Otoque & Bona Islands, Gulf of Panama
After cruising long hours, we found ourselves in the crater of what was a volcano around 15 million years ago. The islets where we took our Zodiac cruises are actually the outer ring of the crater, and it was easy to see how all the islets lay in a circular pattern. However, being in a crater of an ancient volcano was not all; we were surrounded by hundreds of thousands of magnificent frigate birds, brown pelicans, cormorants, brown and blue-footed boobies. The few trees on the islets were over-loaded by juvenile pelicans and immature frigate birds. The adult male frigates that had their pouches inflated looked like huge apples on the branches.
But I think the highlight of the day was the visit to the fishing town of Otoque. The whole town was as happy as or even happier than us about our visit. Everyone opened their houses, brought exotic fruits for us to try, and walked along with us to show us their town.
Otoque has around 300 inhabitants and has a school, a clinic, a church, a couple of corner stores and a lot of small fishing boats. The town was clean; the houses brightly painted with reds, yellows and pinks, and bougainvillea flowers were everywhere.
But it was the people… they seemed so happy to be visited. The children walked with us, leading us the way to the ice cream store, where some adventurous types tried the cherry, rum with raisins and orange-pineapple flavors.
There is potable water on the island and they have an electrical generator on the other side of Otoque. They sell their fish in Panama City and get all their supplies from there too, being around a 3 hour boat ride away. They have some vegetables and fruit trees planted in the open areas: manioc, papayas, bananas, wild plums, but everything else comes from the outside.
We spent over an hour in Otoque, feeling fine with all the smiles and welcomes. In fact, as we were leaving, it seemed the whole town came to say not “good bye,” but “see you soon.”
After cruising long hours, we found ourselves in the crater of what was a volcano around 15 million years ago. The islets where we took our Zodiac cruises are actually the outer ring of the crater, and it was easy to see how all the islets lay in a circular pattern. However, being in a crater of an ancient volcano was not all; we were surrounded by hundreds of thousands of magnificent frigate birds, brown pelicans, cormorants, brown and blue-footed boobies. The few trees on the islets were over-loaded by juvenile pelicans and immature frigate birds. The adult male frigates that had their pouches inflated looked like huge apples on the branches.
But I think the highlight of the day was the visit to the fishing town of Otoque. The whole town was as happy as or even happier than us about our visit. Everyone opened their houses, brought exotic fruits for us to try, and walked along with us to show us their town.
Otoque has around 300 inhabitants and has a school, a clinic, a church, a couple of corner stores and a lot of small fishing boats. The town was clean; the houses brightly painted with reds, yellows and pinks, and bougainvillea flowers were everywhere.
But it was the people… they seemed so happy to be visited. The children walked with us, leading us the way to the ice cream store, where some adventurous types tried the cherry, rum with raisins and orange-pineapple flavors.
There is potable water on the island and they have an electrical generator on the other side of Otoque. They sell their fish in Panama City and get all their supplies from there too, being around a 3 hour boat ride away. They have some vegetables and fruit trees planted in the open areas: manioc, papayas, bananas, wild plums, but everything else comes from the outside.
We spent over an hour in Otoque, feeling fine with all the smiles and welcomes. In fact, as we were leaving, it seemed the whole town came to say not “good bye,” but “see you soon.”
