One of the best things about traveling is all the amazing people we meet along the way. Hanalei has made a new best friend called Ava and her family kindly took us out for the day to Bastimentos Island on their boat. We have so much in common with them and we had a blast!
When we see Hanalei getting to spend the day swimming in the crystal clear ocean, swimming with exotic fish and spotting dolphins, we’re so happy that we made the move to break out of the cubicle and ditch our corporate jobs! We really are living the dream out here.
We had lunch at Bastimentos Island, which they nickname ‘Little Jamaica’ because all the people living on the island are Jamaican. We had lunch at a restaurant called ‘Roots’ where we ate traditional Jamiacan food, drank wine and listened to the music, before heading into town. We had to walk into town because there are no cars on the island, only bikes.
It was an amazing way for Hanalei to learn about Rastas- all of them had unique dreaded hair and were wearing red, yellow and green hats. They even said “Mon!” The Rastas came to Bastimentos as workers for the Columbians when Panama was part of Columbia. However, when Panama became an independent country, the Rastas claimed Bastimentos Island for themselves. Their first language is Jamaican but they speak great English and it is really strange to take an 8 minute boat ride over from the main island of Bocas Del Toro, where they speak Spanish, to hear them speaking Jamaican and English!
This is why we travel. Meeting cool people from all walks of life, getting to spend our days on the ocean, and learning something about the world along the way.