Page 240 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

238 Bocas del Toro Mainland Bocas
Isla Popa
Just off the southern tip of Isla Bastimentos lies the archipelago’s second largest land mass,
Isla Popa, home to five Ngäbe fishing communities and the only island where you can
spot toucans. The northern village of Sandubidi (Popa 2) has a community-based tourism
project that offers walks along a trail with a local guide, and a community homestay
(Wmeringobe.bocasdeltoro.org). Nearby, on the island’s northeastern tip, you’ll find
several thin, sandy beaches leading off into coral-filled shallows and acres of rainforest.
6
Mainland Bocas

Mainland Bocas covers the vast majority of the province, yet its imperious jagged peaks
clad in virgin forest, its boggy wetlands and its powerful rivers are ignored by most visitors.
That said, while the three mainland towns of Chiriquí Grande, Almirante and Changuinola
have little for tourists, the Humedales de San San Pond Sak, home to countless aquatic
birds and the endangered manatee, and the spectacular wilderness Parque Internacional
La Amistad are definitely worth the effort to reach. The two main obstacles to exploring
the region – poor accessibility and lack of infrastructure – have helped preserve the
province’s natural heritage; today, however, the indigenous Bri-Bri, Naso and Bokota
populations’ livelihoods are under threat from hydroelectric projects (see box, p.241).

Chiriquí Grande to Almirante
From the village of Chiriquí, 14km east of David on the Interamericana, a spectacular
road heads over the Fortuna hydroelectric dam, cresting the continental divide that
marks the entry into Bocas del Toro, before descending to the small town of Chiriquí
Grande, the Atlantic terminus of the Trans-Panama Oil Pipeline. The road then hugs the
crinkled coastline for 60km to the port of Almirante, before continuing to Changuinola
(see opposite). Few visitors venture east of Chiriquí Grande into the increasingly
deforested Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, where rivers cut through the Caribbean slopes of the
Cordillera Central, flowing into the Golfo de los Mosquitos. The 29km Playa Chiriquí
here is home to a major turtle conservation programme (see box, p.236).
Silico Creek
Km 25, Punta Peña • Community tourism T6558 6913, Wuraribocasdeltoro.org • David–Changuinola buses pass through Silico Creek
(2hr 30min–3hr from David; 30–40min from Almirante)
Between Chiriquí Grande and Almirante, on the border of the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé,
lies the Ngäbe community of SILICO CREEK, a dynamic village that has successfully
retained traditional values while adapting to the modern economy. Though day-visits
are common, you can also stay in the community’s thatched cabañas ($15/person) or
even arrange a homestay ($10/person), giving you more time to learn about the organic
permaculture projects in coffee, plantains, banana, yuca and, most successfully, cocoa.
In addition to cocoa tours ($10/person), you can hike through the rainforest to a
waterfall (4–6hr; $15/person), or undertake a whole-day trek to visit an indigenous
organic farm ($30/person). Some English is spoken on tours.
Almirante
The ramshackle town of ALMIRANTE, its rusting tin-roofed wooden houses propped up
on stilts over the Caribbean, is the departure point for water-taxis to the Bocas del Toro
archipelago. Like Bocas, the port is a product of the banana boom, and suffered a
similar decline. Unlike Bocas, there is no tourism-fuelled renaissance on the horizon.
Basic services are lacking, unemployment and its associated ills are a major concern,
and most visitors pass through as quickly as possible. If you miss the last water-taxi, try
the Hotel Alhambra (T758 3001), on the road to the port – it’s basic but clean and safe.

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