Panama had been on my list for years, but mainly due to the fame of the Panama Canal. I was making my way through all of Central America by land so I was due to cross the border from Nicaragua, and with Panama City being on the ‘far’ side of Panama, I needed a place to stop off and break up the journey.
Across Central America there had been a bit of a buzz around a group of Caribbean islands called Bocas Del Torro, so I pinned that onto my itinerary and off I went.
The main island around Bocas Del Torro is Isla Colon, however there is a smaller island literally a couple of hundred metres off the main island, and I thought it would be much cooler to stay there. That combined with the fact it would be better value and a quieter spot to do some work – I jumped in a $1, two minute long boat and made the journey across.
I had chosen to stay at the Hotel Tierra Verde, partly because it’s locally owned and partly because it’s super close to the action of the main island, yet still feels completely isolated – nice combo.
The hotel itself is a family run affair, a couple of brother’s run things and the hotel is more of a converted island house. Each room has aircon, a nice double bed and of course decent wifi, one of the main reasons I had chosen them. Breakfast was a delicious coffee and a bowl of fresh fruit, along with toast, to be taken facing the ocean. Perfect.
The hotel is about one hundred metres from the coast, and the guys have had a beautiful dock constructed, steatching into the Caribbean waters. And rather than use the dock exclusively as a place to dock their boats, they’ve built the most awesome ‘hammock den’ built for one or two people, where you can chill, read a book, drink a beer and feel a million miles away from the chaos of normal life. It was my favourite thing about the whole place.
Jumping between islands is no problem at all, a dollar here or there and a matter of minutes. You can swim in crazy clear waters, take surf lessons or party hard with one dollar beers across most venues. I loved my time in Bocas Del Torro, and I loved it all the more thanks to parking my ass at the Hotel Tierra Verde.
Remember, never travel without travel insurance! And never overpay for travel insurance!
I use HeyMondo. You get INSTANT quotes. Super cheap, they actually pay out, AND they cover almost everywhere, where most insurance companies don't (even places like Central African Republic etc!). You can sign-up here. PS You even get 5% off if you use MY LINK! You can even sign up if you're already overseas and traveling, pretty cool.
Also, if you want to start a blog...I CAN HELP YOU!
Also, if you want to start a blog, and start to change your life, I'd love to help you! Email me on johnny@onestep4ward.com. In the meantime, check out my super easy blog post on how to start a travel blog in under 30 minutes, here! And if you just want to get cracking, use BlueHost at a discount, through me.
Also, (if you're like me, and awful with tech-stuff) email me and my team can get a blog up and running for you, designed and everything, for $699 - email johnny@onestep4ward.com to get started.
Do you work remotely? Are you a digital nomad/blogger etc? You need to be insured too.
I use SafetyWing for my digital nomad insurance. It covers me while I live overseas. It's just $10 a week, and it's amazing! No upfront fees, you just pay week by week, and you can sign up just for a week if you want, then switch it off and on whenever. You can read my review here, and you can sign-up here!
As you know, blogging changed my life. I left Ireland broke, with no plan, with just a one-way ticket to Thailand and no money. Since then, I started a blog, then a digital media company, I’ve made more than $1,500,000 USD, bought 4 properties and visited (almost) every country in the world. And I did it all from my laptop as I travel the world and live my dream.