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Panama: Eight Destinations in Which to Spend the Winter Months

First
Time Reader?

Why Panama? – This blog explains the rationale of
the trip and this series of blogs.

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lobo/excursions/1266327384/tpod.html

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Bocas del Toro

Destination no, 8 of 8 to Spend the Winter Months in Panama
 
Date of Visit: February 17 -20

Date Blog Written: September 25, 2010
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Bocas del Toro - Caribbean Dreaming

 Part 1 of 3
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The name Bocas del Toro (mouths of the bull) has several meanings in this region of the Caribbean Coast near the Costa Rican border .

Firstly there is the province of Bocas del Toro. Then there is the archipelago of Bocas del Toro and finally the town of Bocas del Toro that is also referred to as Bocas Town located on Isla Colon (Columbus Island). It was Christopher Columbus who discovered the area in 1502.

The province is made up of the archipelago and the town is the capital of the province.

Towns and Villages

http://www.Bocas.com/btistown.htm

Just the combination of the words "archipelago" and "Caribbean" are enough to set the imagination on fire. Could this be the place in Panama that reserves all that Panama has not been so far – tropical islands with beautiful stretches of white sandy beaches under swaying palm trees lapped by crystal clears waters? The short answer is yes.

During my travels in Panama I encountered many travellers and expats and invariably I would ask the question: Where did you like it best? That question mostly resulted in the answer – “Bocas del Toro” . The more adventurous would reply with “Kuna Yala”, commonly known as the San Blas Islands. As nice as the Bocas del Toro archipelago is, the San Blas Islands apparently are even nicer. For one thing they are located on the “Comarca de Kuna Yala” that is a semi-autonomous indigenous region populated by the Kuna people. It is remotely located and accessed by air or four-wheel vehicle and boat.

Unfortunately, I did not have the time, courage or inclination to take my expensive malaria pills to access this area. It would have made for a great blog but let's not cry over spilled milk and get on with Bocas del Toro.

Speaking of malaria pills, before leaving Canada I got an update on all my travel vaccinations at a Travel Clinic. What I was told about Panama is that yes, malaria medication should be taken but there are two different types of medication – one for the eastern part (Kuna Yala) and another for the western part (Bocas del Toro)

http://wwwnc .cdc.gov/travel/destinations/panama.aspx

It is very confusing and discouraging at the same time when you look at the side effects of the various malaria medications including hair loss.

I opted for the more expensive malaria medication (Malarone) that could be started once I had arrived in Panama.

When I met travellers and expats I would not only ask “what destination did you like best” but also “did you take malaria medication”? The answer was invariably “no”.

So the bottom line was that I never did take the malaria medication but undoubtedly that was a big factor in not going to the Kuna Yala region. I would have felt compelled to start the medication had I gone there.

I write this not as advice to anyone else as I am simply stating what I did, rightly or wrongly.

Malaria is transmitted by mosquito bites so one would think that hotels would take precautions to have screened windows and maybe even mosquito netting over beds – keep dreaming .

Neither in Panama, Costa Rica or Nicaragua did I find the most elementary precautions against malaria. The people that run these establishments simply don't care or are so blasé about the danger that it is left to the individual traveller to bring along the mosquito spray, the netting etc. If there is mosquito screening in a window it is sure to be punctured or somewhere in the room there is a vent in the wall that has no screening at all. Do not expect to find a hook over your bed where you might hang a mosquito net. On the other hand, in all three countries I did not find much of a mosquito presence. But then it only takes one bite – n’est-ce pas?

To state the obvious, travelling is dangerous to your health. That is the calculated risk when one leaves the comforts and controlled environment of home.

Here is what I wrote about Bocas del Toro during my time in Panama.
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Lobo’s Real Time:

February 11, 2010

I am back in the big city of David after the visit to Bouquete . The old hotel - the Residencial Avenida - feels comfortable at $16 even though it does not have hot water. At highs around 35 degrees centigrade, who cares! Beers are cheap at 60 cents at the ramshackle saloon across the street. Everything is ok except I can’t make up my mind as to my next destination.

I was originally planning to go to Bocas del Toro located on Colon Island located on the Caribbean side of Panama near Costa Rica but this is carnival weekend and there is a carnival in Bocas del Toro that would surely make it impossible to find reasonable accommodations.

For whatever reason I have always had an aversion towards making hotel reservations. So after breakfast it was no easy step for me to give it a shot and enquire about accommodations in Bocas de Toro. To my surprise I found a room at the Hotel Casa Max for $40 per day for the four-day carnival. Bocas del Toro is not David where one could live for $30 a day, all inclusive . I had originally planned to leave half my oversized luggage at the Residencial Avenida but at the last minute decided, what the heck, let’s take it all, even if it has to ride on top of the bus.

Sometimes things work out. I arrived at the bus station, located within walking distance of the Residencial Avenida, and within five minutes my heavy duffle bag on wheels was on top of the bus and I was on my way.

Wow, amazingly, I was on my way to the carnival in Boca del Toro after all.
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“Taking the bus” from David to Bocas del Toro actually means taking the bus to Changuinol and getting off after about four hours at Almirante.

The bus ride from David to Almirante was more interesting than anticipated because I was not aware that a major mountain range had to be crossed and that I would be travelling through a “comarca”, Ngöbé- Buglé a region where indigenous people live .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngöbe-Buglé

Just before Chistré, where the road heads north towards Almirante, the bus made a quick stop at a store. When the bus driver got back in everyone started opening the windows in the air conditioned bus. That left me scratching my head asking myself: Who gave the order? Why is this being done? It was later during the trip through the mountains that I realized that the air conditioning is turned off to easy the strain on the engine. Once we hit the flats again on the other side of the mountains the air conditioning came back on again. Most things make sense if all the facts are known.

The trip was surprisingly pleasant as the scenery and people were gripping, at least from the viewpoint of a blogger.

Rugged and somewhat hostile terrain abounded. Frequent road construction that included construction of giant culverts and drainage ditches was evidence of the battle against the elements . While everything looked fine on this day, during the rainy season survival of this black ribbon of asphalt, winding its way through the rain forest with its mountainous terrain, was an ongoing battle. To help pay for upgrades and perhaps as a source of revenue for the “comarca”, the bus stopped from time to time to allow for the payment of a toll.

As the bus headed deeper into the mountains I became more and more aware of the possibility of rain. Then it occurred to me that my MacBook is up there in my baggage on the top of the roof of the bus - a good soaking would render it history. Fortunately it never did rain and I would not find out how much rain it would take to reach the lower level of my baggage.

Photography from the moving bus was almost impossible and the bus just never seemed to stop at the right spot to catch the best of the scenery. Of special interest, as we were passing through the “comarca”, were the houses built on cement or wooden supports . They stood about six feet off the ground and were finished off with steeply pitched thatched roofs giving them a south-seas allure. Elevating the houses must provide better ventilation, keep the waters of the rainy season at bay and cause the snakes, insects and scorpions to pass under the house instead of being uninvited visitors.

In another example of different attitudes towards safety, during a part of the trip through the mountains the “aide de camp” to the driver stood in the doorway with an open door while the bus was careening along on the winding mountain road. And if you are wondering – no the driver did not wear a seat belt.

Since Bocas del Toro is a major destination it would not be unreasonable to expect ample signage that Almirante was the place to get off the bus. If I would not have asked I might have been well on my way to Changuinol. As it is, the Almirante bus stop is located at an intersection outside the town.

Once off the bus the challenge is to keep at bay the mob of taxi drivers vying to grab your luggage and take you to the port . My first attempt met with failure as the driver was about to throw my bag into the back of an unmarked truck. While free enterprise is to be appreciated it would nevertheless be some type of assurance to have a marked taxi. That was my next choice.

Eight minutes later I was again met with a mob of volunteers to grab my bag and take it to a waiting boat. Especially resourceful was a young lad who glued himself to my bag and who became my unwanted guide. I rewarded him for his efforts with a “propina” despite the whisperings of a man about the young lad being a “ladron” or thief. That comment however had me watching over my affairs like a hawk.

….. to be continued in next blog

Bocas del Toro – The Carnival

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