TURN OF THE TIDE

A forgotten company town—cum—secret surf spot, the Panamanian enclave of Bocas del Toro is ready for its next chapter

-  PETER TAYLOR

IT’S A TALE AS OLD AS TIME—or at least one that goes back a few decades now: The surfers come first, then the cute cafés, restaurants, and boutique hotels follow. That's been the story in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Starting in the mid-1990s, wave riders would arrive every winter to conquer the legendary offshore break Silverbacks. Nonsurfers would usually stumble upon Bocas—which sits on Isla Colón, an island off the country’s remote northwestern Caribbean coast, a 10-hour drive from Panama City—while road-tripping along the Pan-American Highway. Many who landed in the town never left, finding themselves seduced by the slow lifestyle, empty beaches, and mix of bohemian locals and expats. “Bocas has long had this old-school 1970s Key West vibe, where nothing feels manufactured,” says Richard Kiibler, who arrived in 2006 and opened a