Bocas del Toro

In the Archipelago boundaries there are several communities of the Ngobe Indians. These communities are, in the Bastimentos Island: Quebrada Sal and Bahia Honda; in San Cristobal: San Cristobal, Bocatorito and Valle Escondido; in Solarte: Solarte; in Popa, Popa 1, Popa 2 and Isla Tigre; in Cayo Agua. If you are interested in Indian cultures, is a good idea to visit San Cristobal, Popa 2 or Quebrada Sal, where any local will tell you about their communities and customs. Indian communities are very poor, depend almost exclusively on fishing, an activity that it is complemented with survival agriculture. Although there are not organized tours yet, they receive any visitor with kindness. Because their productive activities are decaying, some of the communities are trying to be involved in the tourism business to diversify their incomes. Their typical homes are build using only wood, over wood stilts, with floors made with the bark of the jira tree, and the roofs made with the leaves of the guagara, a palm that grows in swamps. In general, they built their huts around a central place, in the community. Others do it out of this center, close to their farms or plantations. In some communities women create a beautiful handicraft named chacaras or mochilas, which is a bag made with a vegetable fiber called pita that usually contain beautiful geometric designs and tinted with vegetable dyes.