Page 238 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

236 Bocas del Toro ArchipiélAgo de BocAs del Toro
OLD BANK AND AROUND the main drag. Breadfruit chips make a pleasant change
Alvin and Ketch’s 100m left of the main dock, over the from rice and plantain, with burgers, jerk pork and the like
water; map p.222. Tasty, simple home-cooking; choose at modest prices ($6–9). Mon–Sat 6pm until late.
from that ubiquitous Panamanian staple fried chicken, rice Up in the Hill Signposted up the hill from Old Bank
and beans or Caribbean seafood dishes with coconut rice police station T6607 8962, Wupinthehill.com; map
and plantain. Daily 8am–7pm. p.222. Worth the 20min hike, this organic snack and craft
★ Chavela’s 300m right of the main dock; map p.222. shop offers fresh lemonade, delectable brownies and
6 Named after its engaging host, this cosy wooden-deck bar- numerous other goodies ($4–5) on a patio surrounded by
restaurant, surrounded by lush foliage, is a step back from
flowers. Mon–Sat 8.30am–6pm.
Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos
PARQUE NACIONAL MARINO BASTIMENTOS is one of the archipelago’s major attractions.
The 130 square kilometres of boomerang-shaped reserve sweep across a central swathe
of Isla Bastimentos and include a chunk of the northern coastline, dominated by the
6km Playa Larga, an important nesting site for hawksbill, leatherback and green turtles
(March–Sept).

MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION
one of the most poignant scenes in the natural world is the laborious nesting process of the
female turtle as she drags herself up the beach beyond the high tide mark, excavating a hole
with her flippers, before depositing fifty to two hundred eggs, their sex later determined by
the temperature of the sand. After around sixty days, usually under cover of darkness, the
hatchlings break out from their shells en masse and scuttle down to the sea, unless they
become disoriented by lights or emerge in daylight and are picked off by seabirds. each egg
has less than a one in a thousand chance of reaching maturity.
of the five species of turtle found in the country, four are known to nest along the
beaches of Bocas del Toro. historically the hawksbill (eretmochelys imbricata) and green
turtle (chelonia mydas) reproduced prolifically on the province’s sands but over the last sixty
years, as eggs were overharvested and adults killed for their meat and shells, the populations
were decimated – though significant numbers of hawksbill still nest on islas Zapatillas
(May–sept). The 29km expanse of playa chiriquí, which lines the golfo de los Mosquitos, east
of the península Valiente, is the most important rookery in all central America for gigantic
leatherbacks (dermochelys coriacea). Measuring around 1.5m on average and weighing half
a tonne, these leviathans dig seven thousand nests annually (March–June). in contrast, there
are scarcely any records of loggerheads (caretta caretta) nesting in Bocas, though they can
occasionally be spotted swimming in the archipelago’s shallows.
VOLUNTEERING
if you’re interested in volunteering (minimum one week; March–July), monitoring and
tagging turtles and patrolling beaches – most likely on playa soropta in the humedales de
san san pond sak (see p.240) – contact the sea Turtle conservancy in Bocas Town on c 3
between Av “B” and Av “c“ (Mon–Fri 9am–6pm; T757 9186 or T6661 2533, Wfacebook.com
/seaTurtleconservancyBocas).
TURTLE-WATCHING TOURS
A community tourism organization on playa Bluff leads two turtle watches per evening
(8.30pm & 10.30pm; 2hr; $20/person) in the breeding season (April–Aug). Transport from
Bocas is not included; taxis charge $35 return (including wait time) at night. The sea Turtle
conservancy office (see above) will help to get groups together to reduce transport costs.
While turtle watching can be a captivating experience, bear in mind that female turtles can
easily be spooked into not depositing their eggs. Avoid bright clothes and try to go when
there is a good moon, so as not to be tempted to use a torch (unless it’s infrared). leave your
camera behind and maintain a respectful distance from the turtle.

216-243_Panama_3_Ch6.indd 236 14/07/17 4:41 pm