Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in our usual “moving day” update. If you’ve been following our Facebook feed, you know that we moved to our Airbnb in Bocas del Toro province last Saturday!
So why the delay?
It’s because our Airbnb isn’t just an apartment. It’s an entire jungle complex on the water!
So it took time to explore and get a sense of everything this place had to offer.
And aside from the groundskeeper, we have the entire place to ourselves.
So what’s the catch?
This place isn’t for everyone. But for us, it is pretty awesome!
Let us take you on a tour and you’ll understand.
Why Go To Bocas del Toro Province?
Bocas del Toro province is one of the most visited regions in Panama.
Known for its islands, gorgeous beaches, mangroves, and jungles, the province is extremely popular with anyone wanting to hang out on the Caribbean coast and get in touch with nature.
Or party with backpackers, if you are so inclined.
But to be honest, it isn’t the province itself that is so popular.
The islands (particularly the main island of Isla Colon) have restaurants, shops, bars, and travel offices that cater to tourists from all over the world.
Isla Colon even has its own small international airport!
And as you can imagine, prices on the islands aren’t cheap.
Isla Colon. Brace your wallet for impact.
But this isn’t where we are.
Our Airbnb is at Ojo Bio Panama, the Organization for Jungle and Ocean BIOdiversity educational facility in the Valle de Agua region on the mainland coast of Bocas del Toro province.
And the location is pretty remote.
Here, the nearest store is a 20-minute public bus ride away in the port town of Almirante. And our closest neighbors are from the indigenous community of Loma Azul.
You might ask, what is the appeal here? Won’t we go stir-crazy?
A valid question.
We chose this Airbnb knowing all of these things and are really enjoying it.
But it does take an adjustment to your patterns of daily living, combined with the right interests and personality, to make it work.
Getting from Boquete to our Airbnb in Bocas del Toro Province
Getting to our Airbnb was pretty easy, but still was a little stressful.
Basically, we took two public buses.
The first bus transported us from the Plaza San Francisco bus stop in Boquete to the bus station in David. A ride on the big bus that passes by every 20 minutes takes about 1 hour and costs $1.75 USD per person.
The second bus took us from the David bus station directly to our Airbnb at Ojo Bio Panama, next to the Loma Azul bus stop in Valle de Agua. The proper bus for this route actually goes to “Changuinola” as its final destination, as indicated on its windshield.
Buses to Changuinola leave every 30 minutes, and the 3.5-hour ride to our Airbnb costs $8.40 USD per person. This is the same bus that tourists would take to get to the port town of Almirante, where they then pick up a water taxi to go to the islands of Bocas del Toro.
Here is a map of the route we took:
The trip actually went very smoothly, but it was a little stressful.
We were packed in like sardines on each bus we took.
And we continually worried if there would be enough room for our bags, although the baggage handlers made it work.
On the bus to Changuinola, Rhonda had a seat on the rear wheel well, really limiting her already minimal legroom.
But we stretched our legs at the rest stops we made along the way. And as the trip progressed, more and more locals got off, giving us room to relocate our positions for better comfort.
Bottom line, everything worked out fine and we arrived at Ojo Bio Panama at around 1 pm. We were met by the groundskeeper and he set us up in our new Airbnb!
The Ojo Bio Panama campus is a 13-acre facility on the coast of Valle de Agua, with its own jungle, trails, dock, boats, dock cabana house, mangroves, and private coral reefs!
And the owners made it very clear that we can roam the entire facility. They even provide a 2-person kayak, hammocks, and snorkeling gear to use for free!
These are our main sources of entertainment and exercise.
Free, unlimited kayaking. Sweet.
The motorized boats are for private tours and transportation (for a fee) to the Bocas del Toro islands if desired. We’ll probably hire a boat to take us to the archipelago near the end of our stay as it will make the logistics of future transportation much less stressful!
The Ojo Bio grounds are gorgeous! They are well landscaped with a diversity of plantings, including mango, banana, and guanabana (soursop) trees.
And the groundskeeper has encouraged us to pick from them when the fruit is ripe!
A present from the groundskeeper. Guanabana fruit is huge and delicious! The plate is a proper dinner plate, for scale.
The entrance to the property is on the top of a steep hill. So we are appreciative that the owners make a small cargo 4×4 available to haul us up and down the hill when we need to transport luggage or groceries.
The view from the top of the hill is really pretty!
The dirt road downhill is steeper than it looks!
At the bottom of the hill near the mangroves is a complex of buildings, some of which are being renovated.
Our Airbnb is in a cabana that has been converted into a 2-unit duplex of sorts. When the owners are living here, they stay on one half of the building, while renting guests like us stay on the other half. But the spaces are totally private.
Right now the owners are not on site, so we have the place to ourselves!
Our 2-unit cabana in green. To the right is a shell of a building where the washer and dryer are located, as well as the solar installation that powers the entire facility.
Looking back up the hill the way we came. The greenhouse on the left is for drying cacao seeds, which grow on-site.
This is a serious solar battery bank! They run a washer, dryer, refrigerators, and hardcore power tools off of this. And there is a generator too if this somehow doesn’t meet demand.
Approaching the entrance to the cabana you immediately see the huge screened-in porch.
The owner’s side of the porch is on the immediate left. Ours is on the back half.
Our shaded porch has space for eating and relaxing, with separate French door entrances to the kitchen and bedroom
Fabric door shades provide privacy at night and block the direct sun during the day.
And inside, our cabana is quite comfortable!
Our kitchen/living room space. They even included a 15-page inventory of all the marine wildlife viewed on-site. The bathroom (with sink, vanity, and shower) is in the back.
Our bedroom with nightstands and a ceiling fan.
Our walk-in closet at the back of the bedroom.
The building is on the edge of a mangrove forest 100 feet from the water. And there is a crazy diversity of wildlife living here too!
We’ll do a post on the animals and plants we find later.
Outside of our cabana, there is a trail that leads into the mangrove forest.
The path takes you by an area where mangrove seedlings are being germinated.
And deeper in still. There are lots of fiddler crabs on the mud and walkway here.
The path eventually leads to a series of dock houses under renovation. Back when this facility was an ecohotel with different owners, a restaurant for guests used to be here.
At the edge of the mangrove forest, a gate secures the dock from the mainland.
Looking back on the mangrove, you can better see the dock area, complete with boats and repurposed buildings.
We have the entire bay virtually to ourselves!
Coral reefs as far as the eye can see, right off of our dock! The water is crystal clear and still most mornings.
The covered shelter closest to the water is perfect for lounging in the ocean breeze and viewing marine life.
Not a bad way to spend an hour or two during the hottest part of the day. The only boat traffic in this part of Almirante Bay is from locals in canoes!
We’ve already seen dolphins and sea turtles from the dock!
And almost every evening we see indigenous people rowing across the bay in their dugout canoes.
Santa Claus, using alternative transportation.
So needless to say, for people who love wildlife and are used to basic trailer camping, this place is pretty perfect!
We have 13 acres to ourselves and we can explore our secluded area of Almirante Bay to our heart’s content at no additional cost.
So for all of this, including utilities, stable 5 – 10 Mbps internet, washer/dryer, and full grounds access, we are paying $24.44 USD per night (with 56% long-stay discount).
A place like this on the actual Bocas del Toro island archipelago might go for HUNDREDS of dollars per night!
Didn’t You Say There Was a Catch?
Yep! This place isn’t for everyone.
The main factor is that the location is remote.
If you don’t have a car, taking the public bus to Almirante (~20 minutes) or Changuinola (~60 minutes) for groceries and supplies is your only option.
And the restaurants in Almirante are nothing special, so they are probably not worth the trip on their own.
Renters will need to provide their own entertainment, so love of the outdoors is paramount. But if you like to snorkel, swim, and kayak, this place is an absolute wonderland!
You also have to tolerate some biting insects. But honestly, we’ve encountered MUCH worse in the USA. When there is a breeze they generally aren’t an issue and the owners provide all sorts of bug spray should you need it.
But it does get pretty hot between 11 am – 3 pm. The highs are generally around 30 C/86 F, which doesn’t sound bad, but it feels like 40 C/105 F factoring in the humidity.
Perfect time to go for a swim!
Once the sun starts to go down, the winds pick up and things cool off nicely. The ceiling and oscillating fans provided also help. And nighttime temperatures are around 25 C/75 F, so it is really pleasant at night for sleeping.
For some, internet speeds might be an issue. Our bandwidth needs are low, so 5 – 10 Mbps average download speeds are fine. But digital nomads beware! That said, Ojo Bio is the only place on this part of the mainland with ANY internet!
So beggars shouldn’t be choosers.
This all said, the owners are VERY upfront about the potential limitations of Ojo Bio in their property description. So we knew what we were getting into and are really loving our decision to stay here.
We’ll post more about our experiences soon.
Until next time…
Thanks for reading!
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