Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Dirty secret v. Nice surprise

What is more important about the place you choose for your vacation? Its dirty little secret or any nice surprise you might find? I think it depends upon what the dirty little secret is and what the surprise might be.

For instance, is the secret that the airport bathrooms leave a bit to be desired? Because really, how much time do you spend in the regional airport when you arrive and before you return home? The bathrooms at the airport in Bocas del Toro do leave something to be desired. However, how different is that from many of the small airports in Latin America?

What if the surprise is that the food is way better than you ever expected it to be? When you go to a small Caribbean town you generally do not expect to find good food. Here we are fortunate in that we do have good food – really good food.

What if the dirty secret is that Bocas is experiencing a major drought? And then what if nice surprise was that your lodge didn’t get its water supply from the municipal water supply? Unfortunately Bocas is having problem with its water right now. The government is doing what it can to correct the problem in the short term as also determine a plan for a long-term correction. However, most of the lodges on the outer islands are self-sufficient so for anyone selecting any of the small personal accommodations on those islands the water supply isn’t a problem.