Panama Vacation - Boquete

Although my primary reason for going to Panama was for a surf vacation at Morro Negrito, I HAD to see the rest of the country while I was there.  I did some research beforehand through my trusty Lonely Planet series of books and decided that I could see a decent amount of the country in an additional week.  I was only traveling with one medium sized backpack plus a smaller day backpack for my camera equipment, so any extra time would've involved laundry or a bigger bag.

The three places where I decided to spend time after Morro Negrito were Boquete (pronounced boh-KHET-eh), Bocas del Toro and Panama City.  I read through the best places to stay and things to do but I didn't book anything in advance.  I'm a planner, so this was a pretty big step for me.  It wasn't the high tourist season, so I was pretty confident that I could find accommodation on the fly.  Here is my basic route plan.

Route through Panama

Jamie and Sam were a part of the Canadian group with me at Morro Negrito and they had planned a few extra days into their trip to travel to Boquete as well.  We agreed to travel together for the next few days (and they were happy to have me along since their Spanish was very basic).  Everyone said their goodbyes at the surf camp and the three of us took a boat back to the port, a taxi to the bus station.

Of course it wasn't so easy to get to Boquete. First we had to change buses in David, a major city and transportation hub. I had flirted with the idea of staying there for a night but I was convinced that there was nothing much to see and no nightlife to speak of. Everyone uses that city as a means to get other places... it's halfway between San José, Costa Rica and Panama City, as well as being the kickoff point for Boquete, Bocas del Toro and pretty much anywhere else you want to go in western Panama.

With relative ease we switched buses in David and took the 1.5 hour, $1.75 ride to Boquete.  We got off of the bus in the middle of the town square at around 9 pm and it looked exactly as it was described in my guide - a quiet, sleepy town.  The draw to visit here isn't the city, it's the natural beauty and exploration jump off points that exist nearby. Since the early 2000s AARP has rated Boquete one of the best places to retire abroad.  I thought it was very random, but apparently the government gives huge tax incentives and travel discounts to expat retirees.

The biggest feature of the landscape is Volcano Barú which has been dormant since 500 AD.  Jamie and Sam planned to rent camping gear, hiking up the mountain, spending the night and coming back down.  I wasn't quite as ambitious and would be just happy exploring on a lesser commitment level.  The area is full of outdoor activities from ATV tours to horseback riding, birdwatching (I'm not into that, but it would've been cool to see the quetzal), bus trips, camping on the mountain, rafting and more.  It really reminded me of central Costa Rica near Volcano Arenal (my visit there in 2008 during grad school predates my blog, but I'll try to go back and remember some details later for a future post).

We found a Hostel Mamallena conveniently located in the town square and there was room available.  Jamie and Sam were comfortable sharing a room with me, so we split the cost of one of the double bed private rooms for around $30 per night.  After a week of sleeping in the heat on uncomfortable bedding, the night chill and larger sleeping area were great... not to mention the long shower after the short, temporary cooling ones at Morro Negrito.

We didn't have to go far to find good food - Restaurante Barú (no link available) was right next door.  The pizza hit the spot and it was very affordable.  I sampled all of the local beers: of Balboa, Panama and Atlas, my vote for the best goes to Balboa.  Although it was a Saturday night we were exhausted enough from the past week to turn in early.  From the sounds outside the hostel, we probably did miss a little nightlife.

Kid selling pineapples out of his parents' truck

The next morning we explored the central market, walked through the square and up some random streets to get a feel for the quiet town.  Once we were satisfied with that we spoke with people to see what we could get into during the day.  The hostel had a few organized trips planned to the hot springs and another to some waterfalls, but not enough people signed up.  Jamie and I spoke with an ATV operator about riding partway up the volcano but we were concerned about getting caught up there when the daily rains came.  That might not be so much fun.  In the end we decided to hire a taxi and chill out at the nearby hot springs in Caldera (Los Posos Termales de Caldera) on our own.

Sam packed us some sandwiches and we hailed a taxi to the springs.  The $15 ride took about a half hour down an empty country road and ended at a dirt path and crude sign.  I was worried that we wouldn't have a way to get back to Boquete so I tried to communicate with the driver about coming back to get us.  He kept using the same word - 'seguro' - and I had no idea what it meant (*I looked it up when I got back and it's 'insurance'.  I think he wanted us to pay something up front for the return trip).  In the end he said he would be there when we got were finished.

100+ degrees

I visited some "hot springs," and I use that term loosely, in Chile, but haven't experienced real ones.  The owner had placed stones around each spring to form a little grotto that was really peaceful since we were the only people visiting at the time.  The admission was only $2.  And take my word for it because the picture doesn't convey it well - these had to be over a hundred degrees.  You had to do bob up and down, slowly lowering yourself into the water to get used to the heat.  We quickly got over the heat and spent the remainder of the time cooling off in the river about 50 yards from the springs.

The absolute coolest part of the springs and the highlight of my time in Boquete was meeting a spider monkey there.  We later came to know that it was the pet of the owners, but when we first came upon it we weren't sure if it was wild.  He let us pet him before he warmed up and started climbing all over Jamie.  When we walked between the springs and river he would come up to us as if he wanted attention.  As we left the springs a local came down the path and gave the monkey a banana treat.  He had been half eating mangoes and then throwing them on the ground, but he gladly accepted it.  This is the video I shot of the meal.



We talked about going out that night but since it was Sunday nothing was open. We had another relaxing dinner at Barú since most other options were closed and went to bed at a reasonable time.  I was up early in the morning to catch a bus back to David and on to Bocas del Toro while Jamie and Sam were planning to hike and camp on the volcano.

New favorite picture of myself

Part III: Panama Vacation - Bocas del Toro coming soon.