Konsenda Bocas del Toro

La impactante inmersión en la naturaleza en el sitio alejado de Bocas. La pequeña cabaña rústica con paredes de mosquitero que te hacían sentir en un campamento, pero con la comodidad de una cama y un baño detrás que tenía por pared la densa vegetación y la visita de las ranitas verdes y pequeñas lagartijas. El balcón al frente con 2 sillas y 1 hamaca, para relajar y pasar parte del clima lluvioso que nos tocó por ser temporada de lluvias (aunque parece que lo es casi todo el año), La cabaña es simple, rústica, limpia y cumplió con nuestras fantasías. La terraza en altura de uso general tiene hermosa vista a la bahía con su largo muelle que atraviesa el manglar. Allí servían las abundantes y variadas comidas (desayuno, almuerzo y cena). Las comidas son ricas y te permiten experimentar los sabores locales, por lo cuál, si prefieres lo que te es más conocido, sería mejor consultar. Hicimos un recorrido nocturno con Abel (el propietario biólogo que vino con su amorosa familia a pasar los días) y David (el encargado del lugar). Nos dieron linternas, botas y bastones de madera para sortear el sendero resbaladizo y embarrado. Nos mostró diversas ranitas e insectos nocturnos y nos dio buenas explicaciones del comportamiento y hábitat. Lamentablemente no recorrimos también los senderos de día en esa tarde, pues el resto de nuestra estancia, el mal clima y otros planes ya no lo permitieron. Hicimos uso de los kayacs gratuitos y disfrutamos de las bahías cercanas. Eventuales medusas picosas no nos dio ánimo suficiente para tomar baño en la bahía, aunque pudimos ver muy pocas desde la superficie. Un amancer estuvimos en la terraza para ver aves. Abel es un biólogo científico grabó los cantos de las aves para su atracción, pero tuvimos poca suerte y escasa observación. Hicimos un buen snorkel tour (costo extra) en punta laurel y alrededor de isla Popa con vista de delfines incluidos. Estuvo bien quedarnos 3 noches, pero elegiría distinto las actividades, ver siguiente:

Es importante consultar con antelación todos los costos agregados pues resultan elevados supongo por el alejamiento del sitio. Los costos de transfer de entrada y salida al alojamiento, también todas las demás excursiones y el sendero nocturno en el mismo predio. No puedo evaluar si el precio es justo o no, pero a nosotros nos resultó elevado sumando todo. Esto puede ir variando porque Abel está en proceso de desarrollo del proyecto turístico y las ofertas. En el chat previo a decidir ir, nos dijo que hay una hermosa playa blanca cercana a la que nos podían llevar con costo reducido. Pero, resultó que la información no era correcta para la época. Entonces no fue acertada su recomendación de tomar su tour a la comunidad La Ensenada, con una playa muy bonita a 20' de sendero, pero con tal oleaje que era imposible entrar sin correr riesgo de muerte (dicho por los mismos locales). Quedamos 2hs con un mesurado lunch box provisto. De hecho, las precarias instalaciones de servicio en la playa, estaban abandonadas. Los 75' de trayecto en lancha de ida (y de vuelta) fueron no solo excesivos para dicho objetivo, sino que además hubo que cruzar mar abierto con fuerte brisa y oleajes, que solo la solvencia del excelente piloto de la lancha Julián nos dio el mínimo de seguridad que no nos dieron chalecos salvavidas. En el regreso y a 15' de La Ensenada, pudimos estar 30' maravillosos en la calma de la solitaria, pequeña Playa Verde antes de enfrentar el cruce de la marejada en la primera parte. Hay algunos errores en la info de Booking, varios son obvios. La salida la hicimos en dirección de Chiriquí Grande para acortar camino de regreso. No lo recomendamos, pues los 60' y la marejada de buena parte del trayecto, no fueron agradables. Mejor ir a Bocas o asegurarse de las condiciones inestables en la época de visita.

The Ecolodge itself is Immersed in a beautiful setting in the jungle at the edge of the Caribbean Sea on Popa Island, which is the best choice of the Bocas del Toro archipelago, if you want to escape the crowds. Our stay here featured daytime adventures and nights filled with jungle sounds, the glow of fireflies and amazing starry skies on clear nights. Hummingbird feeders were kept full with five species of hummingbird regularly visiting them along with a few Bananaquits. Bananas were strung up in a tree and attracted birds such as Toucans, Aracaris, Oropendolas and Tanagers. A three-toed Sloth was also spotted around the lodging area occasionally. During our seven night stay we explored the surrounding area alone by foot and kayak and took advantage of several free guided trips that were offered as part of our stay. Our favorites were the birdwatching tour which included birding in the garden and surrounding trails and a boat ride up a nearby creek and a Night Walk Tour where we saw all sorts of amazing nocturnal creatures, both big and small. We also participated in a few “specialized” paid tours which were amazing. We saw several different color morphs of the Strawberry poison-dart frog on nearby islands on the Poison Frog Tour, actively participated in, and engaged with a nearby local community, to collect coconuts and extract the coconut oil on the Coconut Oil Extraction Tour, with proceeds going directly to the local community. Along with the Coconut Tour our favorite was the Bird tour to the Punta Rabalo Marsh and the Cloud Forest on the adjacent mainland with a local guide specifically hired for this tour who was very knowledgeable on the local flora and fauna of the area and a great birding guide. Three meals a day were provide by the friendly staff which were always delicious and they even did a decent job of accommodating our vegan diet. The accommodations themselves are rustic but they were clean and included all of all of the basic necessities.

The cabin we stayed in had its own toilet and shower but could’ve benefited from more privacy from the nearby pathway, but the biggest issue we had was due to an unplanned need for the owners to be away during our stay. While they had someone stand in for them who was very nice and accommodating and a great host, they did not speak Spanish to translate from some of the local guides who did not speak English and was also relatively new to Panama so we missed a lot of the background information on the local ecology, biology and cultural history that we were expecting. That said the experiences were still amazing and highly recommended. We recommend to correspond with the owner, on WhatsApp (Look up website and click on link at bottom right to start a chat - he is very responsive) to help with planning your stay and ask to have the customer brochure with all of the available tours sent to you as it contains a lot more information than what is currently on the website.

Ideal for nature lovers and adventurers. The owners are biologist, we went for a night walk, birds watching, kayaking and snorkeling. All inclusive, food excellent, served like in the best restaurant with bugatti cutlery. Very simple eco design. Very nice staff.

Nothing

If you are looking to get away from it all, this is the place for you. Super quiet with just the sounds of nature. The hut we were in was quirky but comfortable. The outdoor bathroom area was cool. Kayaks were available to explore the mangroves. Rubber boots and walking sticks were supplied to hike the jungle trail (it was quite muddy and slippery when we were there) Bird feeders were set up to attract various types of birds (hummingbirds and toucans) The owners made good on our reservation; they had forgotten to remove the date from this site. They had given their staff the day off. However, because we couldn't change our travel dates, they made good on the booking and had staff there for us.

The ladder to the loft in our hut was not secured and moved a lot. Luckily, I had a rope to make it at least a bit secure. The seats in the common area were good looking but uncomfortable. One step off the common hut was in desperate need of maintenance. The booking.com description had some errors in the details: no coffee hut, no spa hut, free airport shuttle... maybe these are planned for the future... We arrived (finally) after a crazy journey at 9am. We were able to have coffee (grudgingly) but when we asked about breakfast, we were told none was available. It would have been nice to have been offered at least a banana.