Rainstorm over Bosque Proctector Palo Seco, Panamá
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BOCAS DEL TORO
“This Caribbean archipelago on Panamá’s north coast is tropical paradise by day and party central by night.”
—LAURA SICILIANO-ROSEN, New York Magazine
The hip, happenin’ spot for backpackers and counter-culture travelers, Bocas del Toro is often conceived as being a group of small Caribbean islands in Panamá’s extreme northwest. This mini-archipelago—the country’s most popular vacation destination for non-Panamanians—is actually just a small part of an eponymous province that extends inland uphill to the Continental Divide. The vast majority is mountainous and thickly forested. Much lies within the vast Parque Internacional La Amistad (and adjacent Bosque Protector Palo Seco). La Amistad offers some of the most challenging hiking in the country—a virtually unexplored final frontier for jaguar, tapir, and a wealth of other wildlife, although access is very limited from the lowlands, where the only town of consequence is Changuinola—a center for banana companies, whose plantations smother the lowlands.
Few visitors explore beyond “Bocas” (the island group, although the term usually denotes Bocas Town, on Isla Colón), where hotels perch over the water and the funky beauty lies in its tumbledown bars and pool halls and a somnolent Afro-Caribbean laissez-faire atmosphere. Water taxis will whisk you to prime surfers’ beaches, pristine sands that double as nesting grounds for marine turtles, and to neighboring isles laced with trails where colorful poison-dart frogs (each isle has its own species) hop about underfoot. Never seen a manatee? A sighting is virtually guaranteed at San San Pond Sak, a wetland reserve hard up against the Costa Rican border.
Bocas has gone more upscale, more mainstream, in recent years, with accommodations for every budget. The word got out long ago. The bulldozers have arrived and huge swaths of forest are falling for ever bigger resorts. Go now!
Parque Internacional La Amistad, Panamá
Isla Colón
Bocas Town
Young woman in window, Bocas Town, Bocas del Toro, Panamá
GETTING THERE AND AROUND
By Air
Aeroperlas (507-757-9236; www.aeroperlas.com) flies to Bocas del Toro from Panamá City’s Albrook airport ($8) and Changuinola ($8) twice daily, and from David (daily, $36). Air Panama (507-316-9000; www.flyairpanama.com) also flies twice daily from Panamá City ($80). Nature Air (506-2299-6000 or 800-235-9272; www.natureair.com) flies to Bocas from San José, Costa Rica, five times weekly ($139).
By Bus and Water Taxi
Express buses (507-232-5803) for Almirante (10 hours, $25) and Changuinola leave the Albrook Terminal in Panamá City. Buses travel via David, from the “David-Almirante Coaster” (three hours, $6) leaves hourly to Almirate.
You need to take the water taxi from Almirante (a funky banana-loading port 18 miles/30 km SE of Changuinola) to Bocas Town (15 minutes, $4), hourly 6 AM–6:30 PM. Two companies compete: Bocas Marine Tours (507-757-9033 in Bocas, Calle 3 and Avenida C; 507-758-4085 in Almirante; www.bocasmarinetours.com) and Taxi 25 (507-757-9028; Calle 1 and Avenida Central). Water taxis are the only way of getting between islands of the archipelago. Several freelance operators compete with Bocas Marine Tours and Taxi 25. And numerous freelance boat guides can be hired in Bocas Town for exploring the isles; Gallardo Livingstone (507-757-9388) is recommended.
Water taxi crossing from Isla Carinero to Bocas del Toro, Panamá
By Car
Bocas is a two-hour drive from Chiriquí (on the Interamericana, 8 miles/14 km southeast of David) on Carretera 4 via Gualaca and the continental divide. You’ll need to park your car in a secure lot by the Almirante wharfs, from where water taxis leave for Bocas. A car ferry runs from Almirante daily at 8 AM ($15–30), but there is no need for a vehicle on Bocas.
In the winter of 2009, torrential rains caused landslides on Carretera 4, and severe flooding and road damage throughout the lowlands. All road transportation leading to Bocas de Toro was shut down for a week. Check conditions ahead.
From Costa Rica
You can cross into Panamá from Sixaola, in Costa Rica. The community on the Panamanian side of the border is Guabito, about 9 miles (16 km) west of Changuinola, from where buses and taxis ($12) run to Almirante. Water taxis also run direct to Bocas from Finca 60, near Changuinola ($7). Transporte Bocatoreño buses depart Changuinola at 10 AM for Guabito.
Far easier is to take the Caribe Shuttle (506-2750-0626 in Costa Rica; 507-757-7048 in Bocas Town; http://caribeshuttle.com; $34 adult, $25 child one-way), a boat shuttle between Cahuita, Puerto Viejo, and Manzanillo (in Costa Rica) and Bocas del Toro.
Carretera 4 and the Cordillera
From the Interamericana at Chiriquí (8 miles/14 km southeast of David), Carretera 4 snakes up and over the cloud-draped cordillera and coils down to the Caribbean coast. It’s supremely scenic. But be prepared for fog and potential landslides.
LODGING AND DINING
FINCA LA SUIZA JUNGLE LODGE
507-6615-3774
www.panama.net.tc
Carretera 4, 26 miles (42 km) N of Chiriquí
Inexpensive
A Swiss-run mountain lodge high in the cordillera near La Fortuna forest reserve. It has its own 494-acre (200 ha) cloud forest with challenging trails, and the mountain views (you can see all the way to the Pacific Ocean) are sublime from the three cozy cottages. Organic meals are served. Closed June, September, and October. Two-night minimum. No credit cards.
LOST AND FOUND LODGE
507-6581-9223
www.lostandfoundlodge.com
Carretera 4, 26 miles (42 km) N of Chiriquí
Inexpensive
Billing itself as “Panamá’s only fully functioning eco-hostel inside the cloud forest,” Lost and Found Lodge truly is a backpackers’ dream. Choose from dorms or private rooms, all colorfully painted-up in Egyptian hieroglyphics and pointillist dots. You’ll need to hike uphill after alighting the bus at the Km 42 marker (look for the yellow-painted rocks). It has stunning views down the mountain from wooden decks. Long-term guests get free board for volunteer duties, including community development projects.
Storm over Bosque Protector Palo Seco, Panamá
ATTRACTIONS, PARKS, AND RECREATION
Reserva Forestal Fortuna protects 75 square miles (19,500 ha) of montane cloud forest—a fitting environment for a Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute research center (closed to the public). The easiest hiking is at Finca La Suiza (507-615-3774; www.panama.net.tc; $8 entrance, 7–10 AM), at Km 42; its private forest reserve has well-marked trails that include a challenging all-day adventure to the top of Cerro Hornito.
Man-made Lago Fortuna was created by the Presa Edwin Fabrega, a dam where the roadside visitor center has excellent nature exhibits. A short distance north you’ll cross the continental divide, where the road begins its serpentine descent through the valley of the Río Guarumo and the village of Punta Peña, surrounded by pineapple fincas.
Changuinola and Vicinity
West of Punta Peña, Carretera 11 parallels the coast and runs northwest to the regional center of Changuinola and, beyond, the Costa Rican border. Changuinola (and the valley of the Río Sixaola) is Panamá’s most important center of banana production and a gateway to Parque Internacional La Amistad (to the west) and San San Pond Sak, a coastal wetland reserve protecting manatees and aquatic birds.
Nature exhibits at Presa Edwin Fabrega, Panamá
LODGING AND DINING
SOPOSO
507-6631-2222
www.soposo.com
5 miles (8 km) W of Changuinola
Inexpensive
A chance to immerse yourself in the Naso indigenous culture. For now accommodations are limited to two thatched huts (one with a single bedroom; the second with four rooms) with mosquito nets, porches with hammocks, and solar lanterns. You’ll share a composting latrine and shower. Naso women prepare hearty meals on a wood-fired stove.
WEKSO ECOLODGE
507-620-0192
turismonaso_odesen@hotmail.com
12 miles (20 km) W of Changuinola
Inexpensive
Run by the Naso indigenous community, this eco-lodge is built on the site of a former U.S. Army jungle training camp and is the closest base to Parque Internacional La Amistad. The three thatched, stilt-legged, four-person cabins are simple, if not basic, yet cozy. Cold-water showers. Reached by an hour-long boat ride.
ATTRACTIONS, PARKS, AND RECREATION
San San Pond Sak
c/o 507-758-6794; or ANAM, 507-758-6603 in Changuinola; 3 miles (5 km) N of Changuinola. This precious coastal wetland covers 39,845 acres (16,125 ha) stretching from the Río Sixaola to the Bahía de Almirante. Its multiple ecosystems include marshes, mangroves, and seasonally flooded orey forest. Although a wealth of wildlife exists here, from sloths and monkeys to river otters and crocodiles, San San’s claim to fame is its large population of manatees. The rare tucuxi freshwater dolphin is also found here. And green, hawksbill, and leatherback turtles nest on the beaches; a boardwalk (often flooded) leads from the ANAM ranger station.
Starfleet Scuba (507-757-9630; www.starfleetscuba.com), in Bocas Town, offers a full-day excursion by dugout canoe (7 AM–5 PM). Other tour operators in Bocas del Toro offer excursions.
Naso Comarca
5 miles (8 km) W of Changuinola. Looking for a remote adventure? Head up the Río Teribe to Soposo, home to the Naso indigenous people (aka the Teribe), who number about 3,000 individuals in 27 communities led by a king. A visit offers a chance to interact with (and learn from) the Naso, who strive to preserve a traditional lifestyle in harmony with their rain forest environment. They are also fighting to have their territory designated an autonomous comarca. Soposo Rainforest Adventures (507-6631-2222; www.soposo.com; $90–500) offers one- to seven-day trips from Bocas del Toro. Community members lead trips to Seiyik, their capital “city,” plus hikes into the adjoining Parque Internacional La Amistad. Getting there requires a 30-minute boat journey from El Silencio, 2 miles (3 km W of Changuinola).
Manatees
Looking like swollen wine-sacs, or tuskless walruses, manatees are gentle herbivorous mammals that have adapted completely to a life in warm water. Manatís (the word is a native Taíno word for “breast”) inhabit shallow tropical coastal waters and are particularly fond of river estuaries, but they move freely between fresh and saline waters.
These highly intelligent animals lack hind limbs entirely. Instead, they propel themselves gracefully with a single spatulate tail that surely gave rise to the myth of the mermaid. Adult manatees average about 1,000 pounds and 9 feet (2.7 m) in length, although much larger individuals have been sighted. Females are slightly larger than males and reach sexual maturity at about four years old. They have tough gray skin, tiny beady eyes, and fleshy and pendulous upper lips like a shortened trunk similar to the elephant, to which they are closely related. This they use to gather vegetation. Opportunistic, non-territorial feeders, they are capable of chomping up to 75 pounds or more of sea grasses, water hyacinths, and other aquatic vegetation daily. Uniquely among mammals, they have only six pairs of dentures—all molars and premolars—that are constantly replaced throughout life.
Males gather to compete to mate with ovulating females, who give birth to a single calf (and occasional twins) only once every two to five years. While males contribute no parental care, mother and calf remain together for up to two years throughout weaning. Manatees can live to be 60 years old. The West Indian manatee is now an endangered species following centuries of being hunted for meat, disturbance of its habitats, entanglement with fishing gear and, increasingly, collisions with speeding boats. However, they are easy to spot in the sheltered waters of San San Pond Sak.
Main drag in Bocas Town, Bocas del Toro, Panamá
An alternative 7 miles (12 km) upriver is Centro Ecotúristico Wekso (507-758-9137; turismonaso_odesen@hotmail.com), where the Naso run an ecotourism project—Proyecto ODESEN (Organization for the Sustainable Development of Naso Ecotourism)—at an eco-lodge converted from Pana Jungla, a former military jungle survival school. The Sendero Los Heliconias offers an easy loop for visitors wishing to spot monkeys, sloths, etc. without too much exertion. Tour companies in Bocas Town offer one-to three-day excursions.
Bocas del Toro Archipelago
The Bocas archipelago comprises six main islands in Bahía de Almirante (Admiral’s Bay, named for the visit by Christopher Columbus, in 1502), with Isla Colón, the westernmost and most populous and important. The airport and sole town—Bocas Town—are here. Founded in 1826 as a logging center, Bocas Town really harks back to 1889 when it became the local headquarters for the United Fruit Company, which established banana plantations on the mainland, drawing laborers from Jamaica and from San Andrés and Providencia, Colombia. The town’s pastel-painted clapboard buildings with gingerbread trim recall the era. Many have metamorphosed into hotels suspended on stilts above the water. Although Bocas Town has seen a tourism boom within the past decade, it retains its uniquely offbeat tropical lassitude and is the kind of place you’ll want to simply laze the days away in a hammock with a good book and chilled beer.
Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro
Isla Colón has great surfers’ beaches. And there’s rain forest. However, the most exhilarating wilderness experiences are to be had on neighboring isles, where snorkeling amid coral reefs is also superb. There are gorgeous beaches, too—most are reached by boat—drawing marine turtles to nest at night. However, riptides along the windward shores make swimming risky. Leave the ocean to the surfers.
LODGING
Bocas del Toro has more than two dozen hotels to choose from. Most are concentrated in Bocas Town, where they cling to the waterfront. More recent large-scale resorts have opened, with more to follow, further afield. Here’s my pick of the litter.
BOCAS INN
507-757-9600 or 269-9415
www.anconexpeditions.com
Calle 3 and Ave G, Bocas Town
Inexpensive to Moderate
Operated by Ancón Expeditions, this unpretentious yet highly regarded water-front two-story lodge is a perfect spot to laze back in a hammock or rocker on broad verandas. Six spacious rooms are modestly furnished. It has a small bar and breakfasts are served.
Lazing in a hammock in Bocas Town, Bocas del Toro, Panamá
CAREENING CAY RESORT
507-757-9157
www.careeningcay.com
Isla Carenero
Moderate
This waterfront lodge is a two-minute boat ride from Bocas Town. It’s known for its over-the-water Cosmic Crab Café serving such delights as seafood lasagna and banana leaf-wrapped baked grouper or mahi-mahi. Colorful yet simple decor makes good use of hardwoods in bungalows, in various styles. Some have kitchenettes. Wi-Fi.
HOTEL BOCAS DEL TORO
507-757-9018
www.hotelbocasdeltoro.com
Calle W, Bocas Town
Moderate
Perhaps the nicest boutique hotel in town, this charmer combines a fabulous water-front setting with simple elegance in its 12 spacious air-conditioned rooms, including attics. All have flat-screen cable TVs, Wi-Fi, coffeemakers, and sexy-to-the-touch 400-thread-count cotton sheets. You can dine alfresco on the waterfront deck, and the open-air bar is a popular local venue. Ocean kayak rentals and in-room massage.
HOTEL EL LIMBO BY THE SEA
507-757-9062
www.ellimbo.com
Calles 1ra and 2da, Bocas Town
Moderate to Expensive
A tremendous waterfront option, this three-story hotel has 15 rooms, some with balconies, and all with plasma TVs and Wi-Fi. You can rent sea kayaks. Open-air bar-restaurant, plus deck with lounge chairs.
HOTEL PLAYA TORTUGA
507-757-9050
www.hotelplayatortuga.com
Isla Colón
Expensive to Very Expensive
Bocas Town waterfront, Bocas del Toro, Panamá
The only true beach resort on Isla Colón, this low-rise newcomer set a new tone when it opened in 2009. If you like minimalist contemporary styling, you’ll love the 74 standard rooms, 40 junior suites, and 3 suites, all oozing luxury with their chocolate-and-white decor and divinely comfortable linens. The bi-level swimming pool features inset lounge chairs.
LA LOMA JUNGLE LODGE
507-6592-5162
www.thejunglelodge.com
Bahía Honda, 6 Miles (10 km) E of Old
Bank, Isla Bastimentos
Expensive
On the mangrove-fringed shores of southern Isla Bastimentos, adjoining the national park, this intimate and remote lodge has three open-walled ranchos of bamboo and thatch. Decor is ultimately romantic. Mattresses beneath mosquito nets rest atop tree-trunk logs on glazed hardwood floors. It’s a stiff five-minute climb to two of the cabins. Canopy tree house doubles as a bird-watching blind.
PUNTA CARACOL ACQUA-LODGE
507-6612-1088
www.puntacaracol.com
Punta Caracol, Isla Colón
Very expensive
Imagine, your very own thatched stilt-legged, one- or two-story suite-cabin suspended above turquoise ocean. This ecologically sustainable eco-lodge’s nine huts are all connected by a long boardwalk to the public areas on terra firma. They’re exquisitely appointed with king-sized four-poster beds and calming pastels. Gourmet cuisine in the dining room.
HOTEL TRANQUILO BAY
507-380-0721, in North America 713-589-6952
www.tranquilobay.com
Cayo Crawl, Isla Bastimentos
Moderate
An eco-lodge with its own forest reserve and trails. Six air-conditioned hardwood, tin-roofed cabins look over the forests, with views and wildlife viewing enjoyed from hammocks and Adirondack chairs on your veranda. Relax at night in the lodge’s TV lounge.
DINING
Bocas Town is a veritable gourmands’ nirvana, with everything from local seafood dives to restaurants specializing in Indian and Thai dishes. All of the hotels above offer meals, and many have restaurants open to the public.
EL PARGO ROJO
507-6597-0296
Calle 3 and Avenida H, Bocas Town
International
A popular Iranian-owned restaurant on a corner at the west end of town, it offers a hip, romantic open-air ambience beneath whirring fans. Some of the best dishes around include killer breakfasts, such as omelets; plus salads, blue-cheese burgers, pizzas; while my faves off the dinner menu include Thai soup and a delicious shrimp in coco and curry sauce. Open: Tuesday through Sunday 7–10 PM. Moderate to Expensive.
LEMONGRASS
507-757-9630
Calle 2, Bocas Town
Seafood
Above Starfleet Scuba, this place has an enviable second-floor location in an aged wooden building perched over the Caribbean. Mike Thompson, the English owner, couldn’t resist adding fish-and-chips to the menu, but mostly marries fresh seafood to Southeast Asian inspiration. Start with spicy crab cakes followed, perhaps, by a curry or fresh trout glazed in chile and ginger, with a decadent cappuccino tiramisu sundae to close. Expensive. Open: Friday through Wednesday noon–3 and 5–10 PM. Moderate to Very Expensive.
Waitress in window, Bocas Town, Bocas del Toro, Panamá
LILI’S CAFE
507-6560-8777
www.kodiakbocas.com/lilis
Calle 1, Bocas del Toro
Cheery local cook Lili always has a smile for guests at this tiny restaurant on a water-front deck. It’s a great lunch spot for veggie quiche, sandwiches made with home-baked bread, or some classic local dishes spiced up with Lili’s very own Killin’ Me Man pepper sauce. Open: Monday through Saturday 7 AM–5 PM, Sunday 7 AM–1 PM.
OM CAFÉ
507-6624-0898
Avenida E and Calle 2, Bocas del Toro
Indian
A cozy little place is tucked above a surf shop in a creaky old wooden building. You’d expect an Asian-inspired menu from a restaurant owned by a Canadian-Punjabi, and Sunandra Mehra delivers in spades. Even the breakfast menu includes spicy eggs vindaloo in roti wrap accompanied by a mango lassi. For lunch or dinner, you can’t go wrong with chicken tikka masala, prawn vindaloo, or a veggie dish. Groovy music. Open: Thursday through Tuesday 8–noon and 5:30–10 PM.
EL PECADO DE SABOR
507-6597-0296
Calle 3 and Parque Bolívar, Bocas Town
Eclectic
Bohemian upstairs restaurant a stone’s throw from the park. French-Canadian Chef Stefan spans the globe with his eclectic menu that includes Panamanian favorites, Thai-inspired dishes, and even Mexican fare, plus lots of fresh seafood dishes. Suggestions? Beef tenderloin with Dijon mustard sauce, or tuna fried in a crunchy herb breading. Be warned, the sagging balcony gives you an unnerving “this could collapse at any moment” feel. Open: Tuesday through Saturday 5–10 PM; closed May through June.
ATTRACTIONS, PARKS, AND RECREATION
Isla Colón
The archipelago’s main isle measures 24 square-mile (61 sq km)—small enough to explore entirely by bicycle if you’re fit. Many visitors are happy simply to laze in Bocas Town, where the pleasure is to be had in wandering the streets. Otherwise, the only site of interest (the town measures just eight blocks long by four wide) is Parque Simón Bolívar (Calle 3 and Avenida Central), where a bronze bust of the “Great South American Liberator,” Simón Bolívar, presides. The town beach is Playa El Istmico, a narrow sliver of sand at the west end of town.
The beach runs along a tombolo (narrow sand spit) that separates Bocas Town from the rest of the island. Occupying the spit, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) scientific research station (507-212-8564; www.stri.org; open Thursday and Friday 3–5, free) can be visited: a chance to learn about coral reefs and the local marine environment.
Isla Colón’s prize attraction is surely Finca Los Monos Botanical Garden (507-757 9461; http://www.bocasdeltorobotanicalgarden.com; open Monday at 1 PM, Friday at 8:30 AM, and other times by appointment; two-hour tours $10), a magnificent 20-acre (8 ha) hilltop garden just beyond the STRI station. Tenderly cared for by creators, David and Lin Gillingham, the garden is a riot of colorful heliconias, gingers, flowering trees, fruits, spices, and ornamentals.
Bust of Simón Bolívar, Parque Simón Bolívar, Bocas Town, Panamá
West from town, a dirt road runs along the windward shore to two prime surfing beaches—Playa Paunch and Playa Bluff (5 miles/8 km from town; a taxi will cost about $10 each way)—where Hawaii-scale waves offer a radical challenge. These miles-long beaches are backed by thick jungle good for spotting parrots, toucans, and monkeys.
For swimming, head to the sheltered, albeit tiny, beach at Bocas de Drago, at the far west end of the isle ($25 by taxi, round-trip), 8 miles (14 km) from Bocas Town. Nearby Starfish Beach is named for the zillion starfish that crawl on the seabed in crystal-clear waters. A dirt road leads through the center of the island via the hamlet of La Colonia Santeña. Cyclists be warned: there are hills! And the going is tough after rains. You can divert at La Colonia Santeña to visit La Gruta cavern, full of dripstone formations and bats; it’s also a religious sanctuary and pilgrimage site each third Sunday in July.
Transporte Boca del Drago (507-774-9065; Monday through Friday at 6:45 AM, 10 AM, noon, 3 PM, and 6 PM) operates a minibus between Bocas del Toro to Bocas del Drago.
Water taxis will run you to Bocas del Drago ($10). The journey is best combined with a visit to Swan Cay, a rocky palisade rising from the ocean 1 mile (1.6 km) off Playa Bluff. Birders will thrill to the nesting boobies and other seabirds, including red-billed tropic birds. This is a protected wildlife reserve: You may not step ashore! Instead, step ashore on Cayo Carenero, a two-minute boat ride north of Bocas Town and a sleepier, smaller twin known for its superb surfers’ reef break off the north shore.
Isla Bastimentos
Take your pick. Hikes in search of strawberry-red poison-dart frogs. Hanging 10 on Hawaii-sized waves off Playa Red Frog. Shooting sloths with your camera. Or learning guari-guari (the local creole dialect) as you slap down dominoes with locals in a funky community bar.
Good to Know About
IPAT (507-757-9642; www.ipat.gob.pa; open Monday through Friday 8–5) has a tourist information booth on Calle1 at Avenida D. ANAM (507-758-6802 or 757-9244; Calle 1 and Avenida E; Monday through Friday 8–4), the national parks agency, has an office one block north.
A 10-minute boat ride southeast of Bocas Town, this 20-square-mile (52 sq km) island has a thriving Afro-Antillean culture centered on Old Bank, a one-street waterfront settlement. Try to visit on Mondays, when you can linger at night to jive to calypso jam sessions with the world-famous Bastimentos Beach Boys.
Bastimentos has the best beaches in the archipelago; high surf and riptides preclude swimming. A track through the rain forest leads from the village to, in order, Wizard’s Beach, Red Frog Beach, and Playa Larga. These gorgeous, miles-long white sands are all favored by marine turtles as nest sites. From Playa Larga, trails turn inland to explore Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos. The park covers 51 square miles (13,226 ha), including coastal mangrove forest, bay waters, coral reefs, and cays. Riotous with birdcalls (including red-lored Amazons and blue-headed parrots), the dense tropical forests abound with critters: agoutis, howler monkeys, sloths, and caimans, plus the island’s endemic bloodred poison-dart frogs. You’re guaranteed to see these porcelain-like creatures while hiking the Sendero del Rana Rojo trail, which leads south from Red Frog Beach to the humble Ngöbe-Buglé community of Bahía Honda.
The twin tiny isles of Cayos Zapatillos, about 5 miles (8 km) east of Isla Bastimentos, are well worth the 15-minute journey: these beach-fringed, palm-shaded isles are ringed by turquoise waters. A postcard perfect scene! The coral reefs here are among the best in Panamá, drawing day-tripper snorkelers and divers.
Panamanian playing banjo in Bocas Town, Panamá
Nocturnal Monkeys?
For sure! Bocas’ endemic Northern Night monkey—Aotus trivergatus—belongs to a monkey genus that inhabits vine-draped coastal rain forest from Panamá to Brazil and is the only truly nocturnal primate on the planet. With a cute round face and orange brown eyes as big as twin saucers, it resembles a loris or bush baby. It has a long, non-prehensile tail for better balance when leaping from branch to branch. These omnivores snooze among thick foliage by day and emerge after dusk to forage. Full moon nights are the best time to see them, as they are most active then.
Isla Solarte
This 3-mile long by half-mile wide (6.5 km by 1 km) slender isle, a several-minute boat ride east from Bocas Town, is occupied by Ngöbe-Buglé people, who eke a living from fishing. Punta Hospital, at the western tip, is one of the best snorkeling and diving sites in the archipelago. Bocas Water Sports (507-757-9541; www.bocaswatersports.com) offers dive trips from Bocas Town.
Water Sports and Excursions
The new U.S. owners of Bocas Water Sports (see the Isla Solarte entry, above) offer diving (including night dives), snorkeling ($17–20), kayaking ($3 hourly, $10 half-day), plus dolphin-spotting and birding trips. Starfleet Scuba (507-757-9630; www.starfleetscuba.com; Calle 1A, Bocas Town) gives first-timers an introductory “Discover Scuba” dive ($75–95), but also has certification and advanced specialty courses.
Fancy a thrilling ride on a luxury catamaran? Call Panamá Sailing & Diving Adventures (507-6668-6849; www.panamasailing.com), which offers one- to seven-day cruises around the archipelago. Skipper Daniel Ayora also teaches sailing. Catamaran Sailing Adventures (507-757-9710 or 6625-8610; www.bocassailing.com) competes. For a more prosaic experience with local boatmen, hook up with Boteros Bocatoreños (507-757-9760; boterosbocas@yahoo.com), a local boatmen’s cooperative providing custom tours.
Jim Kimball and Jay Viola, at Hotel Tranquilo Bay (507-380-0721, in North America 713-589-6952; www.tranquilobay.com) are fly-fishing experts. They’ll take you out in their 25- and 27-foot fishing boats to hook tarpon, snook, snapper, jacks, and the like.
Bocas del Toro archipelago is Panamá’s rising surfing star, with huge, uncrowded waves. Surf season is December through April, with June and July also good. Del Toro Surfing (507-6570-8277; deltorosurf@yahoo.com.ar) and Rancho Paraíso (507-757-9415; www.ranchoparaiso.biz) offer surf lessons and board rentals, plus multiple-day packages
Sign for JJ Transporte Boat Tours, Bocas Town, Bocas del Toro, Panamá
Woman selling Kuna molas in Bocas Town, Bocas del Toro, Panamá
SHOPPING
Molas and Ngöbe-Buglé crafts astound at Artesanías Bribrí Emanuel (507-757-9652; Calle 3 and Avenida B; open Monday through Saturday 10 AM–8 PM). I bought a fabulous, oversized hammock at the open-air crafts market (Calle 3 and Avenida H), where you’ll also find molas and indigenous crafts.
Surfers can get outfitted with the coolest duds at Tropix Surf Shop (507-757-9297; Calle 3 between Avenida Central and D).
WEEKLY AND ANNUAL EVENTS
Bocas is a lively place, with something happening most months. Three big events stand out:
Each July 16, the Día de la Virgen del Carmen, devout Catholics come to town for a pilgrimage to La Gruta, the cave containing a shrine of the Virgin Mary.
The five-day Fería Internacional del Mar (International Festival of the Sea), during the second week of September, is the big enchilada, with everything from folkloric dances to the crowning of the Sea Fair Queen.
Townsfolk celebrate the Fundación de la Provincia de Bocas del Toro (Founding Day) each November 16 with street parties and parades.