Bocas del Toro
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 rain forest 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 rain forests 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.
Click here to browse hotels in Bocas del Toro.
| Written by caseyhalloran |
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Filed under: Beach, Destinations on May 14th, 2009
