Why Red Frog Beach? Why Bocas Del Toro? Why Panama? Why Invest in Panama?

Why Bocas Del Toro?

Few people visit the Archipelago de Bocas del Toro and leave unhappy. Instead they leave the islands changed. Changed for the better. Changed because they have tasted, and in some cases immersed themselves in paradise.

These islands are known for their pervading tranquility, their intriguing residents, their natural beauty, and for their plethora of opportunities to explore and discover. The water is perfect and the surf is spectacular.

1.	The calm side-which is a perfect harbor for boats and provides a glassy, gorgeous alternative to the powerful surf of the other side.
2.	Ancient Pirates are said to have buried treasure on a number of the islands of Bocas, but to date none of the booty has been reported found (yet).
3.	The mainland is an explorer's dream. Some months of the year, in the dead of the night, sea turtles lumber out of the choppy surf and onto the beaches to lay eggs and then head back to the water until the same time next year.
4.	There is, on Isla Bastimentos, a red miniature tree frog (the size of about your thumbnail) that lives nowhere else on earth.
5.	The nightlife-the wreck deck at Bocas includes a bar built over the water. It is a local favorite, with open air tables and a dance floor. If, on the other hand, you crave quiet nights, we provide ample opportunities to read until you fall asleep, or just sit and think.
6.	The weather-in a word, perfect. Yearly average temperature: 27 Centigrade or 82 grades Fahrenheit. Rainy seasons from May to August and from November to January. Dry seasons from February to April and September and October. Bocas is surrounded by lush green primary forest. The beaches are long with white sand and the water is very clear and blue, so you can see the reef while you surf
7.	The surfing-at Bocas you will find some of the best surf ever discovered in Panama. The surf gets so good and perfect that people sometimes compare it with Indonesia or Tahiti. The biggest and most consistent swells hit Bocas from December through March. You can also expect to find great waves during June and July.
8.	The water: Red Frog provides excellent snorkeling opportunities due to the pristine nature of the area. On the calm side snorkelers can see the beauty and colors of the life on the mangrove roots: sponges, fire corals, Cassiopeia, starfishes, crabs, crawl and swim on or between the roots. Other fish find refuge in this impressive underwater forest, which is also the nursery of many species. On the open-sea side you have the waves and the turtles and a rock formation that juts out into the ocean at the head of the beach.
9.	The people-There are 12,653 inhabitants (Prodec 2007) in the entire Archipelago. The people are kind and helpful. The official language in Panama is Spanish but English is widely spoken in Bocas del Toro.
10.	Ecotourism-The Republic of Panama covers 29,761 square miles-an area smaller than South Carolina. Yet, its diverse land types host more than 960 species of birds, 220 species of mammals, 240 species of reptiles, and 160 species of amphibians and over 10,000 species of vascular plants. Impressively, national parks and nature reserves protect more than 25 percent of its territory.

Bocas: "Venice of Caribbean"

For travelers who are really in the know, travelers who seek peace over people and tranquility over tourism, Bocas has the enviable reputation being the "Venice of the Caribbean." This reputation is not solely based on the pristine beaches, warm weather, and crystal-clear waters-but Bocas is also a very culturally diverse, ethnically rich, and artistically vibrant society.

The town of Bocas del Toro is the only "wooden town" in Panama, the only town constructed almost exclusively of lumber. The predominant architectural style is Caribbean colonial, a Victorian style that reminds many of the Key West ambiance. It boasts paved streets, treated water and sewer systems, electricity, telephones, cable TV, a hospital and ambulance service and a fire department.

History of Town

On his fourth and final New World voyage, Christopher Columbus visited the Bocas territory in 1502. He was so impressed by the natural beauty of the place that he named many of the sites after himself: Isla Colon (Columbus Island), and Isla Cristobal (Christopher Island).

Later, the buccaneers built and repaired their ships on the islands, with wood from the forests. They ate many sea turtles that nested on the beaches. Even today most of the archipelago is flush with virgin rain forests, and four species of sea turtle continue to lay their eggs on its beaches, just as they have done for thousands of years.

Around the end of the 17th century native Indians intermarried with French Huguenot settlers who had newly discovered Bocas del Toro. By 1725, Spanish militiamen sent to dislodge the French settlers killed many of the Indians and Huguenots in vicious wars.

From the late 1800s the history of Bocas is in fruit. Bocas del Toro's banana industry dates from 1890, when the Snyder brothers, 3 Americans, arrived and set up their company. This began a long history of fruit cultivation in the area. United Fruit and smaller growers established banana plantations, most of which still exist, over a vast area stretching from the archipelago to the Costa Rican border. Many of the roads, bridges, homes, restaurants, clinics and schools were initially created for these fruit workers.

But most people don't come to Bocas del Toro for the bananas. They come to enjoy the water and the beaches, to snorkel and scuba dive, and to explore in the rain forest. Bocas is an island-lover's delight and an explorer's treat, with wide, jungle-flanked beaches, huge swaths of rain forest and long stretches of coastline largely devoid of humans.

No matter what your definition of paradise-Red Frog delivers.

Smithsonian

The Smithsonian Institution has established the most advanced laboratory for tropical biological research in the world in Bocas Del Toro. It is the home to the Smithsonian's most active research center, which offers daily lectures on the rare and precious abundance of life that abounds in the archipelago.

Population

There are 12,653 inhabitants (Prodec 2007) in the entire Archipelago. The people are kind, hospitable, and helpful. The official language in Panama is Spanish but English is widely spoken in Bocas del Toro.


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