The Journey of the Grafs to the South Pacific 2021

Bocas Del Toro, Panama

Bocas Town is located 140 Miles west from the Panama Canal on Caribbean Sea side.
Columbus arrived in 1502 at a bay the locals of the time called Carabaro, which is today known as Bocas del Toro Archipelago.  Some locals explain that this name comes from the name of the last “cacique” or chief of the region, “Boko Toro.”  In Spanish “bocas del toro” means “mouths of the bull.” Others say that Christopher Columbus saw waterfalls on a beach that looked like the “mouths of the bull” or that he saw a large rock near the island that looked like a bull laying down and the ocean waves hitting it made the sound of a roaring bull, and this is how the bay got the name.  For more information check out Bocasdeltoro.com and Bocas-del-toro.org   
 

Panama Bocas Del Toro 
(on Google map)

Michael & Sharon stop at the Bocas sign during a daytrip on the rented E-bikes

More boats than cars

The best way to get around in Bocas is the boat. We saw them all over the place and sometimes they even go 10 Miles offshore  to get to an island 

Sailing between anchorages 

There are many anchorages in the Bocas area. Here we are sailing with S/V Gargoyle and S/V Milagro to a new location.

Starfish Beach 

This is the beach where tourists and locals like to spend a day on the weekend. The music gets loader and loader during the day until the sun goes down.

One of many waterfront restaurants

We dined in several restaurants in Bocas Town that we could reach with our dinghy on the waterfront.  This is the Buena Vista Cafe.

Toro Loco Sports Bar

If you are a fan you can see football and soccer games on multiple screens in this American style sports bar.  Sometimes they have live music. 

Cruisers Meeting

Larabeck crew meets up with  crews from Maleika, El Sueno, and Y Dream

Profesores de espanol

Sharon took a week of Spanish lessons at Habla Ya in Bocas Town.  It was so much fun, we invited her two teachers, Ashley and Gabriel, to join us at a harbor barbeque, and then to visit the Larabeck.

E-bike rental

We rented E-bikes for a half day and rode them through Bocas Town and along the road to the "Playa Bluff" or "Bluff Beach.  We saw homes and other interesting places along the way.

Playa Bluff

We reached this beautiful beach on the east side of Bocas Del Toro Province riding rented E-bikes.   

Red Frog Beach

We anchored outside of the Red Frog Marina and Resort, dinghied to their dock, and walked  across the land to the beach.  The beach is beautiful and has a couple of bars.  The photo is from our stop at the La Rosa Beach Club.

Pirate Ship

This floating club is anchored outside of Bocas Town.  They have a DJ a couple times a week and bring all the guests out to the ship by pangas aka water taxis.  

Underwater World

Please scroll down on this page to see more pictures of the beautiful islands around Bocas Del Toro

Sharon joined the local 
Chicha Fuerte Band for a few songs 

Green Acres Chocolate Farm

Below are photos that we took at Green Acres Chocolate Farm and Botanical Gardens.  If you come to this area we recommend visiting here.  We really enjoyed the tour.  Click the headliner above to get to their webpage.  They also have a non-profit called PlanetRehab that works on Reforestation, Coral Restoration, Permaculture/Food Forest development and other initiatives.  We were especially interested in their program that helps local people use native plants for healthier and more sustainable lives.  

Larbeck anchored in front of the chocolate farm

Our favorite islands in the Bocas area

These pictures and video are from Cayos Zapatill​a and Isla Escudo De Veraguas
  In both of these areas, we watched research assistants recording the locations of sea turtle nests for the 2021 Sea Turtle Monitoring and Conservation program.  There are four turtle species in the Bocas Del Toro area:  Leatherback, Hawksbill, Green, and Loggerhead.  

Dinghy tour of the coral lagoon on the Caribbean side of Isla Escudo De Veraguas

Isla Escudo De Vera​guas above and below