People on the Bus

I spent a long day taking buses and water taxis to Bastimentos. On the way, I saw a family of indigenous people moving their household.

I had a long travel day from the cloud-forest cabin to the tree-house hut on the Island. I awoke early and hiked through the jungle and spotted  a pair of quetzales. I saw a total of six in several days. At 10 a.m., I put my luggage in the four-wheel drive and slowly made it down the volcano. I hiked to the bus stop and took a three-hour bus ride to David. From there, I took another bus back over the Highlands to Almirante near Changuinola. In David, I noticed the roof of the bus was piled high with burlap bags. It turned out a family was moving. My guess is they had been picking coffee beans and were returning to their homes. They even had a dog tied to the roof.

In Almirante, I took a 60-minute water taxi to the town of Bocas del Toro on Isla Colon. By this time, it was dark. I got in a dinghy and took a fifteen minute ride to Bastimento on Isla Bastimentos. The sailor used a flashlight as his warning light. He let me off on a wooden dock. I had to hoist our bags over my head and pull myself up. I had to walk carefully because some of the slats were missing. The pier led behind a store with a dirt path to the side.