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The island of Cristobal occupies an important sector of the Admiral Bay, just to the east of the Colon Island and in the route of the marine taxis that connect Almirante and Bocas del Toro.
The island, when talking of tourism, is ignored most of the times, lacking of valuable forests, except on the south, but very rich in marine environments. Surrounded by reefs at the west and the south, is becoming one of the favourite spots for divers. At the east sector of the island is located the very well known Dolphins Bay.
There are three important indian communities in the island: San Cristobal, Bocatorito and Valle Escondido. Valle Escondido is smaller than San Cristobal and bigger than Bocatorito, with some importance as a ngobe indian community.
There, live more than 200 people in around 30 houses made in wood roofed with palm leaves. The community has an aqueduct that supplies the water necessities, and a primary school in the multigrade system, with 2 classrooms, 2 teachers and 55
students.
Villagers grow vegetables (cocoa, yuca, rice, corn), farm animals (chicken, pigs) and cattle, although the most important activity is fishing. They, as many other communities in the province, sell their cocoa production to a regional cooperative.
The village is accessed by boat, navigating in the sea until the entrance of a creek, where the people navigate up to the community dock. By land, people walks through the San Cristobal village using a path until Valle Escondido.
Just outside of the community, in the sea, is located a deep channel that runs parallel with the coast. There was easy to see only monthes ago, passing very close, the ships that load, in the port of Almirante, banana from the Changuinola plantations destined to Europe and North America. Now this ships enter through the channel of Boca del Drago.
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