Founded by a monk named Mauro Teixeira in 1598, the incredible São Bento Monastery (St Benedict's Monastery) houses an enormous organ with about 6,000 pipes and an image of the Kasperovo Virgin covered with 6,000 pearls. Visit on a Sunday for the 10 am mass, complete with Gregorian chants from the monks.

This is the main church for Helsinki’s Lutheran community and part of the city’s Empire-style core designed by Carl Ludvig Engel. For locals and visitors alike, it’s a symbol of the city itself. Inside, it’s mostly a quiet spot for services, but you can also catch concerts here now and then. Even if you’re not religious, it’s worth swinging by to see the clean lines and that iconic green dome standing over Senate Square.

If you’re looking for a different side of Bocas, you’ll find it hidden in the indigenous villages tucked away in the forests on every island. The indigenous Ngöbe-Buglé and Naso continue to live without modern luxuries such as running water, electricity and medicine. They know how to get around the forests of the islands and speak their own language, make their own clothing and crafts, and cure illnesses with local plants prepared by medicine men known as curanderos. To learn more about living in the wild in these unspoiled communities, book a tour with an operator or if you’re staying in a remote hotel, ask the owners, there may be a village nearby.