Page 220 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

218 Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro

Isolated on the Costa Rican border between the Caribbean and the forested
slopes of the Cordillera de Talamanca, Bocas del Toro (“Mouths of the Bull”) is
one of the most beautiful areas in Panama. It’s also one of the most remote –
6 the mainland portion of the province is connected to the rest of Panama by a
single spectacular road that carves its way over the continental divide, often
blocked by landslides during the heaviest rains, while the island chain
offshore requires a boat ride to reach.

For most people, Bocas – confusingly, the abbreviation for the province, archipelago,
provincial capital and even sometimes Isla Colón – means the tropical islands, which
attract more visitors than anywhere else outside Panama City, offering opportunities for
relaxing on pristine beaches and snorkelling and diving among coral reefs in a maze of
tangled mangroves and undisturbed rainforest. The archipelago’s unique history has
made it the most ethnically diverse region in Panama outside the capital, its Afro-
Caribbean, Panamanian-Chinese, mestizo and indigenous Ngäbe residents recently joined
by North American retirees and US and European hotel owners. English is the dominant
language, though Spanish is still widespread. That said, however cosmopolitan Bocas has
become, it is the languid pace of the dominant Afro-Caribbean culture and its distinctive
vernacular wooden architecture that most clearly defines the place.
The archipelago only constitutes a small percentage of the province, much of which is
taken up by the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé in the east and the inaccessible but spectacular
Talamanca mountain range to the southwest, whose lofty peaks form the backbone
of the vast Parque Internacional La Amistad, which boasts an awe-inspiring array of
wildlife. The lowlands of the mainland, often dismissed as an endless stream of banana
plantations, also offer a couple of notable attractions. Panama’s banana capital and the
province’s main commercial centre, Changuinola, provides access to the magical
Humedales de San San Pond Sak, the country’s main refuge for the manatee and an
important beach for nesting marine turtles. Inland, on the banks of the picturesque
Río Teribe, a stay with the Naso, one of the less-well-known indigenous peoples,
provides a unique opportunity for intercultural exchange in a stunning natural setting.

Brief history
Archeological evidence suggests that indigenous peoples inhabited the islands and
mainland of present-day Bocas del Toro two thousand years ago, long before an ailing
Christopher Columbus limped into the bay on his final voyage in 1502 in search
of a route to Asia. Later, during the colonial era, the calm waters of the archipelago
provided shelter for European pirates and by the early nineteenth century the islands
were becoming the ethnic melting pot that they are today. British and US trading
merchants came with their West African slave workforce, founding the town of

The Ngäbe and Buglé p.221 Strawberry poison dart frogs p.233
Safety in Bocas p.223 Cultural ecotourism in Bocas del Toro
Water in Bocas p.223 p.234
Bocas festivals p.226 Marine turtle conservation p.236
Diving, snorkelling and surfing in Bocas The West Indian manatee p.240
p.227 The Naso Kingdom p.241
Tours from Bocas Town p.228 Staying in a Naso village p.242

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