 |
| Red Frog |
There are three marinas in the Bocas del Toro area. Two are near Bocas Town and the third is on Bastimentos Island. We have been to Bocas Town marina, which is very close to town, but still it requires a boat to get to town. It is very nice and a good choice. We had seriously considered leaving Ariel at this marina, but in the end decided on Red Frog marina on Bastimentos Island. The deciding factor for us was the opportunity to get off the boat and walk around Red Frog. Red Frog marina is part of Red Frog Beach and Nature Preserve. The marina is on the mainland side of Bastimentos Island. It is just short walk across the island to the Caribbean sea side with wonderful beaches and pounding surf. Our favorite attraction are the walking trails through the rain forest. Right after listening to the radio net each morning we are off for our walk. After a few weeks here, we have only begun to explore all the trails.
 |
| Sloth Watching Us Watch Him (or Her) |
 |
| Nap Time |
Our plan is to leave Ariel here while we travel back to the United States again this summer. We started leaving Ariel during the summer two seasons ago, while we were in the Belize, Guatemala, Honduras area. There just wasn't any reason to spend hurricane season hunkered down at a marina. Well in full disclosure, we are no longer threatened by hurricanes. Hurricanes just do not travel to this corner of the Caribbean. Having spent the previous two summers in upstate New York, we have gotten ourselves somewhat reattached to land life. At the end of the first summer we bought some property just outside of Corning, New York. It is about six acres, mostly wooded, with a small house on it, originally built as a hunting lodge in the 1930's and since expanded. The house isn't much and eventually we plan to raze it, but last summer we moved into it and it works great as a summer home. We were very busy last summer developing the property and have another similar summer planned. So, despite the possibility to stay on Ariel this summer, we now have other obligations so we are now locked into a pattern of splitting our time between our two lives.
 |
| Shopping Day |
 |
| Laid Back Bocas Town |
There is a very good reason it is called Red Frog. Once you set off on a trail through the rain forest, you will likely see red frogs. These are actually very tiny, and their correct name is Red Poison-Dart Frog. The other interesting creature we have seen is the sloth. In both cases it has been hard to get good pictures. The first sloth we saw was really close, just above hanging on a tree branch, but we didn't have the camera. Since then they have been too far away for really good pictures. The sounds in the rain forest are just fascinating, especially all of the birds. Anchored off Isla Colon recently we listened to what were obviously large groups of howler monkeys. We are used to howler monkeys from our time in Guatemala, but these were especially loud.
 |
| Our Own Private Spot (Big Bight) |
We seem to have developed a rhythm here. We spend some time in the marina, which gives us access to the beach, great walking trails and a couple of restaurants, and air conditioning onboard. We try to keep the boat at about 79 - 81. Anything less is now too cool for us, but it keeps the humidity down which is really nice. We then take Ariel to the anchorage off Bocas Town. In Bocas Town we do our shopping and have our laundry done. We could have the laundry done at the marina, but it is cheaper in town. We of course try a restaurant or two while in town. We then take Ariel to a quiet anchorage for a couple nights of solitude. It is very easy to find our own private cove. We then return to Red Frog, mostly because by now we are internet starved and begin the cycle again.
