Brown Councill
- May 27, 2023
- 3 min read

BOGAS or Bocas Del Toro?

(make this blog come to life by watching the above video)

Welcome!

Our videos and blog posts are focused on our adventures aboard Blown Away and specifically what may be of interest to active cruisers as well as those who want to experience this unusual and rewarding lifestyle. If you're one of those people, or not, welcome and make sure you subscribe to our blog and YouTube channel.

Why Bocas?

Bocas Del Torro is one one of those places where you'll never visit unless you're cruising or doing a visa run (we'll talk about the latter later). For the cruiser, we will discuss it's merits as well as disadvantages so you can decide for yourself.

(Tooling around at the town's marquis)

Ideal Cruiser Community for SOME People

Ask many of the resident cruisers in Bocas and they'll tell you there's no place they'd rather be because it indeed checks a lot of the necessary boxes.

Key West, FL Bar and Restaurant Vibe + Crazy Numbers of Grocery Stores!

Bars and restaurants are plentiful, unique and cheap so if you thrive on that sort of thing, check that box. I count at LEAST twenty four below, most concentrated within 2 or 3 streets. Add to that at least 19 grocery stores, all Chinese owned due to historical influences, along with numerous fruit and vegetable tiendas all owned and operated by local non-Chinese, and Bocas is a cruiser's provisioning paradise! All of that food and entertainment is almost impossible not to resist unless of course you're a non-drinker and dedicated intermittent faster.

Extensive Archipelago, Anchorages and Nature Abounds

As a cruiser, you can leave hustling, bustling Bocas del Toro with your boatload of groceries and quickly find varying remote anchorages such as Red Frog, Star Fish or Dolphin Bay to name a few; however, you can literally drop your anchor anywhere there are mangrove and wind protection. The whole area is teeming with exotic birds, poison dart frogs, monkeys and sea life. If you're a surfer, you'll not be disappointed with several tasty waves areas to choose from.

What an Awesome, Unexpected Surprise!

Ok, back to the visa run. While having dinner and watching the UNC (my alma mater) vs Duke basketball game at a local restaurant, one of several young ladies who started sharing a large communal table with us, inquired on the game. She enthusiastically responded, "One of our group is currently a student at UNC"! Then, in walked Charlotte and the rest of the girls who are all from different US colleges and are studying together at a Costa Rican university just across the border. All ended up in this obscure Panamanian outpost sitting at our table because they were on a run to extend their Costa Rica visas. We all really hit it off together and after the game we said our final goodbyes. Okay, I'm not done yet! The next day, Eileen and I move Blown Away two miles North to Starfish Beach and we see them again p, invite them all aboard and give them a tour of our home. You really have to see the video because it's impossible for mere words to describe. What are the odds of that happening???!!!