It finally happened! On Playa Bluff on Isla Colón in Panama after walking two nights on the beach we saw a hawksbill sea turtle laying eggs in the sand. After seeing several tracks in the stand from sea turtles, we saw a track leading from the ocean and up on the beach. 20 meters up on the beach we saw the sea turtle.
The pictures are red, because artificial light can disoriented and discourage the females from nesting. We walked on the beach without any light, we just looked after turtle tracks in the sand in the light of the moon. The turtle tracks are evident and easy to recognize in the sand especially if they are fresh. We walked closer to the nesting sea turtle and only used red light, because it emit a very narrow portion of the visible light spectrum, which is less intrusive to nesting sea turtles.
It was an amazing experience to see the sea turtle nesting in it natural habitat. We also saw tracks from hatching on the beach, but we didn’t see any baby turtles. We hope this is not the last time we will see sea turtles, these amazing animals will probably always be on our bucket list.
Esben was still recovering from his sickness and the antibiotics still made him and his body tried. We used a lot of time just hanging out by the cabin, and enjoying the wildlife around us. Like sitting on the porch eating homemade pizza and looking at the caiman in the small lake behind the cabin.
The wildlife around the cabin…
We could eat fresh coconut from the palm trees in backyard, though it was a hard job getting into the coconut.
We also tried some of the more local tropical food called “frutipan” or in English “breadfruit”. We love it, it reminds us of potatoes, but it takes less time to cook and taste a lot better. The texture is more firm on the outside and soft/creamy on the inside after cooking. Breadfruit trees grow to a height of 26 m (85 ft). Breadfruit is one of the highest-yielding food plants, with a single tree producing up to 200 or more grapefruit-sized fruits per season, requiring limited care. In the South Pacific, the trees yield 50 to 150 fruits per year, usually round, oval or oblong weighing 0.25–6 kg. Breadfruit was brought to the Caribbean area and successfully cultivated (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breadfruit).
We had time to make coffee in the morning and homemade Micheladas (with clamato) on the afternoon
One morning we made Danish pancakes using my grandmothers recipe. The Danish pancakes and really thin with crispy edges. The pancakes can be used for pretty much everything you like, my favorite is vanilla ice cream and marmalade or Greek yoghurt with cinnamon syrup. Here is the recipe (15-20 pancakes):
2 dl flour (125 g)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 dl beer (light beer)
1,25 dl milk
4 eggs
2 tablespoon oil
Mix flour, sugar, salt with milk – NO lumps. Whip the eggs and add them to the mix with beer and oil. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. On a hot pan add butter and a thin layer of the pancake dough. Flip the pancake when it is golden brown and bake it on the other side. Serve it straight from the pan, while the pancakes edges are crispy.
Riding on the dirt road into town, Bocas del Toro, just enjoying life
Relaxing and walking on the beach
We loved staying in the small cabin that we had rented on www.airbnb.com. We got 41% in discount because we rented the place for a week – just remember to check that out. In total we paid 320 USD for the cabin including everything (except food). We met to girls, who was staying at a hostel in town in a private room and they paid 350 USD for a week. There was several local shuttle busses into town everyday if you don’t have a vehicle. We are used to be sleeping in our tent, so we enjoyed the privacy at the cabin. I know that the cabin is my first choice!
Saturday morning we took the ferry back the Almirante. There was a lot of motorcycles on the ferry, and this guy (right picture) told us that there had been some Annual biker meeting in Bocas del Toro (on Isla Colón). He was a really funny guy, and his “Predator style” riding gear and his 150 chopper motorcycle made it eve more fun.
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From Almirante we had 600 kilometers to Panama City, which was our next stop.
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