After Weeks of Blockades, Bocas del Toro is Gradually Returning to Normal
Changuinola, Bocas del Toro: After weeks of paralysis and blockades in the province, Bocas del Toro is gradually beginning to return to its daily routine with the resumption of public transportation and the return to classes. Transportation service on the Changuinola-David route resumed operations this Wednesday, July 2, bringing relief to residents who had been unable to travel freely throughout the region for over a month. Some users were grateful to finally be able to visit their families after a month. Others reported that traffic is already beginning to return, and that both businesses and buses have been restored. However, drivers report low passenger traffic, so trips are only made when there’s enough demand to make the journey profitable.
“We’re open from 3 a.m. to 6 p.m., which is temporary for now,” explained one driver. Another significant step toward normalization was taken in the education sector. After months of class suspension, all schools in the province resumed academic activities. Thousands of students flocked to their classrooms early in the morning. Education authorities implemented a strategy of competency-based guidance for students at all levels, from preschool to twelfth grade. These were provided to principals and teachers to be used as a reference framework for the plan to recover priority content. Despite this situation, in the Las Delicias district, a border area of the province, banana producers report losses exceeding $250,000 due to road closures.
