Current schedules can be found on www.geckotrail.com/shuttle.htm where you can also make a reservation for any of the shuttle companies.

More information on getting to Bocas either by shuttle or independently can always be found on the Puerto Viejo Transportation page.

The governor of the northern Panamanian province of Bocas del Toro, Bonifacio Abrego, said Sunday that he had decided against declaring a curfew for the city of Changuinola. Abrego said that calm had returned to the city after three days of violent confrontation between striking banana workers and police. The province of Bocas del Toro borders Costa Rica on the Caribbean coast.

Meanwhile, the Panamanian president, Ricardo Martinelli, vowed that he would uphold the controversial Law 30, which was the cause of the strike.

On Saturday, the Panamanian government ordered the reopening of the Changuinola airport, and police confirmed that the highway that connects the city to the rest of the country had been cleared. The road had been blocked for three days by strikers.

“The problems in Changuinola have been the product of misinformation and a series of lies,”  Martinelli said in a press statement issued Sunday. “The intransigence of a group of trade unionists can not end with the banana industry in Changuinola.”

The conflict emerged when the Bocas Fruit Company withheld the portion of workers’ salaries that normally goes toward paying union fees. The company subtracted the union membership fee in response to a recently enacted law that makes such fees optional.

“The government regrets the misunderstanding on the part of this company,” the Martinelli administration said in a press statement. “It is not in the power of this business, nor any other, to retain workers’ salaries because it constitutes a violation of workers’ rights.”

Under the law, the employees must decide whether to pay membership fees and the decision cannot be made for them by their employers.

The protest ended Sunday, when the government signed an agreement with the striking workers. According to the document posted on the Panamanian government website, the original law will not be changed, yet, the government committed to providing more resources to help workers confront the high cost of living.

While roads and the border are open again, shuttle companies such as Caribe Shuttle are holding off on resuming service for a few days while they monitor the situation and make sure the route is safe to travel.

Sources: Caribe Shuttle, Tico Times.

Clashes have been reported today at Finca 4 and Finca 13. Photo courtesy of La Prensa

La Prensa is reporting that a second person has died as a result of protests near Changuinola in Bocas Province, Panama.

According to the director of the Changuinola Hospital, Thusnelda Cruz, 123 persons have been admitted to the hospital for treatment of injuries as a result of the protests.

Meanwhile our friends over at Caribe Shuttle have let us know that the US Embassy in Panama has now issued a travel advisory for traveling to or from Bocas del Toro while noting that the islands themselves are calm. The travel advisory reads:

Bulletin from Bocas Warden

To those hotels/hostels this email sent to, please inform you guests.

Today, Friday 9 June: It is not a good idea to travel to, near or thru Changuinola or mainland Bocas Del Toro Provincia. It is not a safe to be in this area, and there are road blockages preventing transit, due to protests between Panamanians and their government.

If you need to travel from Isla Bocas to anywhere, it is advised that you leave only by air, to Panama City, David or San Jose, Costa Rica. Either, remain in Isla Bocas until the protests end, or change you travel arrangements accordingly.

When it is save to travel by boat/road from Isla Bocas, an advisory will be sent.

At 7pm, Friday 9 July: Per Isla Bocas Alcalde, Joe Anderson, and Isla Bocas Hospital Emergency, Dr Luis Mou, condition in Isla Bocas is very normal, no problems reported.

Larry Shane
Bocas Warden, US Embassy Panama

The land route between Costa Rica and Bocas del Toro remains closed leaving the only transport option the three times weekly Nature Air flights from San José.

Travelers who have already booked shuttle transport from Costa Rica’s Caribbean to Bocas should contact their travel agency.

Travelers are out of luck if they are trying to go to or from Bocas del Toro, Panama, or want to use the Costa Rica / Panama border crossing at Sixaola / Guyabito / Changuinola on the Caribbean Coast. Just over the border in Panama is one of a reported 11 sites where local banana plantation workers are striking and erecting road barricades.

In addition to the clash at the border, road barricades near Chiriqui Grande will keep travelers from getting to Bocas del Toro or gettting away from Bocas del Toro in that direction. For now, options appear to be by sea or air, or travelors can walk, but a VERY long way and around reportedly angry mobs with machetes, axes and rocks and police in riot gear and tear gas launchers! We do not recommend it.

Another strike of 700 workers in the province of Colon is paralyzing work on the Panama Canal extension.

These strikes are the latest in a series of strikes which date back to the government of ex-President Mireya Moscoso Martín Torrijos revolves around labor law and criminal codes which were voted into law in September 2009. Panama’s current administration reportedly stands by the laws, claiming they will encourage development and bring investment.

So far, the government of Panama has responded by sending military to the 11 strike sites throughout Bocas Del Toro and Colon. With 28 current arrests, the threat of escalation, and the local report that strikers won’t stop till the president comes (who is reportedly in Italy), no end is in sight.

At the moment, the strike has frozen all traffic between Costa Rica and Bocas del Toro, Panama. This effectively cancels the shuttle routes between Costa Rica South Caribbean and Bocas del Toro.

The Talamanca News will continue to monitor the situation. Please watch for updates here. Shuttles will start operating from Puerto Viejo to/from Bocas again as soon as it is safe to do so.

Article by John Wheatley. John is a long time resident of Costa Rica’s Caribbean and owner of Adventuras Bravas, providing surf classes and adventure tours, and Caribe Shuttle, providing transport to/from Bocas del Toro in Panama. More information at www.caribeshuttle.com

The highways ministry has brought in experts from Spain to evaluate the route and this requires its closure.

So cars, buses and trucks will again be routed via Turrialba, which will add at least an hour extra to your trip.

When the residents scream enough and protest to the local municipality, we sometimes got the potholes filled with material from the nearby Sixaola River, only to watch it get washed away in the next downpour and the potholes getting bigger and deeper each time.

As a local resident and owner of a vehicle, I can personally attest that our biggest expense is THE CAR….and I am not talking about the gas! With horrible roads, it is impossible to stay away from the numerous highly trustworthy and knowledgeable mechanics – on average monthly! I could easily say that I have had to revise, update or change most parts of my suspension at least 4 times a year – every year!

A few days ago an unbelievable site appeared from the horizons: a caravan of heavy-duty road building equipment rolled in through Puerto Viejo, past Cocles, past Playa Chiquita, through Punta Uva and down to Manzanillo….”could it be” we thought to ourselves?

The answer is mostly yes! As it turns out, they are redoing the road (in reverse order from Manzanillo towards Puerto Viejo), with the best material and thickness these roads have ever seen. Unlike the first coat from 10 years ago which was a mix of gravel and tar, this time, we are getting a full 5 cm of hot asphalt…compressed and rolled on top of the bad road. Upon speaking to the “engineers” on the side of the road, we are learning that they are fixing only the stretches that need it most, and supposedly they will return in “about a month” to do the remaining (that part is the remaining mystery!) We don;t know what the final product will be….but at least we already know what we are seeing: The new road is slightly narrow…and leaves very little room for bicycles or pedestrians – in fact cars will even have to slow down when oncoming traffic is approaching – but a mostly smooth ride should be expected from Puerto Viejo down to Manzanillo.

While most, including myself, are thrilled to have a new road, there is also a new fear that the tourists and our children will be less safe walking or bicycling on the road, as drivers a will be tempted to drive “super fast”.

In an ideal world – we would love to see some bike lanes or trails and speed bumps along the way……perhaps this is something our local community can work towards!

Drive safely!

Article by Manuel Pinto. Manuel, along with his wife Emmanuelle, are long time residents of Costa Rica’s Caribbean and owners of Caribe Sur Real Estatem a full service real estate company on the southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, assisting clients to buy or sell eco-friendly properties and businesses to people from around the world. More information at www.caribesur-realestate.com

Travel had been restricted to daylight hours so that police and others stationed there could see landslides starting and halt traffic.

The 24 year old highway is frequently closed due to mudslides leading to criticisms of the way the road was initially planned and built. When the road is closed, residents, tourists and the large amount of truck traffic bound for the port in Limon are forced to take the safer but very slow and winding route via Turrialba which adds 1 to 2 hours to the trip.

This aerial photo from MOPT shows clearly how vulnerable the road is to slides.

This Sunday, May 16, is census day in Panama.

Panama has an interesting census system that counts the entire country in one day. To do so, the government requires that everyone, even tourists, remain in the building where they slept that night until they are given a document confirming they have already been counted.

If you are in the street, you will be ticketed and possibly arrested and detained until counted. This applies to captains of the boats, drivers of minibuses and tourists, everyone.

As such, the entire country shuts down until this process is complete. Sort of like putting the whole country under house arrest, but is the only practical way for the government to count everyone in one day. Most people should be counted by noon, so that businesses can open and life can return to normal.

Shuttle and boat services from Panama to Puerto Viejo will therefore not operate on Sunday morning so travelers planning to leave that day will have to do so later in the day.

Caribe Shuttle which normally operates a morning service from Bocas del Toro to Puerto Viejo has advised that they will pickup passengers who are booked for that service for their afternoon service instead. Hotel pickups will begin at approximately 1:00pm.

The station’s location Hone Creek is just 5km from Puerto Viejo near the crossroads of the Limon-Sixaola highway.

The fare between San Jose and Puerto Viejo will increase from 4,290 colones to 4,545 colones (that’s $8.30 at current exchange rates).  Some other new rates are:

The fare increases take effect next Tuesday, March 9.

More:

• La Nación: Tarifas de bus subirán 5% en promedio en todo el país
• Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (Aresep)