Flashpacker Guy

Backpackers with a bigger budget

bocas del toro

Separating Locals from Tourists (and Travelers) in Bocas Del Toro, Panama – Part 1

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Flights to and from Bocas Del Toro, Panama, can be delayed by home runs. I know because I was on a flight traveling there from Panama City and our flight was delayed, and the reason, as best as I could tell, was that somebody turned on a fastball. Jason and I were riding a Panamanian Airlines twin propeller plane to Panama’s best tourist destination, the Bocas Del Toro … [Read more...] about Separating Locals from Tourists (and Travelers) in Bocas Del Toro, Panama – Part 1

Separating Locals from Tourists (and Travelers) in Bocas Del Toro, Panama – Part 2: Alex

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(Recently, Jason and I visited Bocas Del Toro, Panama. This is part 2 in a 5-part series examining just what is a local and what is a tourist at one of the best spots on the old "Gringo Trail"). Local Or Tourist? Case study #1: Alex We met Alex after we got off the plane. I grabbed my bag that I checked because I haven’t traveled as much as Jason and apparently … [Read more...] about Separating Locals from Tourists (and Travelers) in Bocas Del Toro, Panama – Part 2: Alex

“Stingrays,” or “Another Reason to get Travel Insurance.”

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I was snorkeling at Bocas del Toro, Panama when I saw a stingray. A big stingray. It was resting on the bottom of the sea, not even hiding behind corral. It was just chilling at the bottom looking for all the world like the master of its food chain, which, even with us human beings swimming around, it seemed like it was. Sometimes they bury themselves in the sand, and you can … [Read more...] about “Stingrays,” or “Another Reason to get Travel Insurance.”

Hitting a Gringo Trail Hotspot in Panama

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Along the Atlantic coast of Panama, only a short bus ride away from the Costa Rican border, is a series of islands known as Bocas del Toro. Bocas is a haven for backpackers from all over the world, and one of the best spots on the “Gringo trail” that snakes through Central and South America. Bocas is an archipelago, and all of the islands have their own feel. The town of Bocas … [Read more...] about Hitting a Gringo Trail Hotspot in Panama