Santa Fe and Calovebora

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Peggy and I visited Santa Fe in a vacuum. This was only a few months after the first COVID-19 vaccines came out, so in 3 weeks, I didn't meet another foreign tourist. Before Peggy arrived, I ate at every restaurant alone. Because my experiences in Valle de Anton and the beaches near San Carlos were pleasant surprises, again, I didn't view Santa Fe as an off-the-beaten-path gem but as an underdeveloped future retirement community with speeding taxi trucks - an unnecessary danger.

Cerro Tute

The most popular hike in the area is mostly disappointing, but Peggy and I managed to create our own adventure on the slow descent back to town. We ventured into the morning drizzle for what we thought would be a mile-long road walk to the trailhead. Instead, the sign directed us onto a wide dirt road that climbed steeply toward the sporadically-forested hill. There wasn’t much peace, with trucks in the distance whining up the carretera in second gear and an occasional taxi camioneta passing us.

The sweeping views of the mountains and valleys were impressive and difficult to capture in photos. But the Panamanian mentality is to build without considering why tourism in Costa Rica thrives compared to theirs, so these horribly eroded roads are on their way to being paved and the lots sold for retirement mansiónes in the next few years.

The only part of the hike that was actually on a single-track trail was the last 40 minutes. It was pretty overgrown from the pandemic but we were able to get through to the peak. We ate lunch on the side of the hill, protected from the wind, noticing a separate trail leading into the jungle below.

We followed this steep, muddy trail through thick jungle that periodically opened into citrus orchards with basic shacks that are probably only used during the harvest. The jungle sections were slippery and I fell a few times, which isn’t saying much. We saw plenty of wildlife (see photos, including the giant toad) and the air was heavy. We really enjoyed half-bushwhacking our way through the virgin forest. The trail kept splitting and leading us in different directions, but it’s tough to get lost when using Google Maps on satellite mode. At times we passed through the front lines of deforestation - cleared areas with piles of bamboo poles to build makeshift pavilions to use as a base to plant more citrus groves.

Accommodations

Peggy and I stayed at two well-run hotels - Yasmine Rainforest Hotel, which was basic but comfortable, and Anachoreo, which was pricier but had a lovely garden with amazing views of the national park. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to try what is purportedly the only Cambodian restaurant in Central America and the best food outside of Panama City at Anachoreo, since they didn’t have enough guests to justify opening.

Parque Nacional Santa Fe

The park is only 20 years old and most of it is only accessible with a guide since there are few marked trails. The next day we tried to hike to a trailhead that leads to abandoned mines, which looked a lot easier on the town map than it proved to be. Truck taxis roar by on the paved roads and even the dirt roads have a fair amount of traffic, including a mobile meat market that was moving at roughly our pace. And these dirt roads are incredibly steep - someone should plan a brutal ultramarathon here. This combined with the high sun and humidity makes for pretty uncomfortable walking. By the time we reached the trailhead and ate lunch by the Santa Maria River, we were ready to turn around, hailing a death cab partway back, narrowly missing a thunderstorm that would have ruined the hike anyway.

Calovebora

The owners at Yasmine Rainforest Hotel recommended that we travel on the newly paved road to the Caribbean coast for a couple of nights. They said their friends have a new hostal there and that solar panels and fans make up for the lack of electricity and aircon.

The road is incredibly steep, winding through Santa Fe National Park and past indigenous settlements that must have changed quite a bit with this new road. Midway there, we had to wait about an hour for a second van to fill up. I felt guilty that I was bitter about paying 25 cents to use the outhouse.

There is a fairly long beach there, but it’s covered with coconuts, fallen trees and other debris. Maybe most beaches look like this before they’re cleaned up for tourists? Regardless, most of the town, including the hostal, was under construction in preparation for what seemed to be their first tourist season ever. The owner looked befuddled as to why we would want to stay there. There was no water upstairs and the solar panels hadn’t yet arrived. She had some workers bring beds into the room for us and the room was pretty stuffy without a fan. We went for a walk on the beach and around the village, which was enough to decide that it was best to get out of there rather than endure a long, boring, uncomfortable night. Luckily, the owner was understanding about it and happened to be doing business with an electronics salesman, who drove us back to Santa Fe on his way back to David for a few extra bucks. A fun half-day trip in the end.

There are several more photos far below.

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Photos

Sapo Gigante
This was almost as big as my cat.

Vomiting Blueberry Lips
That’s probably not their name, but…

Death Cab
Walking around Santa Fe mainly consists of jumping out of the way of these things as they tear through town.