Out on the Caribbean where the trade winds blow a wild shoreline stretches as far as the eye can see. This is the outback of Panama. Further north (west), near Costa Rica, lies Bocas del Toro, a fully developed tourist meca for surfers and sun seekers. Most travelers to Panama that want to visit the Caribbean fly from Panama City to Bocas. East of Colon lies the Costa Arriba, a place of old Spanish ruins and neglected tiny towns that feels a world away from Panama City, although only about a two hour trip. We rented a house with a reef front shoreline where we watched little blue and yellow crowned night herons forage daily. Osprey were regular visitors, too, and howler monkeys frequented the forest nearby.
People here still don’t take much notice of the few tourists that make it out this way---not enough to make a living from---although the local fisherman provide launches to a few remote beaches on outlying islands. Looking back toward the mainland coast you can imagine the days of the Spanish forts and the British pirates that sacked them all in the lust for Inca gold. We’ve enjoyed lots of great snorkeling in the clear turqoise waters. Further east along the coast lies the Kuna Yala, the semiautonomous homeland of the Kuna people. We see them in the craft markets in the towns selling their molas, a traditioal art from made from many layers of colored cloth. Favorites from our time in the Carribean included drinking milk from
fresh coconuts bought from roadside stands and enjoying delicious fresh fish.
