Sunday, August 19, 2012

Bocas Town

Our favorite fruit stand in Bocas

Bocas Town is located on Isla Colon in the Panamanian province of Bocas del Toro. It's the main town that people fly into to explore the archipelago and yet another in a long line of tourists cities that we've been to on this trip. However, this one has a different type of clientele, mainly young people and backpackers and ex-pats, people looking for something a bit beyond the typical resort. Case in point, you can't take a step in this town without bumping into a hostel. Or someone trying to sell you weed.


This little bird will jump right up on your hand. The man who owns her also has a rooster that often sits in his window and people watches. Needless to say, we always stop by and say hello.


Other fun things about Bocas Town: The chicken shack, hands down the best rotisserie chicken that has ever existed, but be careful. It is seriously addictive. Also, Bocas has, from what we can figure, the largest percentage of tourists with tattoos of any other town we've been in. In Bocas, we've never seen so many red and buttery yellow starfish, especially around the dinghy docks. And finally, La Buga, a surf shop/dive shop/restaurant, has the best animal entertainment in town with a silly green parrot that whistles and two dogs that jump in the water after plastic bottles. One of the dogs has six toes, just like Hemingway's cats!



We watched the women's softball game for an inning, and, man, those ladies steal a lot of bases.



This stripped-out plane is located right next to the airport, inspiring confidence in all who fly in to Isla Colon.




This is my second favorite piece of graffiti I've seen on this trip. It doesn't get any better than leaf cutter ants. They form wide, green highways through the jungle, trampling down grass and carrying their leafy burdens back to their nests.

All in all, it's been a nice spot to stop for a couple of months. And it's not even raining as much!

6 comments:

  1. The man and his little bird are adorable! Love this post and your awesome photos.

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  2. Looks super interesting, and yeah that little is adorable. Very photogenic, like a ham compared to the chickens.

    I suppose it doesn't count to take photos of chicken at the chicken shack?

    In the second to last photo it looks like the boy on the left is wearing white crocs, is it so?

    Love the photos:D

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  3. sorry I meant that little bird is adorable. For some reason I often leave off letters and words from my writing...Slow down, slow down.

    perhaps some decaf would help;)

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  4. Have to love the irony of that airplane! I'm always amazed at the colors in places like that. So many colors!

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  5. Looks to be a nice place. Did you have any issues with crime or anything like that?

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    1. No crime issues for us, James. Bocas is a pretty safe place. Obviously, you have to lock everything up - dinghies, outboards, etc., but we haven't had any problems. Other parts of Panama aren't so nice though like Colon.

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