Bocas del toro marina

This article was written by Horacio Trottman, Carmen Boyd and Jahiro Polo and was originally published in the Panamanian newspaper “El Siglo“ on 25 May 2007. Back in May there was a burst of interest in these issues which has since died down somewhat. People who see themselves as victims of land-grab schemes constantly try to get journalists interested in their personal situations as a way to pressure government officials into action - they want to draw as much attention as possible to their accusations and complaints. Most notably, TVN Channel 2 sent a crew to Bocas del Toro and they shot an entire week-long special series. On the day that the series was supposed to air, TVN’s national signal went down. They ended up only showing the first of five segments, and the other four were never broadcast. The people in Bocas del Toro who have been impacted by these kinds of shenanigans are constantly looking for more press, and on the other side those who are paying off politicans and buying influence are no longer answering my telephone calls or emails. Oh well, that was kind of expected… (more)

Editor’s Comment: As you read this article please keep a couple of things in the back of your mind. For starters please remember that Jean Morales originally intended to sell only 35 of her 90 hectares of land. She is an illiterate indigenous Indian on Cayo de Agua. There is no doubt she did receive $100,000 in payment for the 35 hectares of land, that part of the deal is not in dispute. Jean Morales “signed” the Rights of Possession documents with her thumb-print, which is commonly done on the islands in Bocas del Toro when dealing with illiterate Indians. At the time of the transaction she did not receive a copy of the documents - she just put down her “thumb print” and the people left. Now supposedly I am told of a mystical and magical document which has appeared which supposedly bears the “signature” of Jean Morales. According to the stories I’ve heard (and, I have not yet seen a copy of this document) the document with her “signature” says she really intended to sell the entire 90 hectares for $100,000. Of course, this would be a miracle in the truest sense of the word because because Jean Morales has never signed any document in her entire life, ever! I call this the “Bocas Miracle.”

The Other 55 Hectares: Ricardo Palacio is the lifetime partner of Jean Morales. They were never married but lived together on Cayo de Agua for more than 40 years. While Jean Morales sold the 35 hectares to Cirilo McSween, the Rights of Possession over the other 55 hectares passed to Ricardo Palacio. He since passed them to his daughters Florencia and Cecilia Palacio, and his granddaughter Roxana Smith. These women still live in wooden shacks on this land today. It is common practice in the islands to sell the land to the “gringos” then to move inland (beyond the newly established land boundary) and set up housekeeping there. Now, lawyers for Cirilo McSween, specifically the same Carmen Sosa mentioned in this article, are going to Cayo de Agua and threatening to burn down the houses of Florencia Palacio, Cecilia Palacio, and Roxana Smith. These are poor illiterate Indian women who live with babies in the jungle in shacks made out of wood and straw roofs. Nothing illegal or immoral about that, no way…

What I’m Going To Do Next: I have asked the Palacio family to get me copies of the original documents bearing the famous “thumb print” of Jean Morales, which I am told both exists and is apparently available. In addition I intend to interview a Mr. Andino Archibald, the man who supposedly served as a trusted negotiator and facilitator for Juan Conquet on behalf of Cirilo McSween for the land purchase with Jean Morales. As the story goes, Jean Morales trusted Juan Antonio Conquet because of the presence and participation of Mr. Andino Archibald, a man trusted by the Indians. According to the Indians I spoke to on the island, Archibald is widely respected and trusted, and he will supposedly collaborate the story being told to me by Florencia Palacio, Cecilia Palacio, and Roxana Smith. Specifically, he will supposedly collaborate the part of the story saying that Jean Morales only intended to sell 35 hectares of land, and to keep the other 55 hectares for the rest of her family and the daughters of Ricardo Palacio.

More To Do: Next, I plan to interview Jean Morales herself - the woman who sold the 35 hectares (not 90 hectares) of land on Cayo de Agua. Then, I intend to obtain a copy of the document which supposedly bears a “signature” of Jean Morales for the purchase of this land, and I will show it to her. If she says it is a fake or forgery then I will help her take that claim to the PTJ and the prosecutors of the Public Ministry.

What About Daniel Ayora? In this article Cirilo McSween’s “Edict”, which is really just a public statement of his intention to try to obtain a concession to develop these lands on Cayo de Agua, talks about the extension of the land he wants to develop. In this “edict” are included the lands owned by Daniel Ayora who obtained Rights of Possession over (just) 3 hectares of land in 2003 for $30,000. He’s been there ever since, continuously developing the land and improving his stake. McSween’s “Edict” completely ignores the fact that Ayora exists, and equally ignores the fact that no two people can hold the Rights of Possession over the same land. McSween apparently intends to “grab” Ayora’s land as well.

Nothing Illegal or Immoral: When I spoke to Cirilo McSween on the phone he said that “I have done nothing either illegal or immoral” with regards to the manner in which he obtained the Rights of Possession over the lands he now claims to be his on Cayo de Agua. I have in my hands a document from the President of the Regional Congress of the No Kribo Region of the Ngobe Bugle Indigenous Reserve which represents the interests of several families of indigenous Indians on Cayo de Agua. Specifically the letter, dated 16 January 2007, specifies Juan Antonio Conquet, Carmen Silva, and Cirilo McSween as being involved both directly and indirectly (intermediaries) in illegal land sales on the island. This letter was addressed to Lic. Monica Perez as the “Defensoria del Pueblo”. It appears that Cesar Salazar, the President of the Regional Congress of the No Kribo Region of the Ngobe Bugle Indigenous Reserve, as well as Javier Selle (Secretary) and Clemente Jimenez (Legal Commissioner) all would disagree with that whole “nothing illegal or immoral” claim.

Not All Lawyers Are Created Equal: One more thing you should know - Carmen Sosa is also the lawyer for Cinco Cruces de Oro (a.k.a. Six Diamonds Resorts International (SDRI), Landbridge Holdings, and Frank Delape.) She’s also representing the guy who stabbed and killed a guy in a bar fight last week, because he was a Cinco Cruces de Oro employee. Sweet, lots of work for Carmen thanks to the gringos in Bocas. She’s driving a nice, new car. So is the Mayor of Bocas del Toro, by the way. Oh, almost forgot - Carmen started out as the lawyer for Dario Vanhorne but that relationship turned south when she jumped ship to the “other side” and started working for Cinco Cruces de Oro, and then promptly went to work to take Wild Cane Key away from Dario Vanhorne. Not a whole lot of respect for client - attorney privilege in Bocas, eh? Hey, where’s the Panamanian “dudes who hold law degree” association on that one? No conflict of interest thing there?

More to Come from Cayo de Agua: Obviously there’s a lot more to do there. I really don’t understand why people, investors of any stripe, can’t just come on down and play by the established rules. Daniel Ayora has no problem with Cirilo McSween’s claim to the land around his - but he has a serious (really serious) problem with the fact that Cirilo McSween apparently wants to take his land away. The Palacio sisters have no problem with the 35 hectares of land Jean Morales sold to Cirilo McSween, and they wonder why he can’t just do whatever he wants on that land (and leave them alone.) Why the “grab and greed” mentality? Basically, they don’t get it. And, all of these kinds of shenanigans make everyone else nervous. Basically anyone and everyone who is sitting on Rights of Possession land anywhere in the entire Bocas del Toro archipelago is watching this entire process like nervous fish because they want to know if they might be next.

Panama City - Wake the %uck Up! I keep waiting for the politicians and government officials in Panama City to take this bull(shit) by the horns, but so far the response has been lukewarm to say the least. Back door PTJ sources indicate they already have “enough information to put everyone in jail.” If that’s the case, then why has it not happened? What, exactly, are decision makers waiting for? Maybe they are waiting to see just exactly how much crap I can dredge out. Next stop, the offices of the Public Ministry…

Who Is Paying For This? For the most part those people who want me to help them bang the drum for justice. Daniel Ayora drove me down to Cayo de Agua in his boat, for example, and spent about $50 in gas. Dario Vanhorne takes me out to Wild Cane Key every time I’m in Bocas del Toro so I can take pictures of the “magical” house owned by Cinco Cruces de Oro which should not be there at all. “Paki” Gale, the owner of t

Panama weather is relatively mild in that the highs and lows year-round are within about 10 degrees of each other. While temperatures vary depending on the region, Bocas del Toro experiences a tropical climate with temperatures ranging from 70 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Bocas del Toro experiences relatively low humidity, with light breezy days and light temperate nights. From our quiet dock by the water to our wrap-around porch, relaxing outside and enjoying the weather couldn’t be more delightful.

The rainy season in Bocas takes place from December through January and then again June through August, however this season rarely produces enough rain to ruin a vacation. The dry season runs from February through May and during this period it is not uncommon to miss the raindrops all together. However, since we are in the tropics, short storms can come and go at any time. The great part about this tropical positioning though, is that we enjoy warm temperatures and light ocean breezes all year round.

Sometimes small storms can swing through but they usually do not last very long. More often, are the stretches of bright sunlight and clean skies. The most common wind direction in Bocas del Toro, Panama is North and there are several popular spots for surfing.

For the most part, Bocas enjoys calm sea conditions. Because Bocas del Toro is an archipelago, many of the islands protect it from rough weather and high seas. These outlying islands also make for a picture perfect horizon line.

Most people say that the best time to visit Bocas del Toro is in the Fall and Spring when there is the least rain and the clearest waters. But in reality, almost year-round you can find a sunny beach to enjoy. Bocas’ terrific climate is perfect for snorkeling and boating trips as well as all other water-related activities. For the less adventurous members of your family, this may simply translate into relaxing afternoons at the beach.

Matt works with the best Bocas del Toro hotel as well as another Bocas del toro panama hotel

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Landau

Living Third World Style
By Matt Landau Platinum Quality Author

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My trip to Bocas del toro Panama started, the way many of my good stories do, with something hitting me in the face: the woman in the aisle seat next to me stood up to get a book out of the overhead when we hit a patch of turbulence—her well-aimed Poland Springs bottle squirted me in the cheek. The waterfire didn’t distract me though—my attention fixed out the window, looking down at the ocean: indigo greens and cobalt blues surrounding the islands that would be my home for the next few days. Bocas Del Toro.

I checked into Hotel Bahia, which is really quite a funny little place. Above all the history that surrounds it, as the converted headquarters of The United Fruit Company, it has these loveable little quirks. For beginners, everything in my room is opposite: you push the light switch down to turn on the lights, you turn the cold water nozzle in the shower for warm water, and the you pull the toilet handle upwards to flush—to such an extent that it’s almost practical joke-ish.

The owner Tito was a grateful host and like a proud general showing off his war scars, Tito gave me the full, and I mean full, hotel history. The hotel slowly transformed from a deserted government address to a fully-functioning tourism hotspot over the course of the past 30 years and today, Tito is deservedly proud to tell you how it all went down.

I ate breakfast at Shelly’s BBQ, where the atmosphere couldn’t be any further its western sounding namesake. It sits off the main drag in Bocas and the only reason I stumbled upon it was because I was lost. Crammed into a ping pong table-sized space sat four wobbly tables accompanied by several rotting wooden stools. The menu was etched in Spanish chicken scratch on the wall and asked no more than $2 for an item. Stacks of soon-to-be recycled beer bottles rested in the corner and sand covered the floor. I ordered the first thing on the menu, suspiciously called “sandwich”. What arrived was great: a toasty brown flour tortilla over-stuffed with a beef and a bright and crunchy cucumber salsa. The breakfast of champions

I’m keenly becoming accustomed to this stuff. Places where you help yourself to beers at the bar. Places where it’s ok to wander in shirt-less. And places where the only attitude is the mutt (photo) or rooster searching hungrily for scraps. Places where no one looks at you funny for sitting alone or walking in with sandy or muddy feet. I’ve grown to really love it—the stiff bouncer and tightly-wound maitre’d, now becoming distant, almost alien things to me. Dress codes and table manners, contentedly just a thing of my past.

For lunch I decided to go in search of the famed “sushi sandwich”: a meal that, according to all my co-workers, I “had to have” while in Bocas. I asked a young delivery boy in the lobby of my hotel where to find an Asian-fusion restaurant called Limongrass—and he directed me enthusiastically. I walked down the main street and loved what I saw—this hilarious blend of Caribbean, hippie and Latin cultures. Crunchy people with dreadlocks and Birkenstocks, squinty-eyed tourists with fanny packs, and hard-at-work locals with giant sacks of yucca root on their backs—totally microcosmic. Following the instructions, I opened the door to the restaurant only to hear a sharp and seemingly aggressive voice from the back squeal out “We’re closed.” “How could you be closed on a Thursday afternoon?” I asked the faceless voice. “We just are! Alright?” Limongrass was closed on Thursdays. And their employees were obnoxious. How odd. I began to debate my next move, as the same delivery fellow from my hotel lobby passed by on his rusty beach cruiser. “It’s closed on Thursdays” I told him. “How could they be closed on Thursdays?” “They just are!” I witted back.

Suddenly, the young delivery boy was my only hope. Limongrass was my only recommendation in Bocas and I wanted a memorable meal! In desperation, I asked him where he ate lunch, figuring that had to be the next best thing. If I wasn’t going to have my sushi sandwich I was going to find some real Panamanian food. I didn’t want the timbales and napoleons, the au jus’ or the pom frite’s. I had this sudden, almost possessed, urge for down-home Panama food. I wanted the real stuff and granted, Bocas wasn’t the best place to find it…but dammit I’d try. The delivery boy, Silvio, told me where he ate lunch—a rustic little buffet on the main drag. I offered to buy him lunch and he obliged. He said he had to go to the bank and he’d meet me out front in 10 minutes. Eating like the locals—Oh right!

I waited innocently at the bar, clearly not belonged. I tried to look busy, scanning through my cell phone directory and drawing empty martian scribbles in my notebook. I asked for a beer with ice, trying to blend in, since that’s what everyone else was drinking. Then in due time, I ordered a second, then a third. I began to think Silvio had abandoned me—told the gullible gringo to wait at some small restaurant while he biked off as fast and as far away from me as possible. But finally, who comes rolling up on his four-speed, but the all-knowing Silvio. It was time for lunch. We ordered whole fish and ate the succulent, smoky flesh with our fingers, sipping on chichas of watermelon and tangerine juice. The habanero sauce on the table was named Devils Inferno: mind-bogglingly hot. Lunch for the two of us cost about $4 though I would gladly have paid more. A boat sit out on the dock so i snapped a pic.

After an ill-deserved yet well-needed 2 hour rest, I was somehow hungry again. Bocas has an impressive gauntlet of ethnic restaurants, gourmet cafes, and local joints. You’ve got this crunchy demographic: backpackers who’d be happy eating bananas and water all day—and then you have the fancier people who wouldn’t accept an overcooked bead of risotto. After asking a few people where they recommend I eat, I wandered into a pier directly across the street from my hotel. It was, what looked like, an old run-down fishery or docking station with war scars and that familiar peeling Caribbean-turquoise paint. I had a seat at the bar and started chatting with the bartender—Cathy, a short, rather squatty girl—who recommended I order the Pargo filets since they had just been loaded off the boat. Her recommendation was great—two nice sized fish filets that, in a seriously delicious way, tasted like the ocean. While you’re dining on the water’s edge its hard to complain about anything. Slow service suddenly becomes distracted by amazing sunsets. Mediocre food is oddly considered acceptable. And high prices are somehow justified. The Reef is the poster child for this phenomenon and I was loving it.

I was tired from a day’s…cough cough…hard work and research, so I hit the hay sack. Laying in bed, I ran through the three good meals I had under my belt. I was looking forward to the culinary cosmos I would uncover in the days to come. I passed out watching the movie Legally Blonde—really a funny movie. I’d never seen it before but it was pretty darn funny. Ah. Man. Pretty funny.

Matt Landau is a self-proclaimed “international man of mystery”. For short, friends just call him “Mystery”. You can read all of his bizare international adventures at http://www.thepanamareport.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Landau

SOURCE: panama-travel-bureau.com

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