Panama – Bergheim .dk | .be

Rain coming in at Bluff Beach

(Stein) Runar Bergheim — Sat, 29 Feb 2020 21:00:54 +0000

I am one of those people who may be found in the shade at the back of the beach, complaining to everyone willing to listen about everything that others generally like about beaches.

Rain coming in at an uncommonly calm Bluff Beach, Bocas del Toro

I burn at the slightest hint of sunlight; the accursed sun lotion gets in my eyes and stings like original sin; the sand that sticks to everything always finds its way into the house and from there invariably into my bed.

However, on occasion, when mother nature offers up a helping of rain to wash clean the slate of the sunburned, overheated and sand-covered tourist, life can be good. Very very good.

And unlike home in Norway, it can be enjoyed with the certainty that there will be sun again in an hour…

Near playa Mimitimbi, Bocas del Toro, Panama

(Stein) Runar Bergheim — Sat, 22 Feb 2020 21:00:51 +0000

A lonely palm tree, leaning into the Caribbean Sea

Continuing a wee bit further along the rough but barely cyclable track from Bluff Beach we chanced upon this spot where a lonely palm tree begged to be photographed.

Beached in Bocas: How to Swim in the Sea at Isla Colon every Day of the Year

(Stein) Runar Bergheim — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 21:00:33 +0000

We had just arrived at Bluff Beach and were looking out at the decidedly violent waves that were pounding the shore. An unspoken question formulated itself in our minds as we gazed on the foaming surf

Bluff Beach: beautiful, but better for surfers than swimmers

– “And—uhm—where are we going to swim?”, we enquired of Ron, the proprietor of our hotel, with an unmistakingly rueful intonation.⠀

Like so many people dwelling by the sea, Ron had grown accustomed to its presence and forgotten the desperate craving felt by those of us who live by colder, less friendly shores. A desire to immerse ourselves in warm⠀sea-water.

– “In the pool!”, said Ron, smiling broadly and triumphantly.

For an instant, it grew colder.

Ron’s smile wavered.

The conversation that followed encompassed all five stages of grief. Right at the transition between depression and acceptance; when we were nearly resigned to our fate, Ron interjected the following:

– “…and then there is always La Piscina.”

Here’s what we learned:

…and then there is always La Piscina: beautiful and infinitely swimmable

The beaches on the ‘Caribbean side’ of Isla Colon are exposed to the open sea and constant surf making swimming more perilous than pleasant for those of a more leisurely disposition, i.e. me.

Getting on a bicycle and pedalling along the rough jungle track for about 5 km past Bluff Beach will lead you to a small secluded beach surrounded by jungle on three sides and sheltered from the angrier waves of the Caribbean by a reef.

Here the water is warm, the sea calm, the people few and far between – and the tranquillity absolute.

To others who might find themselves beached at Bluff, La Piscina may your salvation too.