Recreation
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Most people arrange tours through their hotels or back in Bocas town. There are no true tour outfitters on the island and only a few casual ones. Up in the Hill (cell 6607-8962 and 6570-8277, www.upinthehill.com) offers surfing lessons for US$40 for two hours, including a longboard. Surf tours are US$100/half day, US$150/full day.
Hostal Bastimentos (tel. 757-9053) rents surfboards for US$10 per day.
Pension Tío Tom (tel. 757-9831, tiotomscabin [at] gmail [dot] com) sometimes offers tours for around US$20–30 per person, and rents snorkeling gear (US$4 for snorkel, mask, and flippers), boogie boards (US$10), and booties (US$2).
The Dutch Pirate (Avenida Norte, cell 6567-1812, www.thedutchpirate.com), over the water on the far eastern edge of town, is a scuba operator that also rents surfboards and other equipment. They also have an office in Bocas town.
Nature Tours
Those staying in Old Bank should consider contacting Pension Tío Tom (tel. 757-9831, tiotomscabin [at] gmail [dot] com) for tours of the island and the surrounding area. Tom Reichelt, half of the laid-back couple that owns the pension, is a landscape gardener and tree expert who is quietly passionate about this beautiful place. He leads tours of the interior of the island and has a special fondness for ones that involve searching for frogs or exploring caves that he says are the largest in Panama.
He had gotten a bit burned out on tours when I visited him in 2010, but he was planning on offering them again. Someone sufficiently enthusiastic about frogs can probably talk him into at least doing a frog-spotting trip. Expect to pay around US$10–25/person for tours, depending on the destination. Tom speaks English, German, and some Spanish, and he really knows his stuff.
© William Friar from Moon Panama, 3rd Edition
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