This Week in Bocas del Toro

This week in Bocas del Toro, Panama 2023

Photo by Mario Pineda @mariomfilm on Instagram

Cayuco Paunch takes 1st place in the Copa Amador!

If the ladies of Bocas del Toro’s cayuco team are setting out for their 2nd national title, then they are off to the perfect start. Say hello to the first place winners of the Copa Amador!

The conditions were intense. Cayuco Paunch founder Angie Whittemore reported that there was a lot of current; more than they were accustomed to in Bocas, but it felt so good to be back in the water after so many years. She also had this to say:

“Gracias a mi comunidad, mi hogar, my island paradise Bocas del Toro, always supporting us. We are the only team with anything like this and we love the support. Gracias Bocas, nos vemos pronto.” wrote Angie Whittemore on Instagram, with a special thank you to the team’s sponsors Bocas Dive Center and Divers Paradise.

Congratulations to Angie, Islabel, Sasi and Patricia (pictured left to right in the photo below with the trophy). More details coming soon on this first race, the new team configuration and the outlook for this 2022-2023 CREBA season.

The are will be three more races: Regata Veracruz February 26 (new track), Regata Veracruz March 12 (traditional track) and the Ocean-to-Ocean race April 8, 9 and 10, 2023. Stay tuned to The Bocas Breeze for an article about the new team and outlook for this 2023 season. GO CAYUCO PAUNCH !!!

PS. The victory party will be at Space Bocas on Monday, January 16, 2023, 5pm-12am. More Bocas del Toro events? Visit our events page!

Cayuco Paunch Copa Amador(2)

Give and Surf Summer Camp is Underway!

Look how excited the children of Bastimentos are for Give and Surf summer camp! Pictured is a tie-die shirt session from the first week of summer camp. Daily activities include sports, art, science, English, field trips and all that great fun and education for the children of Bocas del Toro for which this legendary non-profit organization is known.

The summer camp free for all children, which is made possible by donations from on-going supporters of the charitable organization. Learn about Give and Surf’s impact on education in our community over the years on their website www.giveandsurf.org. Support this US tax deductible NGO and get involved today!

The Give and Surf Summer Camp is free of charge and for children ages 5 and older. It will run from January 10 to February 17, 2023, Monday through Friday, 8:30am-12:30pm in the Las Cabañas Community Center (Isla Colon). 9am to 1pm at the Old Bank Community Center/Infoplaza on Bastimentos Island.

Not only will there be an international bodyboarding tournament later this month (Bocas Invitational Jan 28-Feb 5), but an international sailing regatta coming up right after…Water sports in Bocas del Toro to the maximum!

The Bocas Marina and Yacht Club has announced the 4th Annual Bocas del Toro Regatta for February 11, 2023. All this, and during the Caribbean surf season and you know what else? Cayuco Paunch is back! (see next story) What a time for water sports in Bocas del Toro, Panama! Congratulations to all the people collaborating on these type activities that continue to put Bocas del Toro on the map with healthy activities that bring the community and its visitors together.

For the Bocas del Toro Regatta; it is a friendly race and the winners receive prizes from the local businesses community. To register for the race and for more information, visit the official Bocas del Toro Regatta website. Funds are also usually raised from the entry fees for a local charitable cause. This year’s cause is still to be determined. There are opportunities for local businesses to donate prizes and to become official sponsors. Contact Bocas Marina to get involved. +507 6616-6000. All hands on deck!

Read about the Bocas del Toro Regatta origin story from 2019.

Lost Boys Blues Bar Donates $1,000 to Local Music Education

Lost Boys Blues Bar founder and creative director Eric Veenstra and the team at PirateArts Experience are committed to supporting fine arts in our community. They continued recently with this commitment by presenting a $1,000 donation to the Jose ‘Pasito’ Anderson Banda de Musica, the school marching band from the Colegio Rogelio Josué Ibarra school on Isla Colon.

Funds were raised in this year’s annual 2022 Rocktoberfest concerts, October 31 and November 3, 2022. The same fundraising goal was met in the 2018 and 2019 events. The donation was presented during a recent graduation ceremony on January 5, 2023; with the band in the house performing that music they love!

School director Dora Reina says the donation will be put toward travel expenses for when the bands are to represent Bocas del Toro on a national tour when the bands march in November at other schools across Panama. We hope to one day see see these young musicians on the stages of Bocas del Toro (and beyond!)

A special thank you to Eric Veenstra, Karen Ealy and the whole PirateArts Experience and Lost Boys Blues Bar family for their dedication to music education.

FlyTrip touches down for the first time in Tocumen International Airport!

FlyTrip and Tocumen International Airport had some BIG NEWS to end the year with: domestic service between Isla Colon and Tocumen International Airport will begin as of January 2023! Though we don’t have details about how exactly with service will work, the charter service completed its inaugural flight from Darien to the terminal of Tocumen International Airport for the very first time on Saturday, January 14, 2023.

FlyTrip also announced that they will be servicing the Panama City to Bocas del Toro route regularly, every Monday and Thursday starting in February 2023, departing from Albrook for Isla Colon at 11am and returning from Bocas del Toro to Panama City (Albrook) 12:30pm.

Contact FlyTrip on WhatsApp for bookings and more info: +507 6519-0191

Super Gourmet is now open on Saturdays! Super G is also closed for the Monday public holiday, however their regular hours are now 8:30am to 6pm Monday through Saturday (and half off salads after 2pm on Saturdays…!) Closed Sundays.

Random Art Cafe has reopened and is now offering art and cooking classes to all ages! Their famous Wine & Paint night will be held every other Thursday and there are new class schedules for art and cooking. Check out Random Art Cafe on Facebook updates or contact Christin for more information and bookings: +507 6780-2429

It’s not too late for the SMS: Shipping Made Simple Christmas special! Valid until January 31, 2023, you can receive air freight for a flat rate of $3.25 per pound- with no extra fees! Contact on WhatsApp: +507 6678-6470

Front desk receptionist wanted at Bambuda Bocas Town: send your CV to bocastown.manager@bambuda.com

Job opportunity in the kitchen of The Wing’s House. Contact +507 6771-4550

Catherine Russell will perform at the 20th Annual Panama Jazz Festival on January, 20, 2023 at the ATLAPA Convention Center. Catherine Russell is a Grammy Award winning jazz vocalist and daughter of Bocas del Toro legendary pioneer of jazz, Luis Russell (the subject of the mural on the gymnasium on 1st street). Catherine Russell is among many talented national and international artists that will perform at this amazing annual cultural event, January 16-20, 2023 in Panama City. More information and tickets here.

By the way, no Panama City trip is complete without a visit to New Leaf Panama and partaking in their amazing tours highlighting Panama’s nature, culture and history. We recommend their Monkey Island and Indigenous Village tour.

Bocas Invitational is coming! Get ready for the international bodyboarding competition being held on Bluff Beach that will bring athletes and visitors from all over the world to experience a week sports, music and culture on the island. January 28 to February 5, 2023 A Tropical Dream. There are still sponsorship packages available and ways to contribute to this amazing effort to create events that put Bocas del Toro on the map for healthy activities that bring quality people together every year. Contact the team at Bocas Invitational to get involved!

Click for more upcoming Bocas del Toro events!

For more information on the Bocas del Toro business community and their offerings, keep scrolling for our Bocas del Toro Business Directory.

National Census Will Take Place January 8 to March 4, 2023.

According to this article, the goal is to learn how many people are living in Panama, how they live and where they are located. This effort will take 9,000 census workers visiting a little more than 1.5 million residences across the country over the next few months.Also according to a report from Telemetro, authorities assure they will not be scrutinizing immigration status of foreigners and urge participation of everybody in this coming census.

This will be the first census conducted since 2010. There was one scheduled for 2020, however it was delayed for the national health emergency.

Historic jam session at Space Bocas raises $1,674 for our friend, Edu Nogade

Edu was struck by a truck on December 27, 2022. He broke his hip and other bones and urgently needs $15,000 for an operation. Upon hearing the news, the Bocas del Toro community of musicians quickly mobilized for an all-day jam session on January 2, 2023, at Space, featuring an all-star crew of local musicians collaborating with each other to create moments of joy in support of our friend, Edu.

Many thanks to Tony Velasquez of Ritmo Bombolaye for leading the charge and to all the Bocas del Toro musicians who played their hearts out. Much appreciation to the businesses who graciously donated from their sales: Space Bocas & Food Trucks and El Patrón. Thank you especially to everyone who came to dance, to sing, to play, to drink, to eat and that helped organize or collaborate in any way on this effort.

At the time of this publication, we have received word that the operation was successful and Edu is recovery. Amazing news! And it looks like between what is currently listed on GoFundMe, the almost $1,700 that was raised and proceeds from a raffle, that they should be about closing in on the $15,000 goal. The GoFundMe link is still live for those who want to make sure the goal is reached.

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Scroll through and click by category to reference 100 of Bocas del Toro’s finest establishments; the current advertisers of The Bocas Breeze Newspaper. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook and Instagram, where we are announcing new promotions from these businesses every day!

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