Bocatoreños: friendly, helpful and party-loving people

The Fair attracts tourists from all parts of the world

The website www.bocas.com, online since 1997 approaches the 1,000,000 visitors mark. The site is a portal that serves as a witness to the intense tourist, real estate and commercial activities that exist on the islands. Colón Island is the main entrance to this tourist paradise which stands out in the entire region. It has all the characteristics of the Caribbean. This archipelago discovered by Christopher Columbus in his fourth trip is full of paradoxes; for instance, in September, while the rest of the country is facing the most intense month of the rainy season, Bocas Island has bright sunny days, blue skies, and good climate. This is the reason why from the 12th to the 21st the Del Mar Fair is celebrated.

This year, for the first time, the fair will last ten days and is expected to break its record of 20,000 visitors with revenues to the local economy conservatively estimated in US$150,000. Now is the time to visit Bocas. The president of the fair, Jorge Stevenson indicated that this year they seek to highlight the resources and marine attractions that surround the islands. They also want to promote local and national crafts. “We will have stands of international craftsmen from Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica and Colombia. This is good for approximately 25 of our craftsmen who will see new techniques and products. ”, mentioned the Bocatoreño, who has presided over the event for the last three years.

Attractions

The great attractions of the fair will be artists like Makano, Manuel Araúz from Chiriquí, Nando Boom, Brenda Lau and several others. In addition, the great local attraction will be present, the Calypso Banda Show. About calypso, a musical style that was brought by English speaking Afro Antillean immigrants; it was announced that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, MICI, will host a contest on Saturday 20th of this popular, rhythmical and full of improvisation way of singing about the facts of life. Tourist will be able to visit different government pavilions located in lands in the area of Istmito. Among them, the Smithsonian Institute of Tropical Investigations (STRI) stands out.
There, one will be able to learn about the great activities that scientists from around the world are conducting and who consider the islands as living laboratories with important sites such as the Bastimentos Marine National Park. This park distributes its territory among marine reefs, mangroves, rain forests in the island of Bastimento, and adjacent isles like those of Zapatillas Keys. On Sunday 21th, there will be an exciting kayak race in men’s and women’s categories. At 12:00 pm there will be a 25 HP motor boat race in a 15 turn circuit in front of the fairgrounds.

The prize will be a Yamaha motor valued at US$ 2,000 The attractions offered to the tourists of the islands, has responded to the tourism increase which began a decade ago. Today in the islands of Colón, Carenero, Bastimentos, and Cristóbal there are close to 100 hotels with more than 1,000 rooms. Recently, they’ve opened an extraordinary resort, the Isla Tortuga, with 120 rooms overlooking the ocean, two swimming pools, conference rooms and a restaurant for grand tourism. The hotels of Bocas have the charm of wooden structures and the architecture of the Caribbean. Please, see the list of recommendations by The Panama Post.

How to get there

Flying to Bocas is marvelous, either by Air Panama or Aeroperlas, it only takes less than an hour. Imagine leaving the Albrook Airport and in such a short time be able to enjoy the charm of these islands. Both Panamanian airlines fly twice a day to this destination. From San Jose, Costa Rica Natur Air airline arrives several times a week. The islands attract European and North American tourists that arrive in the neighbor country. As it is said that they Tourists fly from San Jose, but some also choose to do it crossing the Guabito border. They first arrive in Bocas towns on land, in Changuinola; a beautiful place surrounded by banana plantations and the port of Almirante, where the fruit is loaded onto ships. From those two points, water buses leave every 20 to 30 minutes and they connect with Colón Island. From here, a group of very reliable boatmen will take you to the other islands.

In the island there are restaurants of different types, tourism operators, with diving and ecological tours like Transparente Tours which leave daily at 9:30 a.m. This tourism operator opens its doors to the main street of the City of Bocas del Toro and in a few steps tourists can find themselves at the wharves waiting for boats that will take them to unforgettable adventures. Pájaros island, Bahía de los Delfines, Playa de las Estrellas, Zapatillas Keys and to a magical lunch site, Coral Kay a restaurant on the sea, where in any given day you’ll hear 10 different languages spoken.