Bocas del Toro,
Panama
Where have 12 countries filmed their
hit TV series "Survivor"? The answer: exotic Bocas
del Toro Archipelago off of Panama's pristine Caribbean coast!
Bocas del Toro is
located in Western Panama near
the border of Costa Rica. Here, the Caribbean's aqua waters wash
up against a dense rainforest and low key town.
Bocas is one of Panama's top tourist attractions and with good
reason. Where else can you enjoy beautiful beaches with scarcely
a soul in sight and rainforests so fine Lonely Planet Guide
calls them "a biologists fantasy"? The town itself has a rich history,
a lively nightlife and a friendly population. Like the rest of Panama, Bocas is
blessed
 by nature: no hurricanes ever touch these shores, as
they do elsewhere in Central America.
The first person to anchor in these peaceful waters was
Christopher Columbus in 1502. He repaired his boats on Carinero
Island, named by him. Later, English pirates found Bocas the
perfect safe haven and later in the 1800's it became a dynamic
commercial center for trade in cacao and bananas. Immigrants,
mainly from Jamaica, made Bocas an English speaking province in a
Spanish speaking nation. Even today, most adults speak English.
At the turn of the century, the town of Bocas del Toro was the
first headquarters of the United Fruit Company. Boasting of 25,000
inhabitants, it had six consuls and five newspapers. A banana
blight in the l920's put an end to this vibrant commercial center,
but historical buildings and a stately park still stand.
In the last few years, Bocas has been experiencing a real estate
boom. Prices of land have skyrocketed. Still, they represent some
of the best buys in the Caribbean. Who is buying in Bocas? Mostly
American "baby boomers" who are snapping up $25,000 beach front
lots with an eye to building a vacation/retirement home in the
near future. Even on a retirement income, in Bocas you can enjoy
"the good life" in safe and beautiful surroundings.
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