Our time in Bastimentos is has to an end.

On Tuesday we paddled around the bay in a kayak with some friends we met at the hostel.

We spent most of Wednesday exploring Nivida Cave. The cave is thought to be Panama’s longest, but no one has reached the end yet. We took a boat through some beautiful mangrove swamps and hiked for several minutes through dense jungle and chocolate trees before we reached the entrance.

Mangroves

Cave entrance.

Once inside we were instantly swarmed by thousands of bats. The cave is covered in beautiful limestone formations, and a small stream flows through the bottom. We waded through water anywhere from ankle to neck height before we reached a small but deep pool. On one side a small waterfall filled the pool with cold cave water, and on the other there was a large rock formation off of which you could jump into the muddy water. Nate took the plunge, but I wasn’t as brave.

 All those little black dots on the ceiling are bats.

 

Yesterday Panama celebrated  its independence from Colombia. Part of the tradition here is for people to start playing drums at four in the morning and drum until the sun comes up. After the drumming the whole community met at the school for reenactments of history, music and dancing. The celebrations ended by the whole town marching in a parade down the main street, or rather, main sidewalk. All the adults wore their Sunday best and all kids dressed in brightly colored costumes. The boys drummed and girls, even little ones, shook their hips as they marched through the whole town. It was really fun to watch and much more lively than our Independence Day parade.

 

We’ve both really enjoyed our time in Bastimentos. The island is beautiful and we’ve met some really beautiful people. In the last post I mentioned Luis Antonio, the Puerto Rican artist who carves portraits in to driftwood. Luis has been working on a piece since we’ve been here and it’s nearly done. It’s a large piece of driftwood with a nude woman carved so expertly it almost looks like nature put her there. Until yesterday there were some traveling artists staying at our hostel. Steph and Duende specialize in making beautiful South American jewelry out of stones, wire and thread. They’ve managed to stay on the road for nearly six years now, floating from place to place selling jewelry. They’ve just recently set up a website so they can share their art on a larger scale. It's definitely worth taking a look. Meeting all these artists has inspired me to be creative on this trip. Another girl at our hostel, Liela, was traveling and selling jewelry as well. She was nice enough to show me how she weaves her bracelets and necklaces. I’ve been practicing and I’ve gotten pretty good. So who knows? Maybe one day I’ll spend years at a time drifting and selling handicrafts. It doesn’t seem like such a bad gig. Those guys are truly living the life.

Here's some pictures of Luis and his nearly finished sculpture. 

We left Bastimentos this morning. I'm happy to be back in Puerto Viejo, but I'm going to miss Bastimentos, especially the lack of cars. Nate and I spent all afternoon hunting for an apartment with great success. We move in to our own fully furnished, all inclusive apartment on Tuesday. Anyone who is cool enough to come visit us while we're here can crash on our couch for free :)

I start working at the Jaguar Rescue Center on Monday. I'm excited but also getting some new-job anxiety. I think it will turn out really well, though. I've heard lots of good things about the center. Stay tuned for pictures of me and my new monkey friends!

xo

Kia