"Retired"
OK, I was in BOCAS del TORO 2 months ago..........Let me begin by asking..."have any of you been to FLORIDA??????" FLORIDA has more beaches, more beautiful beaches, more accommodations and is 10 times "safer" than ANYPLACE in PANAMA! I looked at all the very cool little hotels and lodgings sitting right on the Caribbean........ decided to stay at one, what a dump! AND at $100.00/nite a complete rip-off... the PICS were way off. We had some American kids staying in the same lodge, while out partying on Saturday nite, one of the kids was offered a "joint" for $1.00 on the street, the college kid gave him a dollar, and the Panamanian whips out his badge! The cop wasn't interested in a crime being committed, it was a SHAKE DOWN for as much money as the kid had on him, which was $10.00..........the cop went away happy with the kids $10.00. But that doesn't surprise me because we drove from Panama City to Bocas del Toro and were randomly stopped (for no reason other than a "shake-down") 3 times by cops standing on the side of the highway! Back to BOCAS, I was totally disappointed....I don't understand why anybody would think this is heaven. We paid a water taxi to go to the "premier" photogenic beach in BOCAS, it was NOT as beautiful as beaches in St Augustine, Naples, or 2 dozen other beaches in the keys and around Florida............I just don't get it! And SLUMS......that's all there is in BOCAS except for a couple of nice hotels......... other than that, I wouldn't waste my money traveling back to Panama, there are far too many more beautiful places than Panama, which is promoted by real estate and business groups, disregarding and not reporting crime to keep their image clean. | 
