But once the Palo Alto, Calif., couple arrived at this Caribbean archipelago dotted with lush jungles, white sand beaches and protected coral reefs, they had a ready answer.

"This is awesome!" says Steele, 30, a marketing executive.

Long overshadowed by eco-tourism heavyweights Costa Rica and Belize to the north, Bocas del Toro is starting to emerge as the newest star in the eco-tourism pantheon. Guidebooks and promoters tout the islands as "the Galapagos of the 21st century." Hundreds of species of fish, parrots, toucans, monkeys and sloths live on the islands, which include a 20-year-old national marine park to protect endangered manatees and sea turtles.

Already a popular destination for vacationing Panamanians from the mainland, Bocas del Toro, which means "mouths of the bull," is a collection of nine islands and more than 200 keys sprinkled about 25 miles off the coast near the Costa Rican border. Christopher Columbus named the archipelago, which today counts 10,000 residents, in 1502 when he landed on Isla Carenero, the smallest island. American banana companies built the main settlement, known as Bocas Town, on Isla Colon, the largest island in the chain, not long after Panama declared independence from Colombia in 1903.

But with its rustic facilities and end-of-the-line feel, it's not for everyone. Now, as eco-tourism increases, Bocas Town, with only 1,200 people, feels like a sleepy beach place poised on the verge of a big boom. The government-run Panamanian Tourism Institute has started promoting the islands to U.S. travelers, launching an English-language Web site that features Bocas prominently.

With an airport, Internet cafes, ATMs and plenty of hotels and restaurants, Bocas Town has enough infrastructure that visitors have no problem quickly making themselves comfortable. Concrete-and-steel frames for more hotels seem to be popping up everywhere, and a Bocas Business Association, with a big sign in English, sits prominently on downtown's main strip, Calle 3. The official currency is the dollar, the legacy of U.S. involvement in Panama, and most stores and restaurants accept credit cards. Many merchants speak English as well as Spanish.

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