Trip from Panama City to Boquete:
Managed to wake up early and be ready to go in plenty of time. Got to the Albrook Station and it was already in full swing. Got ourselves some coffee to go with the supersweet pastries we had bought.
Went to the waiting area near where we were supposed to load. The 6:40 bus had not left and we were worried things were going to get behind. No so. We were to leave at 7:40 but left at around 8:00 a.m. Not bad. By luck we were on the non-sun side of the bus so we could open our curtains and enjoy the view. Few things of interest at Albrook station. This is new and beautiful with shops, eateries and even a movie theatre. The restrooms cost .25 to use so they are in very nice condition. As you go out to the platform to load the bus there is an exit toll of .05! Suspect it is to keep the riff raff off the platform. Our bus was modern with air conditioning, reading lights and gee golly two movies along the way!
The scenery was quite interesting on the way to David. The road does do some winding but thankfully our bus driver did not feel compelled to take the curves at full tilt boogie as so many of the taxi drivers in Panama city! We passed areas where you could see for some distance and the hills were gradually giving way to mountains so it was a very pleasant ride.
We stopped in Santiago for lunch and it was suprisingly delicious for a bus stop eatery and cheap--$2.40 for both of us. The bus did stop here and there along the way and pick up passengers but there was no standing in the aisles.
David
Got to David, the second largest and hottest city in Panama by 3:45, about seven hours total, got our bags, had a man help us find the bus stop to Boquete. David has all the modern conveniences apparently. We say a TGI Fridays, and understand that there is the equivalent of a Costco.
Waited in the autobus terminal in David about twenty minutes in the not as nice as Albrook Termanal, was an old terminal with lots of activity but good signage. Did not seem dangerous. Purchase your ticket on the bus. Our bus to Boquete was an old used yellow school bus--luggage in the back seats and passengers in the front area. Many of these used buses are used in Panama and are cheap but a number need engine work to deal with the smoking exhaust. The air quaility around the many smoky cars and busses is our biggest complaint about Panama. Buses leave David for Boquete and vice versa every twenty minutes or so. As we climbed through beautful tropical scenery to Boquete, the air began to cool and you could see mist off in the distance.
Boquete
We arrived in Boquete at 5:30 and Robert found someone who could help us find Nomba Hotelito. It is one block off the main road through Boquete. Unfortunately, exhaust fumes are here as well but the air is much cooler!
Asked a guy on the bus who spoke english if he knew where Nomba was. The bus stopped in front of the town plaza and he asked a local. It was just a left at the next corner, and a right at the one after that in the middle of the block.
Nomba Hotelito
We had found Nomba Hotelito, the backpackers hostel, by searching with Google for "Boquete backpackers hostel." This search yeilded the page for Habla Ya Language Center, which in turn had a page with a list of inexpensive lodging options in Boqete. A number of these, including Nomba, were new and not in our guidebook. We liked the fact that they let you use the kitchen. We had emailed them from Panama and received back a message from Gina that she would have room for us in a dorm.
We arrive around 6 and there was no one there to check us in so we sat down to wait. Two guys that got on the bus along the road from David came walking up. They were already checked in and came out to visit with us. George/Christoph and Martin from Montreal. They offered us a beer while we waited. So friendly and the beer was very welcomed!
Pete's Mountain Tours
Soon we were also joined by Peter of Pete's Mountain Tours, a local tour guide. He is native Panamanian but has also lived in Corsiciana so regaled us with a few stories about that. His family lived and worked in the Canal Zone during the U.S. period.
Gina the owner, arrived with her faithful lab (champagne) named Luna. She did some shifting around of people and we were put in a room with Martin. Christophe told us about the grocery store Romero that is open 24 hours a day and sells alcohol until 11:30! It is very modern and well stocked, and there are at least one other super mercado in town.
We went down there and bought stuff to make a salad and what the package said was pre cooked chicken but it sure did look like a ham steak. Made a salad and were joined by Sarah (Liverpool, England) and Mary Ann (Dawson in Yukon, Canada), Itay (Israel) and Christoph and Martin (Montreal). We exchanged a lot of travel stories and then decided to go out on the town. Went to two clubs, Zanzibar and Coca Cola. Coca Cola is more of a local place because it is not really in walking distance from places down by the square. Were invited to after closing party but knew we had no way to get home etc. so took ride in back of pickup with bartender. All is is at 3:30 a.m. I have to say our first day in Boquete was quite full.
Our next day was much slower paced and didnt do much. We made stir fry, Sarah made curry which was delicious and a guy from Sicily made a pasta dish which he shared with us. Played cards with Sarah and Mary Ann and two guys from Colorado while Robert and Itay had a short political discussion about U.S. / Iraeli politics.
The next day we also were not real productive except to walk over to a bridge that Peter had told us about that might be good to watch birds. Amazingly we were able to see quite a few varieties of birds and a black squirrel. We also visited with Luis who has moved here to work for an architect and also part time at an Internet/coffee place. We also talked to Itay about some of our favorite places in Africa.
That evening we visited with Margie (Marin Co, California), Calista, (Sand Point, Idaho) Shayne (Spokane Washington) Kelly (Canada) and Eric (Panama) about various travel places. This is one of the nice things about staying in a hostel is that there are always a variety of people from all over exchanging travel stories and advice. There are a lot of people with good things to say about Nicaragua.
Next day decided to go to Sendero de Quetzales in hopes of seeing a quetzal. This is the time of year when they are supposed to be around. We had a taxi take us up there. We climbed up and up and crossed several one lane bridges across the Chiriqui River and other streams. Finally after about six or seven miles we got there. Paid our driver and set off.
You could hear birds all around but it was hard seeing them. I guess the most prevelant bird we heard was hummingbirds! My eyes were not behaving as well as I wanted so Robert was seeing more than myself. He thinks he saw a female quetzal but I did not. After about an hour and half we found a place to stop and cool off right by the stream. Pulled out our ponchos and laid down and enjoyed the sound of the stream and did actually see some small birds flitting about. Since neither of us is feeling 100%, we both seem to have caught a summer cold or are run down from our fast pace or something else, we headed back down. Fortunately for us at the entrance there were two trucks unloading culverts to be placed somewhere. The smaller truck offered us a ride down the hill. Went to bridge again that afternoon but did not see much. A very early evening after fixing chicken satay.
The next morning because we had gone to sleep at 6:30, we were up at 5:00 am . Decided to hike over bridge behind town square and Romeros that we had been told about, along side the Feria or fair grounds. Got a cup of coffee and croissant at Romero's and off we went. Interesting walk. Looking back over town at this time of day Boquete was very beautiful, backdropped by hills and Volcan Baru. During the day on the main street it is not so pretty, with smoky car exhaust and commercial buildings. Outside this area in the neighborhoods there are lots of nice tropical flours and places to walk around. Got to see some more interesting birds and had a very nice time. Went to the Habla Ya Language Center coffee shop / wifi hot spot that is run by Carlos who we met the first night and whose website includes info on Nomba Hotelito and other backpackers, inexpensive places to stay in Boquete. Uploaded some pictures and did some more reading on possible places to go next. Drank some good coffee in a very nice setting.
We have both contracted some sort of 'summer cold' and hope we can kick it soon amidst the smoky exhaust. Lots of stuff blooming here in the dry season, what they consider summer. We just missed the Boquete famous flower festival last month.
Meanwhile, back to birding and hanging out at the hostel. Meeting lots of travelers from around the world with interesting stories!
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