Urraca Monkey Island Eco Resort, Bocas del Toro — Hotel in Bocas del Toro

First, the facts – I arrived at this property in good health, and left with deep lacerations on both hands from a howler monkey attack, having also suffered a bout of debilitating diarrhea during my stay. While I have some nice memories of Urraca, these are far outweighed by my pain and suffering, and loss of the use of my thumb, that resulted from staying there. These facts cannot be disputed.||||Now to the story. The owner keeps four species of monkeys on this property. She claims that she has rescued the monkeys from being kept as pets and styles her work as charitable. Perhaps the monkeys were kept in worse conditions before, but the fact is, she still keeps them as pets, which is ethically wrong. Moreover, she exploits them for profit. Every day she takes them out of their cages to entertain people who visit the islands on day trips, and the animals are plainly distressed. No safety information is shared—the monkeys are simply let out without any preamble, and free to roam the property, including guest sleeping areas and in areas where food is prepared and consumed. It is possible, and in fact encouraged, to pet and interact with the monkeys when they are out. The advertising for the property includes photos of people snuggling with monkeys, all of which normalizes this behavior. I thought to myself that the monkeys must be safe. These people are running a business—surely they wouldn’t let the monkeys out if it wasn’t safe to do so, for liability reasons if nothing else?||||Over several days of observing this, I came to be more relaxed around the monkeys, which proved to be my downfall. On my last day, I was swimming when a howler monkey approached and disturbed some of my things—sunglasses, phone. I went to investigate and approached the monkey. While I thought this was one of the docile monkeys I had interacted with previously, this was a new monkey, Mika. The property’s owner came running, and Mika became frightened. She bit my right index finger, and when I tried to shake her off, she bit my left thumb hard, several times, completely destroying my thumb nail and penetrating down to the bone, fracturing the thumb. It’s been one month since I was attacked, and I have had two surgeries and many medical appointments to try to recover the function of my thumb. I had rabies vaccine (four separate appointments), tetanus, strong antibiotics, herpes medication, and general anesthesia to remove my thumbnail. I cannot describe the terror of being mauled by a monkey that refuses to let go. My recovery will take months and I may never fully regain a normal thumb.||||My next memory after the attack is of screaming with blood pouring down my hands. The owner at this point knew she had a problem. She began to wash my wound, but when I commented that this was very bad, she said “it’s not very bad,” and told me to think positive thoughts (gaslighting). She also said that it was her fault, because she had mistakenly let out Mika, a “bad monkey” who is known to attack people, but she continued to downplay the severity of the problem. I asked her, “has this happened before?” She paused and her eyes went up and to the left. I could tell she was thinking through her answer. “No,” she said. I can tell when I’m being lied to, and this was one of those times.||||Ask yourself – is it appropriate to keep a “bad monkey” on an island where guests are staying? Much less one that might be mistakenly let out, free to roam the island? Is “cute” advertising depicting friendly monkeys accurate, when violent monkeys are being kept on the property? Is guest safety the first priority when such animals are present?||||A few other points, which are minor in comparison. Out of our group of eight people, six developed serious gastrointestinal illness during our stay on the island. I myself spent an entire day in bed with diarrhea and malaise. We asked if the water was safe to drink and we were told that it was “filtered rainwater” which is “natural” and that if we were ill, we had brought our illness to the island. It seems to me highly unlikely that six people who became ill on the island brought their illness to the island. Rather, it seems like there are sanitation issues with the water, the food, or both. Considering that monkeys roam freely, it is not surprising that the water is unsanitary. Is the water system regularly cleaned and tested for contaminants? We weren’t told this, only that it was “natural,” which is a meaningless statement.||||Finally, quite strange, we were fed extremely small portions of food for our first two days there. For example, “lunch” when we first arrived was one tortilla per person, with a dusting of cheese, dinner was three skewers of vegetables with a small helping of rice, and breakfast was one egg and half a slice of white bread. We had to have multiple talks with the owner who said “well, you asked for vegetarian” (vegetarians require protein like everyone else). It was very awkward to the point I began to think I would have to charter a $90 boat ride to leave the island in order to eat. In the end we had to pay an upcharge to eat lobster, to get enough nutrition.||||Returning to the monkey attack. The owner accepted responsibility and paid for (some of) my medical bills, but this does not really begin to compensate me for my pain and suffering and the long recovery process I will experience. I had to take time off work, enduring surgery and painful vaccines, typing hurts, and favorite hobbies such as weightlifting and playing the piano have become impossible. I looked into the possibility of legal relief, but I was unable to get anywhere with the Panamanian judicial system—for starters I would have needed to hire a Panamanian attorney. So, if you choose to stay here, know that the owner is operating in an environment of impunity where anything might happen to you, and you won’t be able to do anything about it. Maybe this is why the owner is willing to be so cavalier with guest safety, because she knows she won’t be held accountable.||||You can see that she responds to any criticism online with blame and deflecting of responsibility, which she will doubtless do in response to this review, as well. She is a sophisticated person who is skilled at framing her actions in positive terms, but ultimately her first concern is herself, not your wellbeing, so do understand this if you choose to trust your safety to...

This place's location was very intriguing and it claimed to have monkeys, so we had to go check it out. ||Yes, very remote from Bocas del Toro (about 45 minutes on a speed boat), but the trip there was wonderful as we were able to see the the beautiful never ending landscape and the ocean. ||Upon arrival, Francine's warm welcome made us feel right at home as soon as we stepped off the boat. We were promptly greeted by Gigi, an 11-moth old howler monkey. We were startled for a second, but it was all good because we didn't expect to see a loose monkey. She was extremely friendly and calm. Francine then showed us where she kept her other monkeys and that was very interesting. They were all kept behind these very large cages because some of them would cause major chaos if let out on this island, so she had a monkey bridge built connected to one of the cages and those monkeys can choose to be free in a separate island at any time they choose. The other 2 cages don't lead to anywhere, but are kept very clean. She only lets those out when she doesn't have guests because some of them could temperamental or would simply steal items from the guests rooms. Anyhow, after visiting this place, we understand how and why she runs the place. You should ask her about it. Quite an achievement, if you asked me. ||The island itself has many locations for relaxation and the food is very good. Perfect proportions. I don't know how. I eat a lot, but whatever food served for each meal, was enough to hold me off until the next one. The price is on a higher side, say, an American metropolitan city price range. Understandable since it costs a lot to maintain the place, which has no concrete, everything is natural (she's big on energy and flow), employees, foods, etc, and all that came by boat!!!! We were there for 3 nights, so full 4 days of relaxing. We didn't even go anywhere because we were so content with everything there and just focused on relaxing. ||This place is an eco lodge, so everything is as eco friendly as it comes, meaning, don't expect your usual hotel amenities. I.e. AC and high pressure shower. There is a fan by the bed. If you are a hot sleeper, get either the honeymoon suite or the family room, because those unites receive very nice sea breeze. The 4 standard bungalows don't receive that breeze because it is blocked by the mangrove, so it could get hot if you are a hot sleeper. The standard bungalows have their own shower and toilet, and the walls are made of bamboo fence. No one really can see you in details, only silhouette. And since the place is extremely quiet , some people might be self conscious with making bathroom noises. Fear not, as there are 2 large detached bathrooms that you will give you the privacy you seek.||The bungalows are just right above the water so you can go swimming at any time of the day. As a matter of fact, there are little access ladders to the water everywhere. ||Francine has practically everything and if she doesn't, she might be able to help you get it by next day since she has a captain that makes daily visits to her. ||Don't be afraid of the monkeys because Francine only lets out the ones that are used to interacting with the visitors and she will tell you what to do or what not to do. Just follow her instructions and all will be fine. ||She rescues these monkeys, and we were lucky that we were there when she received a 2 weeks old bay howler monkey. She let us hold him and it was the best experience in my life! I must go back to visit baby Odi!!!||Anything you need, ask Francine. Don't give low rating to this place because she couldn't guess what you expected or wanted. Always ask. Francine is a very gentle and helpful person. ||In summary: go to this place if you are looking to relax and actually interact with monkeys (who are all vaccinated) like you've only dreamed of. And this place is good for people over 16 who are respectful of people and nature. Not good for small kids (mostly...

This place's location was very intriguing and it claimed to have monkeys, so we had to go check it out. Yes, very remote from Bocas del Toro (about 45 minutes on a speed boat), but the trip there was wonderful as we were able to see the the beautiful never ending landscape and the ocean. Upon arrival, Francine's warm welcome made us feel right at home as soon as we stepped off the boat. We were promptly greeted by Gigi, an 11-moth old howler monkey. We were startled for a second, but it was all good because we didn't expect to see a loose monkey. She was extremely friendly and calm. Francine then showed us where she kept her other monkeys and that was very interesting. They were all kept behind these very large cages because some of them would cause major chaos if let out on this island, so she had a monkey bridge built connected to one of the cages and those monkeys can choose to be free in a separate island at any time they choose. The other 2 cages don't lead to anywhere, but are kept very clean. She only lets those out when she doesn't have guests because some of them could temperamental or would simply steal items from the guests rooms. Anyhow, after visiting this place, we understand how and why she runs the place. You should ask her about it. Quite an achievement, if you asked me. The island itself has many locations for relaxation and the food is very good. Perfect proportions. I don't know how. I eat a lot, but whatever food served for each meal, was enough to hold me off until the next one. The price is on a higher side, say, an American metropolitan city price range. Understandable since it costs a lot to maintain the place, which has no concrete, everything is natural (she's big on energy and flow), employees, foods, etc, and all that came by boat!!!! We were there for 3 nights, so full 4 days of relaxing. We didn't even go anywhere because we were so content with everything there and just focused on relaxing. This place is an eco lodge, so everything is as eco friendly as it comes, meaning, don't expect your usual hotel amenities. I.e. AC and high pressure shower. There is a fan by the bed. If you are a hot sleeper, get either the honeymoon suite or the family room, because those unites receive very nice sea breeze. The 4 standard bungalows don't receive that breeze because it is blocked by the mangrove, so it could get hot if you are a hot sleeper. The standard bungalows have their own shower and toilet, and the walls are made of bamboo fence. No one really can see you in details, only silhouette. And since the place is extremely quiet , some people might be self conscious with making bathroom noises. Fear not, as there are 2 large detached bathrooms that you will give you the privacy you seek. The bungalows are just right above the water so you can go swimming at any time of the day. As a matter of fact, there are little access ladders to the water everywhere. Francine has practically everything and if she doesn't, she might be able to help you get it by next day since she has a captain that makes daily visits to her. Don't be afraid of the monkeys because Francine only lets out the ones that are used to interacting with the visitors and she will tell you what to do or what not to do. Just follow her instructions and all will be fine. She rescues these monkeys, and we were lucky that we were there when she received a 2 weeks old bay howler monkey. She let us hold him and it was the best experience in my life! I must go back to visit baby Odi!!! Anything you need, ask Francine. Don't give low rating to this place because she couldn't guess what you expected or wanted. Always ask. Francine is a very gentle and helpful person. In summary: go to this place if you are looking to relax and actually interact with monkeys (who are all vaccinated) like you've only dreamed of. And this place is good for people over 16 who are respectful of people and nature. Not good for small kids (mostly...