Easter Monday. Isla Carenero

The crowds have gone; an eerie quiet has descended on Bocas. Today is not a public holiday, the special Easter market and food stalls disappeared overnight and it is a ghost town again, just a handful of vacationing gringos, long stay surfers and the locals going about their daily business.

Watching the town slowly come to life from my balcony every morning fills me with pleasure, the traditional cafes offering desayano (breakfast), rice and beans, eggs, coffee, the smells waft up to me as the locals head for their regular haunts. Without the weekend visiting crush, I can recognise familiar faces who wave a greeting as they pass.

Another day, another island.  Today the nearest, tiny Isle Carenero, barely inhabited. Ringed by coral its shallow beaches mean surfers cannot land here without getting cut to ribbons on the glass-like reef so it's a tranquil isle. As I walked the track circling the island, via clambering rocky outcrops and wading through muddy jungle swamps, I met only gorgeous butterflies and flamboyant Panamanian birds.

Isla Carenero

The ' common' blue morpho butterfly, so beautiful

Finally I was able to appreciate at least a taster of unique marine life of the archipelago. By standing still in the translucent calm water, the surf breaking far, far out beyond the reef, fish shoals swirled around me. Bright yellow, blue and green fish darted between the floating fronds, an ever changing kaleidoscope of patterns.

The Cove

Fish in the shallows by the coral reef

Then the downside of the end of festivities - finding a water taxi! Since I arrived it's simply been a matter of finding a jetty and waving down a passing boat. Today I stood staring out at an empty sea. Castaway concerns until eventually a boat circled the island scooping up passengers and a few minutes later I was back in Bocas.

I could stay on the quieter islands, yet I'm happy here in the town. It's a (rare) moment in time when I’m comfortable with the chatter of daily life around me. I have had blissful solitude and isolation this trip, now I'm relishing being a part of this small town community with its odd selection of shops, cafes, shacks and coffee bars and cheerful, friendly residents.