Advertisement
Published: April 20th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Bridge Over Troubled Waters?
Bridge to our "hiking trail" on our first day in Boquete. It could use a little repair. Cars still cross it though, so it must be ok :) We are coming to you live from Boquete, Panama. This is one of the worlds up and coming retirement spots for expats. Boquete is about 1hr by bus from Panama's second largest city, David. David, while hot and humid, was a welcome rest spot for a day after 7 hours on a bus from Panama City. We stayed at the Purple House hostel in David. True to its namesake everything is purple!! The beds were comfy, the rooms were clean, and the three of us got a private room for only $8 a piece. David doesn't offer too much as far as tourist attractions go, so lying in a hammock and reading was the high point of the day. Drea attempted to walk around, and to her dismay had to stop in the shade every block or so to avoid heat induced fainting. David, however, is a good place to stay for day trips to surrounding areas.
Off to Boquete.... A beautiful $1.40 ride on winding mountain roads in an old school bus (not quite as colorful as those in Panama City, but it still does the trick) had us all eagerly anticipating our new exploration site. We sat
Downtown Boquete
Downtown, things will be great when we're downtown! Wow, we hiked all the way up here (on the road). wide mouthed wondering why we had spent a day in David when this incredible mountain paradise lay so close. What a difference an hour makes!!
We found a nice cheery place called the Rebequet to stay in. We love private bathrooms!! We had high aspirations of white water rafting (actually available in David), rock-climbing, and hiking the Quetzal Trail. None of these were accomplished, but we had a fabulous stay.
Upon arrival, we asked our front desk clerk (we dare not call him a maitre'd) about hiking in the vicinity of our hotel. He excitedly described a wonderful hiking trail that started a couple of blocks from our hotel. It was to be along the ridge of a mountain encircling the town. It had scenic vistas, lush greenery, and lots of pavement. Ladies and gentleman, this was a main road through the mountain. What a hike though!! We hiked pretty much straight up the steep hill on this road for a good 8 km!! Eventually giving into our aching legs by hitch hiking back to town, we were thoroughly exhausted.
We had lunch at a great deli/bistro/café, and met a great lady named Mandeja who we invited
Moooo
Happy cows live in Boquete. to join us for our upcoming Boquete adventures. She is a German lady, currently living outside of Seattle. We all became fast friends, and she was a welcome addition to our travels.
The next day, we decided to give our legs a rest and let the horses do the walking. Riding along the river bank and up through the mountains was a tranquil experience, except for the horses trying to assert their pecking order. It was quite comical actually. Drea’s horse kept trying to run Adam’s and Jill’s horses off the road. Adam’s horse wouldn’t stop eating the shrubbery on the side of the road. He decided to just let it eat because he wasn’t sure it had eaten breakfast (what a big heart), but his horse then walked all over him for the rest of the ride. Drea had a strict no eating policy for her horse. He took his frustrations out on the rest of our horses by accelerating to a trot then pushing the rest of us out of his way. At one point Adam’s and Drea’s horses actually sandwiched Jill’s horse and attempted to squeeze it out of their way. To add to the calamity,
Horsemanship
Jill trying to talk Drea's and Adam's horses into backing off. this was all while we were going steeply downhill on a main road in the rain, on our way back to town.
Apparently in Seattle, it is common practice to shower outside in the rain. Andrea had past too much time as a San Diego resident where we seldom see sustained downpours. She was having withdrawals. She decided Boquete would be just the spot to lather it up with her bar of soap in the street. Mind you, we did have a nicely appointed bathroom with hot water all to ourselves. It was an entertaining evening.
Drea is down to five days before she flies out of San Jose, and has yet to see the Caribbean coast where legend has it that she will meet the man of her dreams. So, in the interest of time we are off to Bocas del Toro to assist in Drea’s romantic future…
Advertisement
Tot: 0.043s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.025s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
Andrea
non-member comment
Horse with attitude
Hey I can't help it if my horse had attitude... it was a blast though, especially the natural shower and do not forget the floor fiesta! Hope you are having a great time! Are you watching after turtles?? I hope so!