Boquete (1/19/11-1/23)

The Town


another view w/ Volcan Baru

a view from above

I had meant to stay in one more beach town before driving here, but I completely spaced the turn-off to Las Lajas. No big deal. I get to stop at my favorite supermarket in David to load up and then head to Boquete. They are expanding the road up here from 2 to 4 lanes; I'm told the current president likes to build roads. In 2001 the AARP said this town specifically was one of the best 4 places in the world to retire, and so there are now many more people and many more expats. But as I understand it, the last few years have become something of a buyer's market as many Americans have realized this isn't America and are now moving out. Boquete is also known as the source of maybe the best coffee in the world. This is where they grow the Gesha (?) variety, the most expensive there is. And I have arrived in the middle of the annual 10 day Festival of Flowers and Coffee as this is harvest season.



garden at the fairgrounds

Boquete is located on the opposite side of the volcan from Cerro Punta where I first entered Panama. For sheer beauty I give C.P. the nod, but the weather is more comfortable and reliable here (daytime temps. in the 70's during my stay). As someone who has lived at elevation for 30 years, I think my preference is for towns like this (or El Valle) as opposed to all the beaches. And the good news is the beaches are never that far away. I'm thinking that Boquete may be an expat's wet dream (too harsh?). Speaking of which, the rainy season lasts for some 7-8 months, but as a winter getaway, I'd be hard-pressed to find anything not to like, except for the loud music until 4am every day during the festival. That's a bit much. The people are nice and it feels safe to walk around. There are plenty of restaurants, from the ones that sell a comida typica for a flat $2.50 (and it's good) to the Bistro Boquete where you can get a delicious 8 oz. filet mignon w/ garlic mashed potatoes, salad and mushroom sauce for $16. The house red is the best one I've had on this trip. Two glasses worth.

Rafting Trip



ready to kick it

a stretch of the river

It took awhile, but I found a nice room to rent at the Isla Verde right in town . I was lucky to find one at all with the festival crowds. Eva, the owner, was kind enough to offer me a room in her house for a good price for which I'm grateful. This is her website http://www.islaverdepanama.com/ . Eva is super-helpful and a super hostess. You should check out her place if you come here. I walked down the street to Panama Rafters to book a trip for the next day. This is one of the things that was on my to-do list. The rivers are not running at their fullest right now, but the timing couldn't be helped. We have to drive two hours to get to the river tight up against the Costa Rica border, and it's a very fun float for about 2-1/2 to 3 hours though beautiful jungle. There are only four of us: me, a mother and daughter from Sweden, Dagmar and Jenny, and Julio, our guide. Mostly Class 1 and 2 with several 3's thrown in, it has whet my appetite (get it? "whet"?) to find out what 4's are all about. It may be possible to try another trip up in Honduras if conditions are right, we'll see.

Coffee Tour



the nose knows...checking the
roasting progress. Very serious.

coffee berries drying
at the finca

When I got back from the raft trip I asked Eva if she knew of a good coffee tour I could take. She called her friend Richard, an American who settled here a while back with his wife. He went from running the Meals-on-Wheels program in San Francisco to now growing coffee on the slopes of the volcan in Boquete. Rich picked me up at 9am and we drove over to his farm called Finca Dos Jefes. A really nice man, he is very enthusiastic about coffee and the whole process and of sharing that passion.



Rich and I with said cold one

to Boquete, raft trip on the
left. click to enlarge

After a tour of the grounds (no pun intended, but I'll take it) we went back to the building where they do some roasting and tasting. Rich had a light, medium and bold roast ready to try. We first did a smell test of the beans (the medium smelled best to me) and then he ground them (we smelled them all over again), and then he brewed them each in a french press. (He liked it that I was traveling with my Chemex and offered the advice of running some hot water over the filter first to get rid of some residual chemicals). Suprisingly, the medium roast was my least favorite taste-wise and it was a toss-up between the other two. I decided on the light roast so then Rich walked me through the roasting process where I got to roast up a batch of my own. This was all a lot of fun. He was going to let the beans cool and then bag up a pound for me to take along. Afterwards, we enjoyed a well-earned cold one together. I'm loving this life.

After 4 months of travel my energy level had been flagging a bit. With Boquete I have my second wind and I'm excited about going to the islands of Bocas del Toro next and then back into Costa Rica. This is one of my favorite spots of the trip and I'd love to come back someday when there's no festival going on. And I've got some of the best coffee stored in my 'frig. I'll wait until I get back to Colorado to open it (I hope Moon and Sue have a grinder).