Images, Sendero los Quetzales

I walked this trail from Boquete to Guadalupe the day after climbing Volcan Baru. Going this direction is less conventional, because of the significant elevation gain between the two trailheads.

Along the way, I first encountered the enchanting and seemingly misplaced Jungle Crab (see photo), then a large family of howler monkeys up in the canopy. The monkeys made quite a production in response to my presence, doing their intiimdating growling howl. One even tried to urinate on me. It was all a fun show, so I couldn't help but howl back at them for a little while. They didn't like that either, so I sloshed on up the trail.

It had been dark for two hours by the time I got to Guadalupe, where a taxi fortunately came by and took me to the Hotel Cerro Punta.

I was really tired from all of the hiking I had done in the last two days, so I pampered myself with a hot shower, a nice big room with a great bed, and (most importantly) a big meal at the restaurant. I can't express how grateful I was for the fantastic service I recieved and food I ate at the restaurant. The proprietress is an absolute angel! Hotel Cerro Punta was just what I needed after two days of really tough hiking.

The trip back in the other direction four days later was less eventful, because I started earlier in the day, and I also knew more what I was in for. I took the short spur trail to los Rocas, which turned out to be an incredible overlook on top of a cliif giving a view north into the Amistad Biosphere Reserve. As I took in the expansive view of the jungle far below, I could hear a howler monkey making a fuss over...what? A rival male? A snake? A potential girlfriend? A jaguar? It was fun to sit up there and speculate. Farther down the trail, the howler monkeys I had seen the first time through were still in the same area, so I stopped to check them out again as well.

FAIR WARNING!!! Lonely Planet claims that the trail is "at least 10 Km" in length. The signs along the trail are internally inconsistent, but add up to around 15 kilometers, which seems more in the ballpark of reality. However, since both trailheads are at the end of long, rough jeep trails, I believe I walked farther than this figure both times. Also, due to scheduling pressures, I ended up doing the trail both times in the afternoon, which means I got rained on and slogged through mud, puddles, and swollen creeks. I'd definitely do it all over tomorrow.

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