Recommend September 2013 - (Page 44)

Sunset in Bocas del Toro #73 Recommend an early morning, 1-hour ride across the Isthmus from Panama City to Colon on the Panama Canal Railway to explore the Caribbean entrance to the canal. The railway was ﬁrst built in 1855 to meet the needs of the forty-niners seeking quick passage from the east to the west coast of the U.S during California’s gold-rush days. Today’s coaches are refurbished (19th century style), carpeted and air conditioned, and observation platforms provide sweeping views of the canal. #74 While on this side of the Canal, tell clients to make a day of it and spend some time in the San Lorenzo National Park, a 24,000-acre reserve of wetlands and forests where the U.S. forces and astronauts once learned jungle survival. Birders ﬂock here to walk the El Camino de Achiote and Sendero El Trogon trails (430 bird species counted here), and everyone comes to see the Castillo de San Lorenzo, a fort looming magniﬁcently above the Chagres River that was once stormed by Henry Morgan and his pirates. #75 Close to Colon is Portobello, a settlement named Puerto Bello or “beautiful port” by Christopher Columbus in 1502 and today a UNESCO World Heritage site. As a crossroads for gold and silver moving from South America to Europe, Portobello was once one of the richest towns in the world; today this laid-back and appealing place shows off the fortiﬁed remains of Fort San Jeronimo, while Fort Santiago is a short boat ride across the bay. The town also has an interesting Customs House and the San Felipe Church, which is home to the famous Black Christ statue. #76 On stage in Portobello are some fabulous festivals: July 16 is the Festival of the Virgin del Carmen, marked by a land and sea procession, mass and baptisms. On a lighter note, Carnaval is celebrated here with great gusto, a time for Congos (as those locals who are descendants of African slaves call themselves) to don colorful costumes and masks to perform a spectacular tribal dance ritual originated by slaves to poke fun at their colonial Spanish masters. Congo folklore is also a colorful part of the Black Christ Festival on Oct. 21, which draws thousands of supplicants and spectators to this historic Caribbean town. #77 Portobello is the closest mainland gateway to Isla Grande, a Caribbean island getaway popular with Panamanians. It’s three miles long, less than a mile wide and relatively peaceful during the week; on weekends it rocks to the reggae beat. Place to stay: Bananas Resort, complete with pool, open-air restaurant, snorkel gear and off-island excursions. #78 El Otro Lado, a new boutique hotel across the bay from Portobello, brings a new luxury experience to the area. Dotted around a central pool are four houses with brightly colored interiors, designed originally to accommodate the friends of the 270-acre private estate’s owner. Assets include handcrafted furniture, fantastic food and a day’s helicopter charter to the San Blas Islands. BOCAS DEL TORO Christopher Columbus beat us all to many of today’s favorite resort destinations, including Bocas del Toro, an archipelago of seven main islands and a couple of hundred islets off the northwestern coast of Panama. Five hundred years later, Bocas is booming in an off-the-beaten-path sort of way as Europeans and North Americans have settled here to invest in restaurants, pubs and lodgings, adding comfort and a low-key cosmopolitan ﬂair to a rustic destination that offers a quintessential Caribbean vibe and eco-adventure. Flights land in Bocas Town on Colon Island. #79 Visitors come to Bocas to snorkel among the mangroves and coral reefs, to dive (clearest waters end of August to November), to relax on beautiful beaches, and to enjoy the colorful houses, seafood specialties and reggae groove served up in Bocas Town. #80 Bocas Town offers visitors a host of colorful little hotels sitting right over the water, right in town. For instance, guests at Hotel Bocas del Toro enjoy one of the best seats in the house for cocktails and dinner at sunset, while the Bocas Inn has comfortable rooms and an equally prime location. Panama is rich in wildlife and lush greenery 12 #81 Just 15 minutes offshore from Bocas Town is Punta Caracol Acqua Lodge, whose nine 2-story bungalows are built on stilts high over the Caribbean waters and connected to each other and the dining and lounge area by a boardwalk. Guests can slip into a sea of spectacular coral and marine life directly from their bungalow terraces. SEPTEMBER 2013 4-7 10-15 101ways.indd 12 8/22/13 9:44 AM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend September 2013

Editor's Notes
Hotel Desk: Aston Hotels & Resorts
Tour Talk: Learning Journeys
Norwegian Breakaway
Family-Friendly Cruise Options
Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort
Top Family Resorts
Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo
Panama Travel Planner
Adventures by Disney's Scotland: A Brave Adventure
Club Med Punta Cana
Top Family Resorts
Hawks Cay Resort, Florida Keys
New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom
Globus Bridges Generation Gap With Exciting China Tours
Far-Flung, Family-Friendly Destinations

Recommend September 2013