Busy in David und Bocas

David is exactly what we expected from it. Not beauty, just no-nonsense economic activity, and this time we have a mission: Souvenir shopping, and the special task to acquire some tobacco seeds for Johanna's finca.

David. Rain, cars, and stuff.

This actually makes our stay quite fun, because we're sent from one Agropecuario shop to the next, where they, just maybe, might have some seeds or might know more about it. Finally, we learn that it's not possible in David, but over in Sortova, there's a big finca that produces tobacco and sells seeds as well.

The first bus ride takes us into the little town of La Concepcion, where we hear the same story again. We are pointed into the direction of next bus stop, and after a quick lunch we hop into the next vehicle. 

The driver and the ajudante are obviously a bit surprised to see foreigners here, and curiously ask what we are here for. Oh, tobacco seeds? Sure, he'll point us to the right place. In the tiny village of Sortova he stops, and points us to a shack that doubles as the villages' general store. The man behind the counter is not surprised at all at our question, but quietly retreats and comes back a minute later with "the guy that sells the tobacco seeds." Alright, one bottle filled with millions of minute grains for five dollars, and just 15 minutes later we are back in the next bus back to David.

And on the next morning, we are back on the long-distance bus, to enjoy a few days more in Bocas. This time, we're lucky: No rain at all, but it's not unbearably hot.

A hike around the island of Carenero turns out to be a really exceptionally good idea.

Lonely beaches on Carenero Island.

More strange critters along the beach..

I just couldn't resist.

Spot the basilisk. (Not the legendary sort that turns you into stone, though.)

This hermit crab seems to have decided that it is really a caterpillar, and will turn into a beautiful butterfly soon.

Nice rock formations, with a little cave at water level making the strangest sounds when the waves come in.

Natural root stairway.

Another thing done from our to-do-list: Build a sandcastle!

Bizarre tree-shapes.

We also try to find the one restaurant on the island that is supposed to serve Lion Fish. This is still open on our list, but, alas, they don't have it right now. They do, however, have other fish and sea food that is really excellent, and so we are not too sad. It's okay to keep a few life goals for later, anyway.

After another souvenir shopping tour in Bocas downtown we are ready, and make a short call to Anastasio (the boat guy), to bring us back to Johanna's finca on the next morning.

Ready for the finca.