It's a tale as old as time—or at least one that goes back a few decades now: The surfers come first, then the cute cafés, restaurants, and boutique hotels follow. That's been the story in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Starting in the mid-1990s, wave riders would arrive every winter to conquer the legendary offshore break Silverbacks. Nonsurfers would usually stumble upon Bocas—which sits on...