Except for the Panama Canal as an attraction, Panama is not
a country you hear about too frequently as a travel destination, at least not
compared to other small countries in the region like Costa Rica, Guatemala,
Ecuador, and even Nicaragua . It’s not clear to me why that’s the case since it
has a diverse natural landscape and obviously lots of great beaches given the
isthmus nation’s enormous coastline. One of the few places I have heard of as a
destination, though, is Bocas Del Toro, an archipelago on the Caribbean side in
the western part of the country near the Costa Rican border.

I had somehow pictured a well-developed place with large upscale
package tourist resorts for Bocas Del Toro, more like I’ve seen in Costa Rica
and Dominican Republic. The reality couldn’t be farther from the truth. For the
most part Bocas is a cheap backpacker hippie type haven with small guesthouses
and hostels catering to a budget conscious crowd. The main town of Bocas Del
Toro is a colorful Caribbean type town that was originally built by the United
Fruit Company as part of its Central American banana empire, quaint and a mix
of run-down and gentrified. Our accommodation for two nights on the island, The
Scan’s Cay Hotel, looked to be about the largest and poshest around .

With a full day at leisure on Bocas del Toro, no bikes, and
nothing organized other than going out to dinner in the evenings, I figured I’d
try to find an option to make the best of it. Most of the people on the cycling
tour were pleased to just go to the beach for the day to get sunburnt to
display their tropical vacation to everyone they know when they got back to
England. My roommate Richard and I, though, both wanted to do something a
little more active. Fortunately, there are plenty of small tour operators in
Bocas who do y tours by speedboat With a full day at leisure on Bocas del Toro,
no bikes, and nothing organized other than going out to dinner in the evenings,
I figured I’d try to find an option to make the best of it. Most of the people
on the cycling tour were pleased to just go to the beach for the day to get
sunburnt to display their tropical vacation to everyone they know when they got
back to England. My roommate Richard and I, though, both wanted to do something
a little more active . Fortunately, there are plenty of small tour operators in
Bocas who do y tours by speedboat around the archipelago.

Our multi-activity day started off with a fast ride to a bay
on a nearby island favored by dolphins for some dolphin spotting. That was
followed by a ride through an area of mangroves and a shallow spot with lots of
starfish. We then had a long time for snorkeling at a coral reef. The other
raved about it, and although I did see a fair number of fish on the whole I
found it a little disappointing compared to the more pristine reefs I saw the
last time I snorkeled in the Maldives two years ago. I guess I’m just kind of
spoiled.

Our lunch stop was at a restaurant built on stilts over the
water where my Filete de Pescado a la Criolla (fish fillet with creole sauce)
turned out to be significantly better than the two fancier fish dishes I had on
the two evenings in Bocas at somewhat posher places. Then it was another speedy
ride to Cayo Zapatilla, a small Robinson Crusoe like island that’s part of a
national park, to spend the afternoon at leisure on the beach or snorkeling .
This was a bit more like the paradise island experience I was expecting at
Bocas. The boat trip finished up with a stop at an island to try to spot
sloths. We did manage to see a few, but they blend in to the trees so well that
I wasn’t able to get any good pictures.

The next morning was another very early start to catch one
of the first speedboat ferries to the mainland. Only so much dilly-dallying
allowed on a cycling trip. You get a day off now and then but then it’s back to
the hard work of peddling.