Feeling cool again in Bocas del Toro:

Day trips are cheap and fabulous from this funky island town

 I don’t know how they do it but y0ung backpackers are the first to find about these places. Before the luxury hotels spring up and cruise ships sail in, they are there.

The little funky town of Bocas del Toro in Panama was full of them. I don’t think they are called hippies these days, but they do remind me of the ’60s. I like to think of myself as having been a hippie.

My husband Dan and I were taking a three-week vacation in Panama. Before my research on the Internet, the only things I had known about Panama was that it was famous for its canal, it was in the same time zone as Ottawa, and it was warm.

I read that Bocas del Toro, on the island of Colón, had retained its original charm in spite of becoming a popular destination. Our kind of place: a small town with a laidback Caribbean vibe set in an archipelago of idyllic beauty, a place where we could just be easy, soak up some sun and eat catchof-the-day with perhaps a piña colada or margarita. We booked eight days at a hotel on the main street.

Bocas lived up to its reputation and made me smile as I felt transported back in time.

This colourful town seems to have as many hostels as hotels. Hostels such as the Gran Kahuna and Calypso stand on the main street alongside little shops with multicoloured woven hammocks, amateurish paintings and an assortment of earrings and bracelets. Brightly painted wooden buildings house restaurants with eating areas on stilts over the ocean. Water taxis outnumber land taxis by 10 to one.

Read the rest of the story here:

http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Feeling+cool+again+Bocas+Toro/4602791/story.html

TIPS:Go in the dry season, between January and April.

Pack light. There are weight restrictions on internal flights.

U.S. dollars are the legal currency.

More: www.panamainfo.com

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“President Martinelli wants Panama to be known as the next Miami as a shopping and airline hub; the next Chile for copper exports; the next Dubai as a business and real estate capital; the next Rotterdam as a shipping hub; and the next Singapore as a global logistics center.

“We are seeking our own path in the world, but we have to copy the good things that other countries have done, for example what Singapore has done and what the Dominican Republic has done in tourism,” Martinelli told the Monitor following the recent investors conference, “Panama: Where the World Meets.”

 Though it sounds like a tall order, Panama, which enjoyed 7.5 percent economic growth last year – more than double the Central American average – seems up to the challenge. According to projections from the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund, Panama will lead the region in economic growth over the next five years, thanks in large part to a five-year, $20 billion public-investment plan highlighted by a $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal, to finish in 2014.

But there are signs that this pro-business government can’t have everything it wants all at once.

On March 3, Martinelli reluctantly announced his government was repealing its controversial Reforms to the Mining Code (Law – an initiative that his administration had hoped would bring in billions of dollars in revenue and convert Panama into one of the largest mining nations in Latin America within 20 to 30 years.

Backpedaling on it and the mining law are indications, he insists, that his government is listening to the people. Analysts, however, claim the reversals are more a symptom of his government’s failure to consult civil society on projects that don’t necessarily jibe with Panama’s culture or traditional development model. And it’s giving some the impression of an erratic government that is shooting out in all directions. “

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2011/0323/What-Obama-missed-by-skipping-Panama-in-Latin-America-tour

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In just 45 days the new National terminal at Tocumen International airport will open. This means that you will be able to book one ticket -Your country-David (near Boquete) via Tocumen International  or Your country- Bocas del Toro  via Tocumen .  You will fly into  Tocumen  in the morning and fly to David or Bocas in the afternoon. You can buy your ticket with both flights included.

The big savings is in time and money- it will no longer be necessary to stay overnight in Panama City and then fly the next morning to David or Bocas.

Thank you to our tourism minister Salomon Shamah and Copa Airlines for making this all possible.

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To solidify Panama’s position as the Business Hub of the Americas and to attract more foreign investment, Panama has launched  an advertising campaign designed to highlight the country as an attractive investment destination for U.S. investors by contrasting continued instability in international markets with Panama’s stable, growing and highly competitive economy. The first phase of the “Panama: Where The World Meets” campaign is being launched with full page ads in the Wall Street Journal, Politico and Roll Call newspapers and across a spectrum of online news sites promoting the country’s upgrade to an Investment Grade rating this year.

“Panama’s dollar economy, our infrastructure, our simplified tax structure and of course our location make us a great and attractive place for new investments and global economic development,” said Ricardo Martinelli, president of the Republic of Panama, in an introductory message on the campaign’s website, www.meetpanama.com.pa.

Panama was rated as the 2nd most competitive economy in Latin America by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011. It’s expected to almost double its GDP between 2009 and 2010 and the International Monetary Fund projects that Panama will have the fastest growing economy in Latin America by 2015.

During his first year in office, President Martinelli led a major tax reform effort that simplified structures and cut corporate rates and began implementing a 5-year, $13.6 billion infrastructure investment plan that will significantly modernize and diversify Panama’s strong logistics capabilities. The combination of those factors led to an upgrade in Panama’s sovereign debt rating to Investment Grad

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Panama just won the ninth spot as a new dining destination. I couldn’t agree more. We have lived all over Latin America and I place Panama as # 3 for fine dining after Argentina and Brazil.  (Mexico has great Mexican food- but that’s it.)

Panama has an incredible variety of fine cuisine from Chinese, to seafood and  steak houses to Italian. Panama’s local cuisine gets top international accolades at places like Barrandas at the Bristol Hotel where the chef is award winning Cuquita Arias.  It is fun just thinking about where one can dine out in Panama City.

Check out our Panama City Restaurants Picks page” http://panamainfo.com/en/panama-city-restaurant-picks

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If you’re planning an upcoming trip to Panama, you can travel feeling a little safer. Panama has just introduced a new program  that provides emergency medical insurance for tourists during the first 30 days of their stay.

Panama provides the service through the distribution of cards. All visitors who arrive  at Panama City’s Tocumen airport, can pick up a user card from the tourist information center. If an accident takes place during their visit, they simply have to present this card, along with their passport to receive care.

The insurance covers accidental death (up to $20,000,) hospitalization, medical expenses (up to $7,000,) and dental emergencies (up to $2,000.) The policy is provided by the insurance company Assicurazioni Generali, which has a contract with the government through next two years.
The insurance still won’t cover accidents due to negligence, caused by drugs or alcohol, or that resulted from extreme sports.

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Canopy Tower Triumphs Again and Again

Puts Panama on the Map for Nature and Birding

You and Your Family Should Go

Congratulations to Canopy Tower and Raul Arias de Para. His amazing Canopy Tower has won more accolades than any other Panama tourism destination.

It doesn’t stop. Among other articles, Canopy Tower was recently featured in Newsweek magazine which has the largest circulation of any news magazine in the US.

Raul is now promoting nature experience tours.

If you and your family haven’t  yet  been to Canopy Tower, I recommend it.  It’s  the best nature experience in Panama and according to the international press, one of the best in the world.  It’s also close- less than an hour from Panama City.  www.canopytower.com Nancy

Recent Press About Canopy Tower

Going to the Birds

Newsweek November 2010

Today, a stay at the Canopy Tower is one of the premier ecotourism experiences in the world

Canopy Tower can be described only as a place where everyone falls in love with birds

You emerge through a hatch onto the observation deck, a dazzling 360-degree open-air walkway around the dome that provides a panoramic view of the rainforest canopy. Birder, bird watcher, nonbirder—on that deck it doesn’t matter, because the birds are all there, right in front of you at eye level. It is impossible not to be drawn in. My mom and I saw scores of avian species, but also howler monkeys, sloths, tamarins, all kinds of bats and butterflies—as well as freight ships making their way through the Panama Canal—without taking more than a few steps one way or another.

Los Angeles Times

One of the top 14 hotels in the world

The scene: Nirvana for birders and jungle junkies in the forest at Soberania National Park.

New York Times: October, 2009

Open the window of your room and probably less than 40 feet away are hundreds of bird species. “It’s incredible that you have such wilderness so close to the city

Some bird-watchers were saying that here, in a matter of days, they had seen as many species as they had in many other countries on many different occasions combined. The diversity is amazing.”

The Fodors 2010 Choice Award

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Red Frog Beach Resort is now one of Panama’s most attractive beach and eco-destinations.  To start it is on Red Frog Beach- arguably the most beautiful beach in Panama. What a view with its crashing waves, fringe of rainforest, white sand and deep azure waters. Secondly, Red Frog Resort  is the only place in Bocas where tourists can experience the Bocas del Toro  rainforest with their new Bastimientos Sky Canopy Zipline adventure which takes you up a lush jungle trail and then zipping through the jungle on 7 tree based ziplines, plus a ropes course, tarzan swing and an optional  high platform rappel.

I loved the plexiglass on wood signs on the zipline trail with info about Bastimientos  flor and fauna- the best signage I have seen anywhere in Panama.

The resort offers two extremely attractive lodging options. For the young and the budget mined, you can stay at the Bocas Bound Hostel with a dorm space for $13 or a suite for $100. The upscale choice and the gorgeous, fully equipped private  villas. The villas are ideal for a family, a romantic couple and for a surfing group with room for up to 7. They have amazing ocean and island views.

The staff is attentive and fun.

The restaurants are also a major attraction. One is Kayucos, with American favorites food and reasonable prices. It’s part of a large social area that is a big hit with families- a pool table, ping pong table, lots of board games, hammocks and  a free movie nightly. To top it off it has island views and fresh breezes.

The second restaurant Punta Lava is right on Red Frog Beach- good American food, an ample bar  and unbeatable beach  views.

Many kinds of tours are offered from the canopy zipline, to a cave tour to fishing. There is good to excellent  surfing near by- some places within walking distance.

The resort is  managed by a smart team in a sustainable, eco-friendly way so as not to disrupt the delicate ecology system  on Bastimientos Island.

Check it out at www.redfrogbeach.com

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Lonely Planet, one of the most prestigious tourism publications, just selected Panama’s Kuna Ayala Islands aka the San Blas Islands,

Panama rated # 3

I agree. These islands some of the most beautiful in Panama and part of their attraction is the natural simplicity- simple comfortable thatch roof accomodations and  nothing modern. It is a special kind of refreshing not to see or be near any cement, glass or steel for a few days.

Here’s the scoop from Lonely Planet

3. Kuna Yala, Panama

Look up ‘tropical paradise’: there will probably be a picture of the Kuna Yala archipelago. These small islands (also known as the San Blas Islands) are part of the semi-autonomous territory of the Kuna people and feature palm trees, gorgeous beaches, thatched huts and timeless charm. Big business hasn’t gained a foothold because the Kuna rule the roost, with a series of laws to preserve the natural environment. So no ugly hotels spoiling the view and no package tourism polluting the vibe, just plenty of uninhabited islands to explore.

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Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqNe6bEpmss

Martinelli says he has seven corporate CEO in his cabinet.

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