Good Vibes In Boquete, Panama

Where do I even begin on Boquete? I only planned on going for a couple of nights and ended up staying for almost a week. Boquete is a small town, and even though it is a well established stop on the backpacker trail and has its fair share of expats and NGO workers, it also boasts some beautiful scenery, lovely gardens and the best coconut flan I have ever tasted (why, oh why didn't I take a picture of that?!). 

I hiked, strolled through beautiful gardens, visited a coffee farm, saw live "gypsy music," observed a centennial parade, almost sold our soul and/or a passport to rent and watch Volver again (love that movie!) and also got a brief chance to volunteer: I got to spend a morning doing puzzles with mentally handicapped indigenous children, and then got to participate in what my host for the day Jenni deemed PX90 real life--turning a slab of concrete into gravel with a pickax inside a green house. I learned about smokeless stoves and aquaponics and offered up the only piece of useful information I could muster--that plant there is okra and it is best eaten fried. (I couldn't believe with all the collective knowledge they had there that no one had eaten okra. Southern girl to the rescue!) The entire time I was with their family I was amazed by the smart way they went about trying to assist the bottom tier of the economic structure. (Check them out at here.)

Boquete was also the first place I have ever been kicked out of a hostel. The people in charge told me I could only stay for one night because the place was full from then on. This was fine, but also perplexing because there was hardly anyone there. The next day I double checked and she told me again that it was full, so I moved across town. My friends in that hostel assured me that the hostel has not been full. I still have no idea what that was all about, but it made for some nice jokes. 

Speaking of friends, I met a ton of amazing people in Boquete--in the hostels, in the gardens and volunteering. I generally say the best and worst parts of traveling alone are all the people you meet. In Boquete they were definitely of the good variety. 

Some pictures below:   

The beautiful gardens in Boquete came with the reminder that I am allergic to seemingly any kind of plant these days. I got to make a fun trip to the pharmacy after this one for some allergy meds. 

Colorful buildings

I stopped in for mass one day and heard a sermon on the creation story. The priest used a metaphor of God going about creating like a pregnant mother preparing a nursery for her unborn baby. It was a surprising place to find a metaphor that was both feminine and compatible with an evolutionary take on creation. After spending a solid month this summer doing nothing but writing papers on the first 12 chapters of Genesis, I loved it.

Check out all those SPAM varieties!

In a photographic failure I somehow neglected to take a picture of the tricked out Diablos Rojos (repurposed  yellow school buses) in Panama City, but I did capture one in Boquete (and actually rode this one all the way back to David). But just so you get an idea of  how much more awesome the ones in the city were, if this one passed me on the street in Panama City, even with the fins on top and dual exhaust, I would have just let it pass and waited for a cooler one to come by. 

Machetes for sale in the corner store

A typical meal for me in Boquete. I ate in this cafeteria at least once a day, every day. All that goodness for about $2.50. 

So many gardens! So many pretty flowers!

My grandmother used to grow these. 

I trekked out to the hotsprings, which turned out to be a whole ordeal. It took me forever to find this sign. (And then forever still to get there from this sign.)

Oh yeah, did I mention I rode a bull? For more than 8 seconds too. 

(It's true. I don't always make brilliant decisions.)

The pharmacy where I got my allergy meds had all kinds of stuff in it. I suggested it as a possible place for a friend to find a copy of the new Girl Who Kicked the Something or Nother book. When we got in there I remembered, oh yeah--all those books I remembered seeing in there were all copies of the Santa Biblia (Bibles). Oops. They did have an EXACT replica of the scarf I was wearing though. Which was especially strange because I bought it at a Moroccan market in Brussels. 

OK, so that is a glimpse at Boquete! Next up, a few pictures from the parade/centennial celebration and my coffee tour. 

David, Panama!

{The ambitious agenda for today is: to do laundry. Don't ask me why after 2 months of hand-washing and hanging my clothes to dry everyday I am so unmotivated to do laundry when I have access to a washer and dryer. But such are the mysteries of life. To compensate I am sitting around in my Strongbad hoodie hugging my mug of tea (its COLD outside!) and listening to hands down the best pandora station I have ever made. I figured instead of staring into space I could at least keep going through some pictures and catch yall up a bit more. So here we go!}

After my brief stay at Farallon, aka the beach with no normal place to stay, I hitched a ride (yeah, yeah, I know, but his name wasn't Stu) to Penonome, Panama. Penonome, besides being a trabalengua (tongue twister), means--the chief is dead (one of the many things I learned from my talkative driver). From there I grabbed a bus to David, Panama. Originally I was just going to stay the night so that I could wake up early and get a bus out to Boquete, but after getting there and getting settled I knew I was not going to be ready to hop on yet another bus the next day. Even though it was sweltering (David is well known as the hottest city in Panama) and turned out to have zero tourist sights, it was still a nice place to get my city fix, relax and read for a little while. Unfortunately I don't have too many pictures of David--I didn't feel like whipping out my camera in most places. Here's a few though:

Looking down one of the streets. I will say I actually really enjoyed peeking into all of the old tailor shops. 

The city's one museum, which is housed in an original colonial home, ended up being under renovation. The architect did let me into the courtyard to snoop around a bit though.  

Still the museum/house

In the few days I have been home I have gotten lots of questions on how I budget/saved/afford to travel long term. Although I did have a nice dinner at a Lebanese restaurant in David (I saw the restaurant in the Lonely Planet guidebook and it might or might not have been one of the main reasons I chose to stay in David...) this is an example of how make my money stretch--a 25 cent meal of (nostalgically delicious) roman noodles.

On a related note: I also bought a small packet of curry powder to take my noodles from 25 cent average to 50 cent gourmet (saute some onions, add the curry powder then stir in the drained noodles--you won't be disappointed!)  but lazied out and just ate them straight out of the microwave. Ever the penny pincher when traveling I tucked the unopened curry packet into my backpack for the next stop. Unfortunately, for about a week every single piece of clothing in my bag (yes, all 7 of them) faintly smelled like curry. Oops.

And finally, this picture was taken in the courtyard of my hostel in David--The Purple House, which I would recommend. Everything in the hostel is purple, but they have binders full of tourist information/guest recommendations, artisan crafts for sale (the profits of which go straight to the artists), volunteer opportunities, drinkable tap water, and an former Peace Corp volunteer owner (who on the phone mistook me for a Spaniard! Granted it was a short conversation, but until I gave her my name on my credit card she thought I was "bien espanola." (For some reason my Spain accent is much stronger on the phone than in person. Don't ask why...) But after the disaster in Farallon, it was a small victories.)    

Also, at the entrance of their courtyard they had Hebrews 13:2 painted on the wall which was a happy reminder.

OK, that about wraps up David. Next up is Boquete!

{And seriously. This is the best Pandora station ever. It was perhaps a stroke of luck, but I feel like a genius.)

I Am Alive!

Guess what? I am alive! And well! Oh-so-well to be exact. As you have probably noticed the blog went into a coma when my computer stopped functioning. I won't lie...It was kind of nice to drop off the grid. But, after a final goodbye to this guy: 

{(the active and smoking) Masaya Volcano and Lake Masaya} 

I took 3 buses, 2 taxis, two plane rides and a 2.5 hour drive to get myself to Abilene to be in my good friend's wedding. I was incredibly lucky to get to take in the hospitality of new and old friends in San Jose, Denver and Abilene along the way. I won't lie though--reentry has been a bit overwhelming. After almost 2 months in Central America, the U.S. seems to move in hyper speed. Thankfully the metroplex has plenty of fine Spanish radio stations to help me ease the transition. Really I shouldn't even say transition though--I will only be here for 3 more days. On Wednesday I fly out for the rest of my trip, starting in Greece! I can't wait to meet up with couch surfing friends there and spend the week with the Logsdon group.

Anyway, there is lots of planing and errand running (and Mexican food eating) to be done before Wednesday (including hopefully picking up my computer all fixed up...) but I thought I might run through some pictures from Panama and Nicaragua while I have access to my parent's computer.

Enjoy!

The main drag in El Valle, Panama. Absolutely lovely small town. 

La India Dormida, still in El Valle. The outline of the mountain is said to look like a sleeping indigenous girl.  

Random hearts painted on the road 

 Patacones! I am pretty sure I stopped in and ate various things from this restaurant at least once a day during my time in El Valle. 

Not a great shot, but the little zoo there had tapirs, which were odd elephant/hog/mini-rhino typed animals. 

Hi sloth! So cute! Love those guys!

I decided to hop over to a recommended small town beach, which turned out to be a difficult to get to. Once there I found out that the only lodging in town belonged to a sold out resort. I finally was directed to a dirty hotel right on the beach. It was a mess, but sufficed for one night. The silver lining was the beautiful beach. Also, the sand had sparkly specs in it, so all of the people who had been laying in the sand walked around glistening in the sun--I surprised myself by noting that they were like dark skinned vampires. (If you haven't seen Twilight, you probably won't get that. Which is probably for the better!)

Boquete, Panama!

Coffee cherry and beans. You can suck on the unprocessed beans, which taste like hard candies (but, as my guide said--don't bite it or you will get diarrhea). They also make you really hyper. 

Senor Tito! He is the owner and maker of all the coffee fun up on the coffee plantation I visited. And even though he boasts the second best coffee in all of Panama (which is saying something) he made and served us cups of coffee. We loved him. 

OK, and I give up. There are way too many pictures and stories and places to share. Maybe more installments before Wednesday. But no promises. Because like I said, the US is overwhelming...and I need a nap!

Panama City: In Pictures!

 Casco Viejo

 Some how it seems more poetic in a different language, no?

 The Panamanian White House. The pres lives on the top floor. Look how close they let me get!

 Following the arrows to the Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal!

 

Ruins from the ancient Spanish colonial city of Panama

 Best snowcone ever and the Panama skyline

 Plaza de Francia

Opera house

Panama City!

I've been on the road for 3 weeks today! I've been in Panama for a little over a week. Overall it's been beautiful. Costa Rica was amazing, but I have been enjoying the variety of Panama. I started in Panama City and was there for four days. Just walking around and soaking up Casco Viejo--the old part of the city--was one of my favorite things. It is such a mixture down there. When the city expanded the rich moved out and it became basically a slum. Now though, some of it is being restored, some of it remains beautifully delapidated and some buildings have remained just as brilliant as they were a hundred years ago. I love the fact that you can find a colonial church, Havana-esque crumbling buildings, boutique restaurants and even the Panamanian White House within the same block.

One night I also took in their National Theatre and went to an opera. The orchestra was great, the surroundings were fabulous, but the singing and especially the acting were right out of a high school production. And there was some kind of mental dissonance hearing Mozart in Panama City--it felt like I should be listening to some salsa instead. For 10 bucks though, it was a great experience!

In the city I also went to the old ruins of the Spanish city from way back in the 1500s. It wasn't Rome, but it was interesting enough. Probably the most interesting part though was my taxi driver who agreed to take me there, wait for me to see the ruins and then take me back. He offered half the price of another taxi, so I said OK. When we got there I double checked to make sure that he was going to wait for me, when he said no--he was going with me, as my guide. OK, whatever.

When we got inside he told me that even though he was from PC he had never ever been to the ruins. (As you can see, he was a great guide.) Anyway, I think I taught him more than he taught me, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

The canal, conquoring the Red Devils, and spending one of the mornings walking Ave. Central/Espana rounded out a nice stay in the capital.

Monteverde

**This is a blog from back in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Since I am just now putting it up I'll leave it on top so you see it! And one day, you can see the pictures from it!**


First of all Monteverde is difficult to get to. This was intentional--in order to keep the place from becoming too heavily trafficked and to preserve the cloud forest they left the roads to Monteverde unpaved. I think you can ride a horse from La Fortuna to Monteverde faster than you can drive. I opted for the quickest way to get between the two, which is to drive to the lake, cross the lake in a boat and then take a second boat from there. Even still, it's about 3 hours of rough, but incredibly scenic traveling.


An interesting fact about Monteverde is that it was started by American Quakers. When they refused to be drafted in the Korean War (Quakers are pacifists) they decided to resettle elsewhere. Apparently Canada was too cold and it was difficult for foreigners to buy property in Mexico at the time, so they settled in Costa Rica (who by that time had already dissolved their military--so it was a good fit).


They started a dairy farm and cheese factory to sustain themselves, which still provides the area with fresh milk, cheese and, my favorite, homemade ice cream (I tried the condensed milk with figs and it was RICH). They also set aside quite a bit of the land as a reserve. This protected area has now become the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. I could tell you a bunch of facts about the reserve, but you probably don't care.


It is beautiful, I will tell you that. And full of animals! In my time here I have seen a sloth, a monkey, teensy frogs, a tarantula, dozens of hummingbirds, sleeping birds on my night tour (so cute!), all kinds of bizarre insects, and maybe my favorite--a couple handfuls of Coati.


While here I also participated in a Monteverde must--a canopy tour, otherwise known as zip lines of death. To start it off I did a hanging (swinging...) bridge tour that was beautiful (even if it was raining) and actually a lot of fun. The English group was huge so the Spanish guide talked me into (not being lazy and) going with the 4 of them instead. It was a good choice. We ended the tour by him making me (tricking me?) into climbing up THE INSIDE of a ficus tree (probably about 100 feet up, with no security devices). It started to get narrow at the top, but I knew there was no way I could safely climb back down, so up I went until I could climb back onto one of the hanging bridges. Still shaking I had no idea what I was up for as I went to the zip lines.

Most of the zip lines were slightly panic inducing (you braked at the end by squeezing your gloved hand on the cable) but not too bad. They moved you along so fast you didn't have time to get scared. Towards the end they hooked you up the "Superman" cable. Through a huge valley you fly Superman style through the air, spotting your tiny shadow on the ground below. It was frightening, but also a lot of fun. 

They wrapped things up with a Tarzan swing. Nobody exactly knew what that meant, which turned out to be a good thing. You had to go one by one onto a suspended bridge (which was a lot like walking the plank). While you waited you just saw people disappear and scream. We kept asking the guys in charge what all the thing involved and the only real answer we got was--you jump and you scream. OK.


I was probably the third to go and by the time you walk all the way out on the plank 260 feet up you start to wonder what exactly it is that you are doing. They double checked my harness, opened a little gate and then told me to jump. Um, OK. I was still trying to figure out what was going on when they told me to bend my knees and pushed me off.


Just thinking about it makes my throat start to close up. SCARIEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE.


You free fall until the cable catches you and then you swing out 100 feet. Ideally that is the end of it, but they missed my break so I was lucky enough to swing back and forth a couple times.When I was finally lowered to the ground he told me, "You can stand up now." To which I responded, "I don't think I can."


Ah. I can't properly describe how incredibly terrifying the thing was because I have been actively trying to repress the memory.


The End.


(shudder)

Week in Review Sabbatical Style: Week 3!

So yes, the computer has now offically become a large paperweight I am hauling all over Central America. Boo. But I am at a public library in El Valle, Panama and have a few minutes left on my hourś worth of internet. It´ll be closed tomorrow so I figured Id send out a quick week in review, especially since I havent blogged many of the places I have been recently. Ahem, here we go:

• Foreign keyboards are difficult. It takes me forever to remember how to get the @ sign. Half the time I have to go into my email cut and paste one.
• Also, excuse all the spelling errors, no spell check or time!
• Panama City is fantastic! It is a little intense and a little bit seedy, but fantastic all the same. The old town is a perfect mix of decaying buildings, colonial churches, restored art galleries and the presidentś house. 
• An old man started chatting with me when I was walking around the old quarter and tipped me off that if I went up to the guard and asked nicely he would let me into the street in front of the White House to let me take a picture. He was right! I walked right up front to take a picture. Definitely more access in PC than in DC!
• I had the best snowcone ever. The man shaved the ice off of an actual block with an old school hand scraper. Then he covered it in fresh pinapple juice and topped it with condensed milk. Perfect. 
• I also ended up buying snow cones for two little kids who talked me into it. Eh, it was a buck 50 for the 3 of us. 
• El Valle, where I am at the moment is very close to paradise. Itś in a beautiful valley and the weather is maybe 15 degrees cooler than in PC, which is great because 100 degrees in the Panamanian sun is really hot!
• I went to the Canal! I watched the ships go through the locks and it was fascinating to see it all in person. 
• I also felt accomplished by getting all the way to the locks by public bus. 
• Where do US school buses go when they die? If they were good, to Panama. Either that or Pimp My Yellow School Bus has come through the country. They call them Diablos Rojos, or Red Devils, and they are super tricked out. A lot of them also have some form of religious writing on them, which all things considered was reassuring.
• Costa Ricans all seem to say con gusto rather than the normal de nada for your welcome. It translates basically to it´s my pleasure, and reminds me of Chikfila. It kind of creeped me out. 
• As great as it was, I am definitely putting Panama ahead of Costa Rica on the awesome scale. Just so you know. 
• Delicious food here is so cheap. I paid 3.75 for a 2 course home cooked dinner last night. Maybe the best meal of the trip too.

OK, I am right at my time limit on the computer! Have a great week! Pictures to come...some day.