Bocas del Toro, Panamá

[Jeff in St Pete]

Astrocaryum alatum

Chamaerops humilis

One of the incredible views from the garden

Croton

[Jeff in St Pete]

Manzana de Agua flowers (Syzygium malaccense) - one of my favorite fruits

Heliconia

The pond

[Jeff in St Pete]

A couple of her Pritchardia pacificas

Unknown Rattan palm

Heliconia

[Jeff in St Pete]

More heliconias

Pachystachys spicata (Cardinal's Guard)

Another unknown palm - her husband brought this one back from one of the local forests

[Jeff in St Pete]

Socratea exorrhiza

White Etlingera elatior

[Jeff in St Pete]

Adonidia merrillii grove

Triangles

Bismarckias

[Jeff in St Pete]

Grove of Royals - 7 years from seed

Dypsis cabadae

[dalmatiansoap]

Adonidia merrillii grove

Triangles

Bismarckias

Grove of Royals - 7 years from seed

Dypsis cabadae

SCREAM!!!

Simply beautifull

[Jeff in St Pete]

Musa dasycarpa (previously M. velutina)

Licuala

I don't know the name of this one

Another unknown palm - BS Man suggested it could be a form of D. madagascariensis...

[Jeff in St Pete]

Costus

I think she said this was a Taro plant

Breadfruit tree

Zamia

[Jeff in St Pete]

Astrocaryum

This C. renda was recently damaged by a falling tree

Ptychosperma

[Jeff in St Pete]

Their pool

More C. renda

Ravenala and some smaller C. renda

Anyone have an id on this heliconia?

[Jeff in St Pete]

We stopped and sampled some of this plant called Katuk. The round fruit tasted just like fresh green peas to me. The leaves are also edible and Lin told me she makes a salad from this plant.

Lin standing next to some of her giant heliconias

[Jeff in St Pete]

Inside the visitors center. These bird nests were hanging from the ceiling. I forget the name of the bird but Lin pointed one out to me during the tour.

Ensete ventricosum

[ariscott]

What a beautiful garden.... AGAIN.. . You life seems to evolve around visiting all these beautiful places (don't mind me, I am just jealous). BTW, the green leaves with white stripe is Calathea ornata.

Regards, Ari

[aussiearoids]

The 'katuk' is also known as 'sweet leaf' and is a very nutritious green . Indonesians call it 'sayur manis' I have eaten tons of it .

My link

[Walter John]

Everything is most impressive, thanks for posting Jeff, I love this Astrocaryum especially, what a beauty .

[Jeff in St Pete]

Ari, Thanks for the Calathea id. I thought they were beautiful plants.

I've been very fortunate to travel around Central America a little. Visiting gardens is my favorite pasttime!

Michael, thanks for the link! I really enjoyed tasting the plant and fruit. I could have eaten a whole bowl of them! Lin did give me some cuttings but at the last minute I took them out of my bags. I didn't want to take a chance bringing them back into Costa Rica since I had to go through Customs.

Thanks Wal! The Astrocaryums are very common in the forests there. Beautiful palms!

[Jeff in St Pete]

On my last day in Bocas I walked around and took some photos of the town.

We had lunch at this Indian restaurant one afternoon. Great food!

[Jeff in St Pete]

[Jeff in St Pete]

Sidewalk C. renda

The Coast Guard was in town.

[Jeff in St Pete]

This place was in bad shape...

From my hotel balcony

[Jeff in St Pete]

[Jeff in St Pete]

Fire Station - this old truck appeared to still be in use.

[Jeff in St Pete]

[Jeff in St Pete]

We had lunch at this place on our last day. We walked back to find the restaurant was on a boat.

[Jeff in St Pete]

[Jeff in St Pete]

I was surprised to see this D. leptocheilos planted right along the main street in town.

The ferry from the mainland

[Jeff in St Pete]

Starfish

[Jeff in St Pete]

In this photo you can see how tall the Royals are - with people for scale

[Jeff in St Pete]

Time to head back to Costa Rica.

The airport in Bocas

Runway

Our plane (Nature Air)

Inside the plane

[Jeff in St Pete]

Taking off

Leaving Bocas

This is one of those hotels with over the water bungalows

[Jeff in St Pete]

Flying at 10,000 feet

Mountains sticking up above the clouds. I think the pilot said this was the Turrialba Volcano

Arriving back in San Jose

The new soccer stadium - a gift from the Chinese

That's all, hope you enjoyed the photos!

[dalmatiansoap]

Thanks for sharing! Great visuals, something totaly different for me

[sur4z]

The new soccer stadium - a gift from the Chinese

Jeff- Thanks for the photos, I really enjoyed them. Do you have an photos of the breaks where the surfers hung out? I hope Costa Rica has not succumbed to the Chinese by accepting a soccer stadium or a new road in exchange for it's natuaral resources

[RainForestt Robert]

Jeff,

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Love the photos and the locales you visit have a great mix of culture, food, plants and great scenery. I really enjoyed it. What is the purpose of the Botanical Garden?

Robert

[ariscott]

well.... don't be shy to post any photos of your trip, Jeff. You know I always appreciate it... especially since I am housebound with 3 kids...

Regards, Ari

[Paul The Palm Doctor!]

The new soccer stadium - a gift from the Chinese

Jeff- Thanks for the photos, I really enjoyed them. Do you have an photos of the breaks where the surfers hung out? I hope Costa Rica has not succumbed to the Chinese by accepting a soccer stadium or a new road in exchange for it's natuaral resources

Dear Jeffrey:

I, too, appreciate your photography of the Bocas islands' zones. It painted a nice primary pictoral of my province. As you can tell, Ari, there are no major department stores on the islands, but where I have my 50 acres, in the Changuinola on the mainland, Farmacia Arrocha and Supermercado El Rey will be constructing mega stores for the new "Caribe Towne Centre."

We have a great new bridge over the Rio Changuinola...finally. Can Macy's be far behind?? I think not!

It's an easy place to become attached to so I'm sure that when retirement "hits" in 6 more years, I'll be ready for a simpler life! If not; out-and-out isolation! The mainland is chock-full of fantastic willife and has the entrance at Wekso, to L'Amistade International Park. I have pix at www.tropicriverwoods.com if you're insterested.

Mahalo, Paul

[junglegalfla]

WOW! What beautiful country!! Excellent travel log Jeff. The place looks so quaint!

[Kim]

Hi Jeff, thanks for the extensive coverage of your trip to Panama. I'm with Ari, you lead such an exotic life of botanical adventure! The lifestyle clearly suits you. Love seeing the colorful heliconias, and so many plants I've never seen before. It's especially fun that you include the fancifully painted buildings, the docks and boats, and people on the streets, expressing the full flavor of the region. Every travel log from you is a pleasure to read, thanks for keeping us posted.