NAYLAMP DESTINATIONS IN BOCAS DEL TORO, PANAMA

Bocas del Toro islands belongs to the province of the same name and is located in the eastern side of the country in the Caribbean sea. The archipelago is formed by 9 islands, 52 cays and more than 200 small atolls. There you will appreciate the beauty of its bays, lagoons, coral reefs, mangroves, wild beaches fringed with jungle and the diverse marine life.

Colon is the major island, where the town of Bocas del Toro is located. There you will find the majority of the area’s hotels, bars and restaurants, plus the only airport. Between the archipelago and mainland coast there are two big bays: Almirante, between the coast and Colon, Bastimentos and Popa islands; and Chiriqui Lagoon surrounded by Popa and Cayo de Agua islands and Valiente Peninsula.

Christopher Columbus “discovered” this region in 1502, in his forth and last travel to the New World. Columbus was amazed with the beauty of Bocas del Toro. During XIX century black population from the Antilles and the Colombian islands (San Andres and Providencia) arrived as slaves for the plantation owners. They mixed with the indigenous population and created small communities of subsistence fishermen and farmers. During this period the United Fruit Company established itself in Bocas and created the boom in the banana industry.

At the present time the population of Bocas del Toro province is mainly indigenous, with the most important group being the Ngobe-Bugle (also known as Guaymies). They have their own language, Ngobere. There is as well the Creole, which language is called Guariguari, a mix of Anfro-Antillean English, Ngobere, Spanish and even some French words.