Isla Bastimentos
Emmanuel Van Heygen
Exo Terra Brand Manager
The island was named by Christopher Columbus who landed here in 1502 and called the island Bastimentos which means “provisions” – as the island was used to restock supplies for his fleet. The north eastern side of Bastimentos Island faces the Caribbean Sea where all the beaches can be found. The most famous is Red Frog Beach, which got its name from the red Oophaga pumilo morph that inhabits the forest near the beach.
The island’s south western side is lined with dense, lush mangroves and enjoys calmer waters, partially due to the water’s shallow depths. The Exo Terra research vessel anchored near Red Frog Marina between Isla Bastimentos and Isla Solarte. Once landed, you immediately enter the jungle along a well maintained path that leads to Red Frog Beach on the other side of the island. Besides the hot humid climate and the occasional rain shower, it is a very pleasant walk to the beach, passing dense patches of forest and creeks with caimans along the way.
The loud, almost raucous sound of the poison dart frogs could be heard throughout the journey. The team decided to first get to the other side an then slowly make their way back, hoping for better weather later that day. The beach was stunning lined with coconut palms, lush vegetation and powerful waves pounding on the yellow sand shore. It is is quite a well-visited place, so we welcomed some refreshing coconut water at one of the beach stalls. With this energy boost, the team slowly started hiking uphill again back into the jungle towards the marina. The main focus on the return trip were the famous red frogs from Bastimentos. The typical Bastimentos red morph could be found up to 1 meter on tree trunks and epiphytes. The Oophaga pumilio on Bastimentos is slightly larger then the morphs found on the more southern islands and are apparently more toxic. Their bright colours from orange to red actually indicate that. The poison is stored in skin glands and is derived from the insects they eat (ants, termites, centipedes…). The patterns of brown and black dots on their backs and legs are extremely variable, some even lacking any pattern. Once the marina was reached, the team boarded the research vessel for the last short voyage back to Bocas Town on Isla Colon.
The team woke up under beautiful blue skies (for the first time) to head back to the main island. Colon is only a very short distance from Bastimentos and the “La Vie” arrived in the early afternoon in the colourful town of Bocas del Toro with its beautiful waterfront homes and its numerous taxi boats. With all expedition material packed, the team left the research vessel which has been their home and basecamp for almost two weeks. They could look back at a successful expedition…
Emmanuel Van Heygen
Exo Terra Brand Manager