I love planes! It is amazing to me that this huge, heavy machine can float in the air. A few days ago I was biking by the airport just as one of the Air Panama flights took off for Panama City.
I think when you think of the word “afloat”, water usually comes to mind. As I was working on this post we got hit with a downpour, so I got some water photos too.
We are just coming out of the dry season, so we are very happy to be a bit afloat in rainwater.
There was so much rain coming off the roof that the side yard was almost afloat!
Ed wanted to make a new video since the old one was two years old and I’m making it available here. DO NOT CONTACT ME (JOEL), contact Ed (Eduardo Horna riochiriqui@gmail.com 507-6567-1127, 507-6757-0005 )forany and all rental/purchase questions.
Special thanks go to Kris for the camera work and uploading to Youtube!
Friday a bunch of us set off to find a new swimming spot that Holly (of Let The Adventure Begin) knew about. Emma (of a Woman, a Plan, a Canal… , but who has been way too busy to write for a while) was visiting and we all wanted to spend some time together. Joel (of Finding Myself in Panama) and Lauren (of Air Propel Latin America) and I met up at the intersection of Via Boquete and the road to Caldera. (whew, that’s a lot of bloggers all together!).
We proceeded to follow Holly’s car through Caldera and beyond on windy, hilly roads into places I’d never seen before.
It was Good Friday, and we passed this procession of people singing hymns.
The scenery became more and more beautiful
We took these photos on the way back so I could get out of the car when I saw especially amazing spots.
It’s very dry now and brush fires are common. Apparently there was one up in those hills.
I feel so fortunate to live in this beautiful country.
Just one more photo of beautiful mountains
We ended up at a spot with a little room to pull over and park, and then walked the rest of the way. It apparently is private property, and the guy at the gate said he would like $2/person when we leave. As close as I can figure this location is about 19 kilometers from the Via Boquete / Caldera road intersection, and we were going to Rio Chiriqui Nuevo. I did think to start my cycling ap shortly after we left the area so with any luck THIS will bring up a map that will get you close to the location. It’s a great spot so remembering how to find it is for my benefit as much as anyone else’s.
We walked through dry grass and big rocks
We passed between some really big rocks!
Little did we know what a beautiful spot awaited us!
And, little did we know the fun had just begun. As we got out of our cars we saw three other cars pulling in, and it wasn’t long before those people joined us at the swimming hole. As they started unpacking and getting settled, I turned around to look at the guy behind me and found I was looking into the face of Cesar Augusto Melendez, the rock climber! Not only is he a very accomplished climber, he’s quite handsome, a really nice guy and I enjoyed talking with him. I told him my daughter and son-in-law are climbers, and he said he hopes they can visit Panama sometime because he would love to take them climbing. He even gave me his card so I can get in touch with him.
Cesar was out with maybe 20 young people from Panama City. A lot of people from the city like to take advantage of the holiday and go to “the interior” to beaches, rivers, and other spots where they can swim, cool off, and enjoy themselves.
The young people gather and prepare for a day of fun.
Holly and Emma make their way into the cool water.
Cesar strung a line across the water and was the first to walk along it.
Then, others try their luck walking on the line. Scott, Holly’s husband, found a good spot on the rock to enjoy the sun and fun.
It’s a good place to do this because when you fall, you only fall into the water not far below.
Then, the next thing we knew Cesar appeared on the rocks high up above the water! The next activity was for people to climb up to an outcropping of rock, grab the vine, swing over and jump into the water below.
I had noticed the big vine earlier.
Cesar up on the rocks
Everyone laughs and cheers as people land in the water
Another guy makes the jump
Cesar helps a girl get ready to jump
She swings out on the vine for the jump
Unfortunately the girl in purple slipped and hit another outcropping below. Thankfully she only hit her foot, but it was bruised and she couldn’t walk on it. Later her friends helped her to the car and headed off to the hospital for some help.
Sometimes fun is not without risk, so we were very happy the injured girl hadn’t done anything worse. Hopefully it’s only a bad bruise, or at worst a cracked bone on the top of her foot.
It was quite chilly getting into the water, but once in it was very nice. It looks like Holly wants to be sure we notice her in the background 😀
Lauren enjoys a nice spot on a rock
There were a lot of GoPro’s and cameras to record the day’s activities.
Later, Cesar and some of the others decided to rappel down the waterfall!
First Cesar comes down the waterfall.
Then Cesar stands by while another guy comes down.
It is such a beautiful spot!
This is the group up top helping, watching, and waiting their turns to come down.
Another starts down
It was amazing to see Cesar climb around on the rocks like it was nothing, so sure footed, unafraid, and capable!
But, like all good things, the time came when we had to head back. What a great morning! Not only did we have a great time with friends, we saw a beautiful new spot, and really enjoyed being there with the young people and Cesar. Thank you Holly for yet another great outing!
We are lucky to live in Chiriqui Province where they grow most of the produce for all of Panama. There is very fertile soil and cooler temperatures up in “the highlands”, or up in the mountains so they grow tons of vegetables. It is something to see the farms literally on the sides of the mountains! It’s a beautiful area and if you want to see some photos, check out a previous post on Cerro Punta.
Most Panamanians don’t have a lot of money so they have to shop carefully and get the best value for every penny. When my neighbor said she knew of the best produce market and offered to show me, of course I agreed! But, she said we have to go on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday after 3PM because that is when the trucks come in with new supplies.
Sure enough, we weren’t at the market very long before a truck showed up piled with fresh produce.
For anyone local wanting to find this market, look for Elektra on Obaldia a ways south of the Pan-American Highway. The market is around the corner on a side street.
Plantains, anyone?
Fresh potatoes, cabbage, carrots, celery, lettuce, and crates of many other things were unloaded from the trucks.
I went to buy lettuce but came home with all this including a great find, 5 pounds of strawberries for $6.25. The whole thing was about $12, and everything but the papaya was taken directly from the bins that came off the trucks.
We are lucky to live here where we can have inexpensive, delicious, and very fresh produce every day. I noticed that I started feeling better within a month of moving here and I really think the fresh food has a lot to do with it. One time we lost the can opener and didn’t notice for weeks! It’s great to have fresh fruits and vegetables for every meal. This is one more reason to love Panama.
I just received an email from Ed Horna, my friend and the guy who showed us the house we live in. I’m posting it here as a favour to Ed and the readers of the blog.
If you have any questions about the properties, address them to Ed, his contact info is at the bottom of the page since I am not going to act as a middleman! PLEASE CONTACT ED, NOT ME!!!!!!!!
Hi guys ,
Just so you know if any one ask you about rentals in the david
boquete area , this is what I have at this moment :
David , located near El Rey super market , a very nice 3 brm 2 bath fully furnished house fenced in fast internet available , 900. a month .
David , located in the down town area , 2 brm 1 bath apt Unfunished .
Recently, I was invited to hike the Pipeline Trail, or the Lost Waterfall trail with some friends. It was a very interesting drive to find the trail, as I talked about in my last post with rock walls, waterfalls, and hidden castles. For directions and helpful photos to help you find this trail, check out this page from the Boquete Travel Guide.
It is the end of the summer dry season now, but the area is still very beautiful. We didn’t hike all the way to the end of the trail because other hikers said there is no water in the waterfall right now, but we hiked enough to see plenty of beautiful spots, and even a couple of the reclusive resplendent quetzals which was a surprise.
The trail starts here.
We hadn’t gone far along the trail when we stopped to see what another group was looking at. It was this glass wing butterfly! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_oto
There were some pretty flowers among all the green
The trail was very well maintained, and had these little bridges over the streams.
Do not pass, dangerous. If you look closely, you can see one of the beehives that is back in there. Since honey bees in Panama are Africanized, we stayed well away.
We came across a tour guide pointing out something to the man with him, so of course had to stop and ask what they were looking at. There in the tree was a spectacular resplendent quetzal!
Another view of this beautiful bird.
Farther on the trail became more narrow, but I think it was prettier up here in the forest.
And then, another tour guide pointing out another resplendent quetzal! This one was back in the trees a bit and I had to make full use of my zoom, but you can see the bright blue and red colors.
It is also worth looking down because there are some pretty and unusual flowers to be found.
The path continues through the greenery.
We startled a squirrel who dashed up a tree chattering loudly.
The little bug, about the size of a large ant, kept trying to hide under the leaves but I finally got a shot of it.
Colorful bromeliads in a tree
Another pretty butterfly
I imagine the trail got its name from this pipe that can be seen along the trail in quite a few parts.
Up in the highlands things are lush and green even in the dry season.
I saw a flash of bright yellow come across the path and followed it down.
No hike would be complete without some cool bugs!
This tree looks like it is covered in lace
This poor butterfly is beautiful, though quite tattered.
A peek at a mountain through the clouds.
I haven’t done much hiking in Panama, but I was glad I went on this one. I enjoyed spending time with good friends, and it was amazing to see a couple quetzals! Many have gone looking and haven’t found them at all. I’m sending out a big thank you to the tour guides who happened to be on the path, because without them I could easily have walked right on by and not realized what was in the trees.
Sometimes I don’t go to Boquete for months and then sometimes, like last week, I’m up there twice in the same week. I was invited to hike the Pipeline Trail with some friends so I figured while I was up there a couple days before, I’d see if we could find it. This brought us to some really interesting places I hadn’t seen before.
Just before driving down into Boquete proper, there is a tourist center with a great view of the valley below and the mountains beyond.
The Pipeline Trail, or the Hidden Waterfall is in the Bajo Mono area. For directions and helpful pictures, check the Boquete Travel Guide HERE. When you get to the sign that says “The Lost 3 Waterfalls” you are at the beginning of the Pipeline Trail. (an aside, the last thing on this page is a video made by my friend Ryan when he hiked to the 3 waterfalls, and his companion was Gary who has been playing music with my husband! It’s a small world sometimes).
The drive to this area is more beautiful with every passing mile. We passed the rock wall I posted about recently, and then the San Ramon Waterfall. It’s the end of dry season but it still seems to have enough water to make a very pretty waterfall.
San Ramon Waterfall
Past the waterfall is the “Lost Castle” which is definitely worth a visit because it is an absolutely gorgeous spot! Joel did some research on the castle and found stories that either the owner died, the owner’s wife died, or she decided she didn’t want to live there and construction stopped. Now it is possibly for sale though he wasn’t able to find any details. Can you imagine getting this property and finishing the castle? I was so taken with the area that I took quite a few photos.
Your castle in the forest!
There are huge beautiful trees in front of the castle
Looking up
The inside is unfinished with graffiti, broken glass, and this pretty bougainvillea growing through the upstairs window.
The river in front is so pretty.
We had to stop and enjoy the river for a while.
This tree covered with flowers caught my eye.
There were a lot of angle trumpet flowers all along the drive up.
One of many bromeliads in the trees.
what a place
Eventually we found our way to the beginning of the hiking trail. News and photos of the hike will be in the next post.
After returning to town and having a nice lunch with my friends, we decided to check out the orchid festival that was going on in Boquete. There were some very pretty orchids, fairgrounds full of colorful flowers, and lots of interesting vendors to visit.
One of many unusual and interesting orchids.
Another pretty specimen
More orchids with prize ribbons.
There was a section of bromeliads too.
The fairgrounds were full of beautiful flowers
By the time we finished looking around it was almost time for my teacher from Habla Ya to get off work. She spent a lot of hours on line with me before I arrived in Panama trying to pound some Spanish into my thick head, and we have been good friends ever since. We hadn’t seen each other in too long so I was happy to catch up with her as we rode down the hill and a bonus, her guy and little boy were waiting below so I got to see them too!
The Panama Adventure 