I first stumbled across Panama and Bocas Del Toro in Particular when looking at Costa Rica on the net.
Having just completed a five year beachfront eco-development in tropical Far North Queensland near Cairns in Australia (my home country) I considered taking a long break, possibly in Costa Rica as recommended by my daughter who had recently visited that area.

Like most people (I've since discovered) I was astounded by my ignorance of Panama. Frankly, I viewed that country as some dangerous backward ¨Banana Republic¨. I soon found that in fact nothing could be further from the truth.

The enticing protected waters and lushly vegetated Island of Bocas Del Toro, usually fringed with beautiful mangroves, shown on many promotional websites, immediately captured my interest and made me curious about the whole of Panama, its culture and peoples.

My Panama file grew by inches daily, particularly after downloading John Schroder´s informative ¨Panama Report¨on www.--- The contents therein spurred me on to delve deeper into the easily accessible information about this diverse and now very stable Central American Republic and Bocas Del Toro in particular.

Lengthy and sometimes heated discussions ensued between my wife Jacqueline and I about the possibility of embarking on a development and living in Panama for a while. After all, we enjoyed a very comfortable lifestyle in Australia and of course all our friends and relatives are there. When I mentioned my plans about Panama to them, their comments where always the same: ¨ What ??? are you crazy?? Why would you want to go to such a place, with all that terrible guerilla fighting and unrest? You'll probably get killed by Drug Runners etc. etc. Without exception, they were as ignorant about Panama as I was before my research.

Finally my wife agreed to ¨give it a go¨ (as we say in Australia) for a year.

Flights and initial accommodation was booked, with the aid of the ¨Lonely Planet¨ guide for Panama and we arrived in Panama City early in January 2003.

Simple and friendly immigration and customs procedures at Tocumen International Airport, after a 2 1/2 hour flight from Miami, got us a 3 months Visa card for US $ 5-

Driving through Panama City towards our hotel, I found myself in full agreement with all the reports I've read about it. It must surely be the most modern City in Central America and is also a very large offshore investment haven, with more than 150 of the worlds biggest banks and international companies present here.

Driving past gleaming glass on d concrete office towers in Punta Paitilla as well as some outlying slum areas, I realised Panama City is also a place of extremes. As I discovered later, all the exclusive international brand stores are represented there, where you can buy an American or Italian shirt for US $200-. Or you can stroll down Avenida Central in Casco Viejo, the colourful old district of Panama (sadly neglected but slowly being re-built), where all the locals shop and buy a shirt for 99 cents ( Not made in the US or Italy)

Modern Supermarkets that stock everything you could possibly want and fashionable shopping malls abound.

Our small hotel ¨Sevilla Suites¨, just off Via España in the heart of Panama City was even better than my expectations from the description in the ¨Planet¨. Spacious and clean, tiled floors with separate kitchen and lounge area, cable TV, ensuite bathroom with plenty of hot water ( important for Jacqueline). Rooftop pool, modest buffet breakfast and the friendliest service, all for $55 per night.

This was a decidedly good start to our Panama Venture, I smiled to myself, surveying Panama City from the rooftop and sipping Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon ( not quite up to the Australian Reds, but at $5- a bottle, not a bad drop!!)

Three days in Panama City, walking a plenty and many taxi rides ( rarely more than $2-), gave me a good introduction to this bustling metropolis. I was, however, itching to get to Bocas Del Toro.

Our flight with Aeroperlas in a twin engine ¨360 Shorts¨ complete with one very elegant hostess, took off from the domestic ALLBROOK airport at 1 pm, for a 50 min. flight to Bocas Town. The aerial view after take - off of the Pacific Canal Delta, with all the Locks and dozens of ships lined up, gave me some insight to the engineering marvel of this project, now in total Panamanian control since 2000.

On this cloudless day I peered through a port window of the plane, eager to catch the first glimpse of the Archipelago, as we slowly descended the northern slopes of the ¨ Cordillera Central¨, towards the Caribbean Sea.

And there it was. I was sure I could identify the ¨Laguna De Chiriqui¨and ¨Punta Valiente¨the eastern boundary of the Archipelago.

This was confirmed as we flew directly over the "Zapatilla Cays" (national parks) moments later, two beautiful islands basking in turquoise waters. The view from aloft of the calm waters and numerous islands was simply breathtaking and my excitement grew exponentially.

Coming in to land over the mangroves on the single runway was noisy, but perfectly safe. I could see some ramshackle wooden buildings interspersing the lush vegetation to one side of the strip as we taxied to the modest terminal building.

The warm, humid air engulfed me as I stepped on the tarmac. Whilst we were trying to get a taxi to the village (easy walking distance albeit not with "mucho equipaje") I observed people of all colours from white, every shade of brown to black. The young, friendly black taxi driver, proud of his dented pick up (but with air-conditioning) piled our stuff in the back and asked "where you people from" in the broadest West Indian accent I've heard. "Australia"

"Australia, muy lejos si. You have kangooroos." "Yes we have kangaroos", I replied as we slowly made our way down the potholed lane trying to avoid the many children and teenagers meandering in the middle of the road without the least care for the taxi. After a few hundred metres the driver stopped, winding down the window and chatted animatedly in a language unfamiliar to me, to a stocky young man, wearing rubber boots and donning a large machete. Obviously a mate, as he promptly hopped into the back for the short ride to Buena Vista Restaurant, where we wanted to step off for a drink before proceeding to our accommodation on Isla Carenero.

Sitting on the deck at Buena Vista (which is built out over the water as most waterfront buildings in Bocas) sipping my first Panama cerveza (beer) and looking across the calm clear waters to Isla Carenero and Islas Solarte, Bastimentos and Cristobal in the distance on this beautiful sunny afternoon, I realised I had truly "arrived". My first impressions, as I observed the dugout canoes with small outboards (aka water taxi) and smaller cayucos criss crossing the 200 metre or so stretch of water between Isla Colon and Carenero, far exceeded my expectations.

Our booked accommodation for a week at colourful "Pargo Rojo" (Red Snapper) on Isla Carenero was modest but adequate, albeit at times, noisy from the disco across Bocas Town. The owner, worldly Iranian, Bernard, showered us with his charismatic friendliness and has become a good friend since and is an endless source of local knowledge. Memorable evenings, having dinner at Pargo Rojo on warm, calm and starry nights with Bernard's tasty cooking (and stories, when he could tear himself away from the kitchen) and Dario, a local boatman popping by to sing romantic tunes accompanied on his guitar. Most agreeable!

The people of the province are made up of mainly indigenous tribes, many of which still live in small isolated villages scattered throughout the islands. Add to this a healthy mix of people originally from Jamaica and you have an atmosphere that is more closely aligned to the islands of the Caribbean. The pace of life is slow and relaxed with nobody seeming to be in much of a hurry. Locals travel between the islands in dugout canoes, some with motors, but most without. These canoes, or botes or cayucos as they are called, litter the waterways and channels, especially in the morning when everybody is either going to the main island or the mainland. During this rush hour, most adults are traveling to the mainland to work and the children are going to the schools on Isla Colon.

On the second day of our arrival I started looking at properties. I went out every day with different people and agents in all kinds of boats and sometimes cars (on Isla Colon only). The word soon was out and local people were lining up, waiting for me to get up in the morning, to show me their property. I hacked through dense jungle with Indian guides for hours on end and got soaked by torrential downpours, paddled through mangroves in cayucos and met many fascinating locals. This went on for three months before I purchased our first property on Isla Popa and I had the time of my life.

We rented a small house on the water in Bocas Town whilst I was coming to grips with the property on Isla Popa and the construction of our house. I quickly acquired a small boat with a 50hp 4 stroke outboard to get me to and fro safely, quickly (25 minutes) and economically (1 gallon fuel per trip). Recognising that the construction of our main house, albeit small, would take some time, I built a small bodega (with ensuite) as temporary accommodation, which allowed us to move to Isla Popa at the earliest possible, as Bocas Town can be quite noisy.

Controlling up to 20 local indian workers with my very limited gibberish Spanish was at times frustrating but on the whole a lot of fun as they are very good natured people.

Isla Popa was a happy but considered choice, as it offers all that I believe Bocas Del Toro stands for. Peace, tranquility, pristine forest, air and water, safe boat access and docking (and only boat access), 5 minutes to Cayo Crawl for emergency shopping, fuel and restaurant and a relatively short distance to Bocas Town.

I could easily have purchased "ocean front" property on Isla Colon, for example, (where Bocas Town is). But as nearly all such lots are separated by a road from the beach, which is pounded by heavy surf (popular with surfers) it is not possible to keep a boat there. Access is only by what will be a busy road and I did not want to have a car.

Life on Isla Popa is a dream for me. The serenity and closeness to nature is uplifting and at the same time calming and I find the simple, healthy lifestyle most agreeable. Even Jacqueline has taken up her writing again in ernest!

We have a permanent worker living on the property and local indian fishermen come around once a week and bring us fresh fish ($1 per pound), crab and delicious lobster! in their boat (dugout canoe). So I just sit back, fire up the barbeque, sip the marguerita as I am fanned by the gentle breezes of the Caribbean.

Travel to Panama City is a breeze and always fun. The fact that our daughter lives in Boston, making visiting a six hour trip rather than a major multi day journey from Australia, is a real bonus.

The spectacular view across the ocean, dotted with islands, never fails to excite and amaze me and as the tranquility engulfs me I realise I have found Paradise.

Return to Casa Sejala