Candid thoughts on Bocas del Toro, Panama

There exists a category of destinations I’ve visited that can best be summarized by: “I don’t regret coming here, but I don’t have much desire to come back anytime soon.” And it’s not that these destinations are necessarily bad or unpleasant, it’s that, as I accrue more travel experience, the great destinations start to truly differentiate themselves from the decent, the mediocre, and the ‘meh.’

After spending the past three weeks in Bocas del Toro, Panama, I also toss it into that bucket (at risk of sounding like a spoiled gringo who has the privilege to rate his tropical vacations).

I mean, on paper Bocas is great. The postcard-worthy Caribbean isles off the mainland of Western Panama were ‘discovered’ in 1502 by Colombus himself. The islands have transformed into a tourism hotbed complete with a small airport that shuttles passengers from Panama City. You can go diving, snorkeling, ATVing, swimming, fishing, surfing, and hiking. In Bocas you don’t have to go far to find electric blue water lapping up against palm tree-lined, white sand beaches where rambunctious howler monkeys frolic and pensive sloths lumber.

Bocas del Toro is also a melting pot of Panamanians. On Bastimentos Island you’ll find the creole-speaking Afro-Panamanians, descendants of Jamaican immigrants who were the first non-natives to settle these islands in large numbers. And if you keep your ears open around the bustling streets of Bocas Town, you’ll hear indigenous languages, plenty of Mandarin, and, of course, the Panamanian dialect of Spanish frequently interjected by their favorite swear word, ‘chucha.’

To top it all off, there’s surf. Storms and wind spinning out in the Caribbean Sea send chunky, short-period swells to the Panamanian coast during the winter and spring months. The reefs and beaches of Bocas harness the swells astonishingly well to make waves that are fun for surfing — or even epic on their best days.

But, all that said, Bocas hasn’t really been my cup of tea. And it’s been a bit of a mental exercise to try to pinpoint exactly why.

As far as Latin America goes — or even as far as Panama goes — Bocas is expensive. This is the product of island life with excessive amounts of North American/European/Argentinian tourists and ex-pats. To dodge the steeper prices, I did two weeks of hostel dorms when I arrived in Bocas, only to remind myself that, at 32 years old, I am truly aging out of shared rooms.

Transportation was a bit of an issue for me in Bocas. For many, this may not be the case, but for a surfer (or someone who enjoys getting into the outdoors) it can become a problem. Transport between islands is done by small panga boats. The shortest, most basic routes are typically $5 each way per person (Panama uses USD), or maybe a little more if the boat driver senses you can be duped. These $5-8 rides start to really add up if you want to be on top of the waves. And finding a go-to boat driver is crucial. Before we found our “guy,” other drivers refused to take us to certain spots, wanted obscene prices to take us to slightly farther spots, or were just flat out unreliable. My friend, Nate, and I spent an afternoon getting toasted in the sun when our boat driver never returned to pick us up. As we later found out, he found a more profitable boat tour and didn’t send anyone back to replace him. (Leaving gringos stranded in the midday, equatorial sun is borderline attempted murder.) When we finally gave up on ever seeing that driver again, we flagged down a passing boat driver who, sensing our predicament, noticed he could make a few extra bucks off some stranded tourists — the classic gringo tax.

If you are staying on the main island, Isla Colón, which is where the main town is and where I was for two of my three weeks, transportation is done by vehicle or bicycle on one of two roads that wind around the island. It’s not very walkable unless you are spending all your time in town, which no one does. The scooters/e-bikes were being rented for $40/day and the ATVs were going for $90 for the first day and then $50 each day after that. Oh how I missed the $5 scooters of Bali. The taxis are all Toyota pick-up trucks and shared with other passengers, typically ranging from $2-5 per person — somewhat convenient if you are heading into town, less so if you want to go surfing and check spots. The prices are set for the tourist visiting for a few days looking to dump their wallet, not as much for the full-time traveler like myself who can’t shell out that money for a month straight. So, my solution was going into town (where things tend to be a bit cheaper) and renting a bicycle for $5 per day. I managed to scrap together a surf rack and went on a wild goose chase for an allen wrench to assemble it. While getting around via bicycle was the cheapest option, it was far from the most comfortable. Travel on the pot hold-riddled roads was slow and jarring, oftentimes bumping my chain off the cogs. And the continuous clouds of dust kicked up by passing vehicles would accumulate on my drenching sweat in the extreme humidity.

But most of all, the place is just so geared towards tourism that it’s a bit off-putting to me. And it’s not that there are that many tourists. I actually overhead the locals say that the tourism was pretty dead as the season was coming to a close. It’s just the…vibes…I suppose. By that I mean, tourist prices, tourist food, rolling suitcases, 15-people ATV tours, people who ignore signs posted to not touch wildlife, electronic music parties, so many foreigner-oriented eateries that I am not even sure if I know what Panamanian food is, overpriced restaurants on distant islands whose sole purpose is to serve hordes of tourists brought on tours, etc. Do you get the idea?

In Bocas I was just another gringo tourist added to the equation. Anyway, some tourist destinations manage these “vibes” better than others, but I just felt the tourism levels in Bocas are such that it’s hard to get a real feel for Panama. Even convincing locals to speak with me in Spanish took some insistence. Many of those involved in tourism, whether locals or ex-pats, speak very passable English (or are native English speakers) and had to be strongly implored to join me in speaking Spanish. I noticed that some of the ex-pats who had been living there for many years could hardly speak a lick of español — maybe that alone better depicts what I am trying to explain.

All that said, good surfing is usually the antidote for everything. A magical surf session can wash away the saltiest impression of a place. And while I surfed quite a bit with several fun days, the surf season there in April was coming to an end, so I really didn’t get great surf. I’d say half the days there was no surf at all (quite the contrast to my 21 straight days of surfing in Michoacán, Mexico). If I had been there during peak season, say February, maybe I would be singing a totally different tune. Although, based on what I hear about the crowds in peak season, maybe not.

I spoke to a friend who has been to Bocas twice. He said he had a similar impression as me the first time he went, but the second time he had the trip of a lifetime. Does that mean I need to go back?… While poking around on Google, I can see that I am not the only blogger who had this ‘meh’ reaction to Bocas. One couple explained it well, saying they just “didn’t get” why people fawn over Bocas compared to other Caribbean beach destinations.

I’ve learned over the years that it’s important to keep expectations in check when traveling to touristy places. You need to embrace the place for what it is or you are setting yourself up for failure. But, of course, I am just one person — a stubbornly budget-conscious surf writer with a touch of introvert whose opinion on Bocas was maybe tainted by a three-day spell of debilitating stomach bug. Many clearly love Bocas, as is evidenced by the non-stop flow of tourists that come and take to the streets of Bocas Town on ‘Filthy Friday,’ so take whatever I say with a grain of salt.

As I departed Bocas and took a boat to a grimy, industrial port town on the mainland, I finally felt like I was in Panama. I struck up a conversation with a few young locals who all wanted my first-hand report about a fire that was burning down a building back on the island. Interacting with locals in a non-transactional setting was refreshing, which almost never happened in Bocas.

As I talk myself in circles trying to make sense of my time in Panama, I must clarify that it wasn’t bad at all. In fact, I’d say Bocas was interesting with its windows of fun and several moments of bliss. But are there other places I’d rather have gone that would have saved me a lot of money? Probably. But do I wish I could take it back? Nah. So is the world of travel, you learn as you go.