to pick him up. I had visions of swimming home to my hotel. We did in fact pull alongside the boat - I reached out to touch the 4 story monster from within our small canoe like vessel and a stout shipmate scuttled down a ladder of rope from the top deck and fell precisely into the boat. It seemed instantly as though I was the only one new to this. We cut hard away from the ship and speed away back in the direction from which we came. When our boat began to slow down, the night again became quiet, and my heart began to return to its normal pace, I no longer felt worried, but exhilarated! When old and new meet, the experience can be amazing.
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