Adventure Travel Panama: Don’t Want to Leave!
October 26, 2000
Bocas Del Toro, Panama
My hotel, mine is the open window.
I don’t wanna go! I could stay here for a very long time. In fact, I think I could live here. I’ve been in Panama for three weeks now and still only visited the northern-most one fifth of this very small country. As my trip progresses, I seem to be travelling slower and slower. At this rate of deceleration, by the time I get to Peru, I will have come to a complete stop!
I’m on an island now called Bocas in the Bocas Del Toro region of Panama. It is a tropical archipelago. Many of the islands are entirely blanketed with vegetation, with dense mangrove extending into the water and thick rainforest up into the hills. Fortunately there are a few clearings in the jungle and some very nice beaches. A boat is the preferred form of transport in the maze of waterways between and around the various sized keys.
The best way to get around...
Bocas is the main inhabited island with a healthy little tourist economy. There is an eclectic mix of expatriates from around the globe blended with Caribbean Blacks, indigenous Folk, and those of Latin blood. Most everyone understands both English and Spanish.
Italians, French Canadians, Germans and a few Americans are running a number of the businesses competing for the tourist dollar. Former travelers always seem to have a better handle on serving the tourist than the non-mobile locals.
Flirting with the bartender
In any case, the foreigners seem to have a sincere concern for, as well as a vested interested in, the social health of the community. They are out to make a profit, but more here for the lifestyle, to be sure! And since everyone knows everyone in this small island community, security is not a big issue and children have relative freedom to roam the streets and parks in safety.
Barco Hundido, or the 'Wreck Deck' a waterfront bar overlooking a sunken ship.
And an infrastructure! Yes, there is a government with a manageable amount of corruption, utilities, a bank, and even cable TV! Yet the place retains a thirld world, laid back, tropcal island mentality. It may just be ripe for a corporate tourist takeover, but for now it ís a slice of paradise.
Yes, I could stay for quite a while! But wait! (Forgive me if you’ve heard this line before) I’m on a mission! Tierra Del Fuego or Bust! But I can stay for just a couple more days, can’t I?
