Boca Brava - Howling monkeys and a painfully silent owner

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We heard about two islands to go to both with 1 place to stay on them. No stores. Definitely not my ideal combination. We heard that our other option had really increased prices since our guidebook was published. So, we decided to go with Boca Brava. It is one of those places that is a whole lot more affordable to get to if you have a larger group. The bus to get to the turnoff towards the island is all of $1.45. After that, the taxi to get to the dock is $15, and then the boat to get to the island is another $4. So, how much does it cost to get there? $1.45 + depends on how many people you split the cost with. Could be as low as $5.95. Justin and I couldn't find anyone else at the Purple House Hostel in David that wanted to go. While I am on the topic, the purple house was a great launching pad. Andrea, the Brooklyn born owner was really helpful, and the stay almost felt like a visit to an Aunt's house (Disclaimer: I have never had an Aunt so I would not really know). Her Cocker Spaniel 'Cutsie' is indeed cute. Andrea has been running her place for 7 years and knows the ins and outs of the region.

Thus we ended up traveling and splitting a pickup truck taxi between the two of us. During the bus ride from David, we heard a ambulance coming up from behind the bus. Panama is the regional leader in emergency vehicle motorist response time. Be it aid cars or police cars, the Panamanian motorists pull to the shoulder like moses had just parted the red sea. Very impressive when compared to Colombia: "Are you going to pull to the side to let the police car with lights and siren pass?" "Oh no, we don't have to." The Panamanian attitude does change a bit when no emergency vehicles are present. We had been riding in the taxi for a few minutes when another pickup pulled along side, honked the horn, and handed our driver a can of Heineken. He popped it open and downed it on the way to meet the boat. "Legal in Panama?" "Nope". Swig....

Upon arriving at at Frank's Place, we walked up to what looked like a restaurant and asked where checkin was. We had arrived at reception. Their room prices are in the first page of their menu. We spoke with a Panamanian gal who worked there. Turns out, this place has seen price increases of 400% since the guidebook was published as well. Our book mentioned that they had hammocks for $3. I didn't see them on the 'menu', so I enquired. They denied having any knowledge of hammocks. Seems like they were trying to break from their past, as they have renovated and taken their place upscale. I assume she was Frank's wife. Not that I really had that confirmed. You see, the guy who I would later find out was Frank was sitting at a table wearing a t-shirt that said "I am not Frank", smoking and drinking beer. He did not and would not acknowledge our presence for the duration of our stay. Interesting, since he had all of 8 guests staying at a place designed for at least 30. Maybe his lack of attention was a good thing. A previous travelblog posting stated that Frank was "perhaps the most scatterbrained person I have ever met. Took 1.5 hours to realize he had room for us." Either way, strange for someone in the service industry to not even say a casual hello. Not that we felt singled out, he didn't talk to anybody except the Panamanians eating at his table.

While we enjoyed the Pacific scenery, we certainly felt the lack of competition on the island. Meals were mediocre, far more expensive than on the mainland, and the staff was close to indifferent if they were not getting paid for something. The place had just about the slowest kitchen we have been to, and only had to cook for 8. The rooms were basic but very clean, and the shared washrooms were also nicely laid out. In a way, the 3 story restaurant seems to large for the nature of the place, but that is more of a personal design gripe. There are a few beaches on the island, the nicest one can be hard to find. Directions from the Staff? "Its on the other end of the Island." After one night, we felt like we had seen what there was to see, and found ourselves drawn to the 'other end of the country.'

We heard that there were monkeys here. Didn't see any, but heard demented sounding "ho ho ho's" from a ways into the forrest and later realized that those sounds were from the howling monkeys. Would have been nice to see a few.

Luckily, we ran into two Dutch travelers we recognized from Luna's Castle in Panama City. The 4 of us traveled together to Boquete, dividing costs equally.

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