Melissa’s Soapbox

Bocas Town

Bocas Town is located on one of the largest and most visited islands on the Bocas archipelago, Isla Colon, and is experiencing a major boom in real estate development. It seems that Bocas is full of gringos and expats hoping to carve out their own piece of paradise at rock bottom central American prices, but the super eclectic community sometimes just felt like downright weirdos running away from something about which we could only colorfully speculate. However, long time Bocas residents are very laid back and approachable, and there’s no language barrier with their unique Caribbean-Creole English.

Andy and I stayed at a fantastic small hotel called Cocomo on the Sea where we had our boat laundry (which probably should’ve just been burned) done for less than $10. An added bonus of the Cocomo … incredible made-to-order breakfast on the porch overlooking the water. Our favorite restaurant became the always packed El Pecado with its unique Thai-Panamanian fusion. Hopefully both the southbound and northbound Quetzal crews would agree! We also spent alot of time at a local favorite, Le Pirate, since it was next door to the water taxi stand and has good food and cold cheap beer. For lunch, we really liked the Jamaican grill … we can’t remember the actual restaurant name (maybe Stella’s?) but we definitely remember the sauce called “You’re Killin’ Me Man!”