Chiriqui Highlands

We took a little turboprop plane from Panama City to David on Thursday morning. The plane was supposed to leave at 10:00am and we took off promptly at 11:00.


Rule #1: Do not concern yourself with matters of time while in Panama... But it was a beautiful 50 minute flight over mountains larger than I expected. There were probably six other Americans on the plane with us, all headed for Boquete, too. We picked up our rental car in the David airport, managed to find a "supermercado" (supermarket) to buy a few things and then headed out of town for Boquete.

On the way we stopped at a little used book store in Dolega run by an American. Somehow they manage to stay in business and stock a large selection of books - I think it's the only place in Panama to buy English books. Michael, the fellow running the store, said that there are around 5000 gringos living in the vicinity but hardly any of them read. Weird...

Only a few miles down the road and we started seeing signs for Boquete. The countryside is beautiful, and soon the road went down the hill into this lush, green valley next to Volcan Baru... Boquete... the little town that started all this daydreaming and made this trip possible!

It was a magical moment to REALLY be here, and hard to believe. Our first stop was at Fresas Mary, a roadside ice cream (helados) stand that has the best fresa batidos (strawberry shakes). After a little rest, enjoying the view with our cool shakes, we headed into town. We explored the streets of Boquete a bit before heading up the hill to our first lodging here, Villa Marita.

We had our own private cabin with a lovely view and flower gardens all around.

Rodrigo, the owner, has toucans and parrots he has raised. They hang out around the grounds and ate breakfast with us on the veranda in the mornings.


I found a funky internet cafe (without the cafe - computers only) where I could download my pictures off the camera and check email. I was on the computer for an hour and the fee was twenty-five cents. Our first dinner in Boquete was at the Panamonte Hotel, which is an old colonial hotel right in town. We had first class service and had a great meal - locally raised filet mignon for Dad, and pan-seared almond trout for me, fresh from the local stream.

Yesterday we wandered the streets of Boquete and hit all the local shops and even bought some touristy-stuff. This tiny town has an amazing number of clothing stores, and even a small department store. After yet another stop at Fresas Mary in the afternoon for a cool, refreshing treat, we headed up on a scenic tour of the Bajo Mono Loop. This is a single-lane, mostly paved road that winds through the mountain and valleys, through the farms and along the river.

Parts of the road are a little hairy, especially when we saw the yellow caution sign that showed a car falling upside down in mid-air! The farm trucks come rushing down the roads around blind corners so you really have to keep your eyes open. We passed local houses and shacks without doors or glass in the windows. Lots of little children in brightly colored clothes, and men walking back from the farms with burlap bags over their shoulders. We drove with the windows down, and when I would wave and say "Hola!", we had mixed responses. The local indians would not respond or make much eye contact, but the other folks, especially the kids, would wave and shout back. One little boy was so excited, he waved and shouted "Gringa!" with a huge smile on his face.

We stopped at a private residence, called Mi Jardin es Su Jardin (My Garden is Your Garden). They allow the public to walk through and enjoy the grounds which are beautiful, with little paths leading all around through themed garden areas and ponds filled with goldfish.

A group of young children from a local school were touring the grounds when we were there and I asked a couple of them if I could take their photo. The whole class got so excited, they were running and laughing, trying to all fit in the picture. What energy and joy these little kids have!

Last night we ate at a new Peruvian restaurant, and oh my, it was the best food yet. Dad had another local beef filet with huge langostinos and the whole thing was perched on top of herbed potato pillars. The presentation was amazing. I had corvina in a Peruvian tomato-seafood sauce made with tiny and medium langostinos, calamaris, baby calamaris (looked like tiny octopi), and pulpos (which really are octopus). At the table next to us was a couple who had been on the plane from Panama City with us and we were able to have good conversation and a few laughs after dinner.

This morning our host, Rodrigo, spent several hours with Dad & I, talking about computers, philosophy and life in Boquete. He seemed to think I should move down here and make a good living teaching computers to the gringos. I told him he shouldn't encourage me, then promptly emailed Michael and told him to pack his bags! Rodrigo also gave us a tour of his hydroponic greenhouses where he grows beautiful vegetables organically without chemicals or pesticides. Our time with Rodrigo was extra special and we'll remember it for a long time to come.


This afternoon we moved to the other side of the valley to The Coffee Estate Inn. Barry & Jane welcomed us warmly and showed us our cabin in the trees where we'll be relaxing, reading and strolling the trails. Tomorrow Barry will give us a tour of the coffee plantation and show us the entire process.

We heard that there's fresh snow in Montana, so of course we're extra glad to be here right now! It's a bit cool and rainy here, according to the locals, but we're enjoying it all the same.

Cheers for now,
Jenn & Herm