Blasting around Panama’s Bocas del Toro by boat proves that getting there really is half the fun.

From the Panamanian archipelago’s Playa Tortuga Hotel and Beach Resort, we take off for the first of our day’s boat rides in three small vessels, bound for Stars Beach.  

On the way, we are taken by the pretty homes that dot major island, Colon’s main stretch of shoreline, before moving past the overwater resort of Punta Caracol Acqua-Lodge, literally translated ‘Point Snail’.

After a quick splash at Stars Beach – and an aborted attempt at making it to Bird Island (thanks to some relatively heavy seas) – we head to Boca del Drago for lunch.

Following our meal at Yarisnori Restaurant, we take off again on a short ride to Bocas Town, before the real fun begins.

Bound for Al Mirante on the Panamanian mainland, we take the high-speed boat, Isla Zapatilla, reaching tops speed in excess of 32 knots (37 miles, or 59 km, per hour). An unexpected surprise, the boat ride enthralls its passengers with bumps, drops and sudden sideways movements.   

After a few hours ‘unwinding’ at our destination, we board two similarly quick, but smaller, boats back to our hotel before heading out that night to the aptly named Aqua Bar, this time in a water taxi.   

With windswept hair and ocean sprayed faces, we arrive back at our hotel, returning to our rooms to lay still. And, after island hopping around Bocas del Toro, it feels very still.

e-Travel Blackboard was in Panama to attend MITM Americas 2012.