Rainy Bocas del Toro

Days 102 to 107

Tue 5 Apr 2011 - Sun 10 Apr 2011 20 °C

As one of my main motivations for coming to Bocas del Toro is diving, I am disappointed to learn that I won't be able to do a night dive as the equipment is not good enough (apparently the "waterproof" flashlights they have here break as soon as you take them underwater, a bit like the useless breo watch I brought with me that died the first time I took it snorkelling) and there is nothing to see once you get 30m down (I don't really care how deep I dive but this is a prerequisite for the advanced open water certification). The disappointment continues as it rains the entire time I am there, and I am not a fan of Bocas Town which for me is a great example of attracting too many of the wrong types of tourist.

Never mind, there are still some beautiful dive sites to see. There are bright orange and creamy yellow starfish scattered all over the ocean floor like dumpy pincushions. The corals and sponges are vivid purple, green, orange and red; large purple urn-shaped barrel sponges like giant ocean rubbish bins, red sponges that look like hearts with dissected aorta holes and garish clusters of deer antlers. Rainbow, blue and red mosaic-like parrotfish move slowly through this underwater garden; yellow squirrelfish stare with big wide eyes and box-shaped mottled black and white cowfish change colour; their tiny fins spinning like propellors. Shiny silver fish pass by the rusty shipwreck where sea anemones grow and spider-like creatures dance on their long spindly legs.

Some areas of the reef bear the sacrifice of human activity: large areas of brown rocky leaves stripped of colours seem like a sad sea graveyard. This is the price that is being paid in marine areas like this, and I wonder what it will look like ten years from now.

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