In the highlands of Panama, life is relaxing, rich and mellow. The lush valleys and mountains are constantly fed by a refreshing afternoon shower that leaves the foliage glowing with a vibrant green and the multicolored flowers blooming. Touring the rolling hills on quiet, winding roads outside of town by scooter, I whizzed past coffee plantations and breathtaking scenery. I felt like I was taken back to a time when people lived simpler lives; Indigenous families in their colorful dress walked down the roads and worked in the rich, fertile lands that sprawl in all directions.
Boquete has attracted travelers from all over the world, many of which have come to settle permanently. Although this has caused rapid economic growth here in Boquete, the foreign influence has made parts of the town very Americanized and the local culture seems to have faded significantly.
That being said, Boquete is a pollen-dusted flower for a bee that enjoys adventure. Volcan Baru looms over the city and is readily visible from my hostel, Mamallena. As soon as I arrived here I knew I had to see the views from its summit at 11,398ft. The best way to climb the Volcano is by starting around midnight and hiking up the steep 4-wheel drive road with headlamps. After ascending 5,250 feet in elevation over 8.5 miles (one way), I reached the top just before sunrise. Wispy, white clouds draped the wavy mountains and hills and within minutes I witnessed one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. Due to how narrow the isthmus of Panama is, we were briefly able to glimpse both the Pacific and Atlantic ocean at the same time. The sun appeared out of a horizon that was so faint that it was impossible to differentiate between the sky and the sea. On the Caribbean side, the islands of Bocas del Toro were visible to the west with the Costa Rican border lying just beyond.
In Boquete I also had the opportunity to volunteer at a wildlife rescue called La Jungla. I worked here for five days in exchange for a place to sleep in the incorporated hostel, helping out in daily operations like feeding the animals, cleaning and maintaining the cages, giving tours to visitors and children from local schools, and taking photos to be used for the website. At La Jungla I worked with parrots, macaws, toucans, coatis (a relative of the raccoon), goats, and four different kinds of monkeys: Capuchin, Squirrel, Tamarin and Spider. Daisy, the Spider monkey, had just been adopted by the rescue from an ex-pat owner (American) who had decided to give her up after being bitten numerous times. But this was likely due to how she was treated, which was less than ideal considering she wore a tight chain around her neck that had caused permanent scarring.
After only a few days at La Jungla, Daisy was already showing signs of improvement, as we were able to enter her cage to give her food and hold her. If anything her previous mistreatment has caused her to become overly affectionate, as she would wrap her lanky arms and dexterous tail around me for almost an hour at times. As I wasn´t sure how she would react to being pried off of me, I always had to wait patiently until she was content with the hug session, or find a way to distract her in order to leave her cage.
I had spent nearly two weeks in Boquete and had made some great friends at the hostel and La Jungla but alas, it was time for me to continue my travels and move on to Panama City. This was quite a change, to say the least... but that´s another story.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
El Caribe
Life in the Caribbean is quite a change of pace for me. Days go by at such a slow rate that you loose track of time and forget when you arrived at the place you're staying. Sometimes it's even difficult to speculate where you were prior to arriving. Days of the week? Forget that, every day might as well be an endless Saturday in the middle of summer.
The neighbors in Cahuita were a rowdy group of howler monkeys whose wild uproars would wake me in the night. On the way back to my hostel one night I tripped over a creature the size of a house cat, that turned out to be a land crab with pinchers the size of soup ladles, raised and ready to take on anything. Geckos scamper across the ceilings and dart into cracks in the walls. I'm quite content with this company though, as I've seen more wildlife in just a week here than anywhere I've ever been. Sloths lounge in the trees and uncountable species of birds sing songs I've never imagined could exist. While snorkeling in Cahuita National Park I saw three nurse sharks, a couple sting rays, lobsters and a wide array of star fish, sea anemones and coral.
Puerto Viejo is a beach town with a laid back Caribbean vibe. Rastas stroll around the street to an unheard beat selling fresh fruit and tossing fishing lines in the water from the beach. The main drag only spans about five blocks but is littered with eateries serving delicious Caribbean dishes made with coconut milk and a wide array of spices. For breakfast and lunch I devour mangoes, guzzle chunks of pineapple and slurp the milk and scoop out the meat of freshly cracked coconuts. There's nothing more refreshing on a scorching hot day in the Caribbean where it hasn't rained for days and the sea is so calm that the water near the surface is too warm to be refreshing. But it makes for great snorkeling, which has been almost daily activity for me.
I've crossed the border now into Panama and I'm currently staying the Archipelago of Bocas del Toro. The lush, green islands that make up this archipelago are covered in mangroves, swamps and dense jungle. Picture the Everglades if you've ever been there. Motorboat taxis will shuttle you from island to island, some of which are so close that you could probably swim if you were daring enough. On Isla Bastimentos, beautifully colored clapboard houses line the coast and extend up into the hills.
The people here are lively, open and hospitable. At any given point in the night you can hear latin music blasting in the bars and restaurants; salsa, merengue, cumbia, bachata and reggaeton. The town of Bocas del Toro, which is the capital of the province of the same name, was celebrating its African heritage yesterday with festivities from 10 am to... we'll just say very late. Hundreds of people filled the streets and watched the performances on the stage, which happened to be right in front of my hostel. Dancers dressed in their traditional clothing put on a array of different acts that I enjoyed from the balcony above. As I got back to my hostel late last night, the party was still going on everywhere you looked in the streets.
But this scalding, humid climate is starting to wear on a man from the mountains. The sun wakes me abruptly every morning around 7am, and even naps are difficult in a town where the music never stops. Plus, I'm constantly covered in a sheen of sweat, which flows out of my pores at a steady drip, drip, drip. You get what I mean. So I'm heading to the highlands, the town of Boquete which is near Panama's only Volcano and highest point - Volcan Baru. Some of the country's best coffee is produced here, and I'm on a mission to get to the source.
The neighbors in Cahuita were a rowdy group of howler monkeys whose wild uproars would wake me in the night. On the way back to my hostel one night I tripped over a creature the size of a house cat, that turned out to be a land crab with pinchers the size of soup ladles, raised and ready to take on anything. Geckos scamper across the ceilings and dart into cracks in the walls. I'm quite content with this company though, as I've seen more wildlife in just a week here than anywhere I've ever been. Sloths lounge in the trees and uncountable species of birds sing songs I've never imagined could exist. While snorkeling in Cahuita National Park I saw three nurse sharks, a couple sting rays, lobsters and a wide array of star fish, sea anemones and coral.
Puerto Viejo is a beach town with a laid back Caribbean vibe. Rastas stroll around the street to an unheard beat selling fresh fruit and tossing fishing lines in the water from the beach. The main drag only spans about five blocks but is littered with eateries serving delicious Caribbean dishes made with coconut milk and a wide array of spices. For breakfast and lunch I devour mangoes, guzzle chunks of pineapple and slurp the milk and scoop out the meat of freshly cracked coconuts. There's nothing more refreshing on a scorching hot day in the Caribbean where it hasn't rained for days and the sea is so calm that the water near the surface is too warm to be refreshing. But it makes for great snorkeling, which has been almost daily activity for me.
I've crossed the border now into Panama and I'm currently staying the Archipelago of Bocas del Toro. The lush, green islands that make up this archipelago are covered in mangroves, swamps and dense jungle. Picture the Everglades if you've ever been there. Motorboat taxis will shuttle you from island to island, some of which are so close that you could probably swim if you were daring enough. On Isla Bastimentos, beautifully colored clapboard houses line the coast and extend up into the hills.
The people here are lively, open and hospitable. At any given point in the night you can hear latin music blasting in the bars and restaurants; salsa, merengue, cumbia, bachata and reggaeton. The town of Bocas del Toro, which is the capital of the province of the same name, was celebrating its African heritage yesterday with festivities from 10 am to... we'll just say very late. Hundreds of people filled the streets and watched the performances on the stage, which happened to be right in front of my hostel. Dancers dressed in their traditional clothing put on a array of different acts that I enjoyed from the balcony above. As I got back to my hostel late last night, the party was still going on everywhere you looked in the streets.
But this scalding, humid climate is starting to wear on a man from the mountains. The sun wakes me abruptly every morning around 7am, and even naps are difficult in a town where the music never stops. Plus, I'm constantly covered in a sheen of sweat, which flows out of my pores at a steady drip, drip, drip. You get what I mean. So I'm heading to the highlands, the town of Boquete which is near Panama's only Volcano and highest point - Volcan Baru. Some of the country's best coffee is produced here, and I'm on a mission to get to the source.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
A New Life Goal
It's been nearly a year and a half since I left the country. For some, that's no big deal. And really, it hasn't not all that long. But I recently found that everything seemed to fall into place for me to start another adventure. I was offered a World Languages teaching position starting in September in Estes Park and since I had saved up enough to fund some travel, I quit my part time job. But it's not just that I want to go play all summer and soak up sun on the beach, I truly see this trip as a need, a means to an end. One reason is that I've been out of the Spanish-speaking mentality for quite some time, so I need to re-immerse myself in that mode: thinking, speaking, dreaming and living daily life in that language. As I will be teaching Spanish in the fall, I want to be at the top of my game. Also, I seek the inspiration and sense of freedom that comes with traveling alone in foreign countries. Not to mention, this trip will bring me closer to attaining a new life goal that I've set: to visit every Spanish-speaking country in the world. Since my last trip took me all over South America, it was no surprise to some that I picked Central America as my next destination.
I'm starting in San Jose, Costa Rica where I arrived on Sunday night. As the sun brought to light my surroundings the next morning, I knew I was once again in Latin America, with memories of my past trip racing back to me. That day I hit the road straight out to the Caribbean coast to a small town/national park called Cahuita. From there I'll be close to Panama and Bocas del Toro, a small archipelago just off the northern cost of the country. Already I have that feeling of excitement that comes with being in constant motion, moving from town to town and not knowing what lies ahead.
I'm starting in San Jose, Costa Rica where I arrived on Sunday night. As the sun brought to light my surroundings the next morning, I knew I was once again in Latin America, with memories of my past trip racing back to me. That day I hit the road straight out to the Caribbean coast to a small town/national park called Cahuita. From there I'll be close to Panama and Bocas del Toro, a small archipelago just off the northern cost of the country. Already I have that feeling of excitement that comes with being in constant motion, moving from town to town and not knowing what lies ahead.
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