Panamania: Bocas Del Toro

Since I have reached Panama, it has become increasingly apparent that no trip here is complete without a pilgrimage to the Caribbean Ocean Side town of Colon, in the Bocas Del Toro Islands.
Practically every person I have met has made the journey by land or air at some point during their travels here. Who am I to go against the masses?
I chose to head to Bocas on a Friday and come back the following Monday. I caught a small bus and sat cramped for the 7 hours it took to cross the divide (mountains) and head down to sea level.
I really wonder why the Panamanian Government bothers to waste money on painting lines on the rode-my driver as well as all subsequent drivers, payed positively no attention to them, even in the face of oncoming traffic!
Pair this with the fact that a month before, huge portions of the rode had been washed away by several hundred mudslides and you have one of the scariest rode trips this side of the Equator!
Seriously, my driver was a maniac-I don't say this lightly. He was driving so fast that at one point he hit a goat which literally flew past my window at top speed-for real-stopped checked out his fender, laughed, hopped back in, cranked up the Reggaetone (Reggae) and kept going.
I was never so happy to reach the bus stop!
I was dropped off in a small coastal town-Almirante-and then took a water taxi for half an hour to the main Island of Colon. From there I took another water taxi to Bastiementos, a smaller island with a population of 1500, no cars and only one paved walkway for travel.
Bastiementos is distinctly different from the rest of Panama. The people here are of West Indies decent and therefore have a much stronger Carribean Culture. They also speak a wonderful form of creole english-sometimes hard to understand but beautiful to listen to.
I booked into a palm thatched Cabina for $18 a night and then hiked to to the local chocolate factory up a seriously muddy trail that wound through the jungle. The 'factory' is home to a Scottish family of Expats who make their living growing cocao and coconuts and making homemade products from them. It was absolutely wonderful to sit on a little terrace high up watching hummingbirds, drinking tea and eating chocolate.
From there I headed back down, only falling in mud once, and took a taxi back over to check out Colon. It is a very dirty, tourist town, but serves as a jump off point for some incredible beaches. My favourite beach would have to be Playa Estrella (starfish beach) where there are hundreds of starfish literally within a few feet of shore.
The rest of my time in Bocas was spent exploring beaches, hiking through the jungle and eating spicy Carribean food.
It was definitely worth the trip-ride from hell aside!