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Published: October 26th 2011
Scooter Ride
Amy and I on the scooter heading up to the cloud forest above Boquete.After our Panama City adventure we were ready to get back to nature so we headed to Boquete, a small mountain town in Northern Panama. Boquete is well known for two things, retirement and coffee. It was about ten years ago when an AARP article listed Boquete Panama as one of the top destinations to retire, as a result, baby boomers headed south and infiltrated the city. Although it is a top spot for ex-pats to retire, it is not quite awash with gringos, but the effects of their presence has definitely had an influence on real estate prices - which are probably now equal to or higher than several locations in the United States. However, given the idyllic location, if the real estate was located in the states it would probably be quite a bit higher than a comparable house/lot in the States.
The coffee grown around the Boquete region is unsurpassed in Central America and even the world. Around Boquette there is an array of coffee farms all of which are internationally recognized for their high quality coffee. It is worth noting that their "junk" beans (and sticks or whatever goes through the process) is sold to Folgers
This is how we roll...
Packed up and heading to Bocas Del Toro. and other mass market coffee companies in the United States. One company in particular, Ruiz, has an extensive list of awards to their credit including a few coffee of the year awards in the early part of the century. With that being said, the other coffee companies offer an incredibly good cup of joe and depending on your preference probably exceed the coffee that Ruiz produces. All of this created the moniker, "The Napa Valley of coffee" for Boquette. Even though Boquette is known for coffee and retirement, the area should be known for a third thing - rivers. It seems like a river/creek can be found almost anywhere you look - It makes the whole landscape gorgeous everywhere you turn.
As with the last few weeks of our trip, the majority of our time spent in Boquete was filled with rain. Part of this is because just above the city lies a cloud forest that can move a rain cloud in at anytime, but mainly because October is the worst time of year to be in Boquette due to the abundance of rain (rainy season). Even so, the charm of the area was easy to see and we
All packed up
This is how we roll...a lot to carry when switching locations! made the best of our time there.
One of our biggest adventures consisted of renting a scooter - which we shared and rode "dumb and dumber" style around the mountains and town. As it turned out, this was quite the experience! On the first morning we saw some blue sky we decided that we would rent the scooter. After a cup of coffee and some bakery treats we were greeted by a slight mist, but nothing to put an end to our plans for the day. We decided to gear up with our rain gear and head out on the road. For $20 you get 4 hours on a scooter, which can easily get you around most of the area. As soon as we had the keys we were heading for the hills a few thousand feet above Boquete to see the coffee plantations, natives, and a bird's eye view of the city. The scenery on our route to the top was outstanding. We saw several coffee planations (shade grown coffee, with orange trees often used as the canopy cover), multiple rivers, a few small towns, a wonderful waterfall, and a myriad of other wonderful views. Unfortuneatly, as we
Off-road scooter
Supposed to keep them on pavement...oh well... gained altitude the rain started to come down harder and the temperature steadily dropped. By the time we were at the top, we were both freezing, wet, and craving a hot shower. Upon finishing our tour and warming up we both agree that it was well worth it, but for awhile we were second guessing ourselves.
After a dozen or so cups of coffee in three days we were ready to come down from our caffeine buzz and head to the Caribbean. An hour bus ride back to David, four hours on a bus to Almirante, an hour walk to the water taxi, 30 minutes on the boat to the Island and we find ourselves at Bocas Del Toro.
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