Since it s smaller than Roatan, there is little need for an automobile here. We travel by bicycle and on foot. There are a few taxis, and a driver will take you just about anywhere for 50 cents. Bocas main street is lined with small hotels, restaurants, and shops situated along the water s edge. The buildings and houses are all painted in the traditional Caribbean colors.
Pedestrians really own the paved streets.
At night, Bocas resembles a carnival, with sidewalk cafes, lit streets full of visitors, and locals strolling in and out of shops making it difficult for the occasional car to pass. The park along the main street is full of children playing, adults sitting on park benches deep in conversation, and venders displaying their wares. These evenings in Bocas call to mind those of my youth, when I safely peddled my bike through the streets on summer nights with neighborhood friends. Why Bocas makes sense The Smithsonian Institute has a station here and has also purchased property to construct a field university. Our son Tony, now eleven, is a volunteer with the Institute s sea-turtle project.