After an eight hour coach ride and a one hour trip on a chicken bus, we arrived in Boquete at 9pm to find a sleepy small town. Boquete sits in the hills of western Panama near the Costa Rican border and, with an altitude of 1200 meters, boasts a climate much cooler than the rest of the country.
We had heard that Boquete had become the second most popular town outside the US for american retirees, and that 14% of its permanent population were expats from over 30 different countries, so we decided to come and see what all the fuss was about. We discovered a town that was pleasant enough (particularly if you live in a gated gringo community on a golf course), without being particularly pretty or memorable. Our theory is that expats are primarily attracted to Panama for tax, health care and cost of living reasons, and they end up settling in Boquete because it is one of the only places in the country with a climate that westerners would find comfortable.
We had heard that Boquete had become the second most popular town outside the US for american retirees, and that 14% of its permanent population were expats from over 30 different countries, so we decided to come and see what all the fuss was about. We discovered a town that was pleasant enough (particularly if you live in a gated gringo community on a golf course), without being particularly pretty or memorable. Our theory is that expats are primarily attracted to Panama for tax, health care and cost of living reasons, and they end up settling in Boquete because it is one of the only places in the country with a climate that westerners would find comfortable.
With added international interest, the tourism industry has steadily grown in Boquete. As in Baños in Ecuador, tour operators in Boquete offer adventure sports like white water rafting and ziplining. Unlike Baños, however, these activities actually take place an hour or two away from town, making for a long day. The region around Boquete has a growing reputation for low production, high quality organic coffee, but again we felt that we’d had the optimal coffee experience in Colombia earlier in our travels.
The main attraction in Boquete is the nearby Volcan Baru, a dormant volcano that, at its 3474 meter peak, is the tallest point in Panama and offers, on a clear day, the unique opportunity to see both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. There are essentially two ways of getting to the top - a grueling 12-hour (round trip) hike leaving at 11pm, or a 5-hour (round trip) ride in a 4x4. We chose the latter, less exhausting but also substantially more expensive option, not just because the hike was not very appealing but also because we had always wanted to go on a 4x4 adventure and thought this was as good a place as any to do it.
The main attraction in Boquete is the nearby Volcan Baru, a dormant volcano that, at its 3474 meter peak, is the tallest point in Panama and offers, on a clear day, the unique opportunity to see both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. There are essentially two ways of getting to the top - a grueling 12-hour (round trip) hike leaving at 11pm, or a 5-hour (round trip) ride in a 4x4. We chose the latter, less exhausting but also substantially more expensive option, not just because the hike was not very appealing but also because we had always wanted to go on a 4x4 adventure and thought this was as good a place as any to do it.
We got up at 4am to make sure we reached the summit in time for sunrise. After a two-hour journey that at times felt like a ride in a washing machine, we were greeted at the summit by cloud, fog, rain and freezing temperatures. Unfortunately paying a premium for the 4x4 did not guarantee good weather. Luckily, as the sun rose, the clouds cleared, enabling us to see both oceans (an unforgettable experience) and take plenty of pictures. The rain that greeted us after we descended back to town provided us with the excuse we needed to have a relaxing afternoon at the hostel and early night.
We woke up early the next day to catch a shuttle to our next destination, the Archipielago de Bocas del Toro, which consists of six large rain forested islands (which provide for very different scene to the tiny sand and palm tree San Blas islands at the other end of Panama’s caribbean coast). Our first stop was the main town, appropriately named Bocas del Toro town, on Isla Colon. After settling in and grabbing lunch at a picturesque floating restaurant, we took a taxi boat to spend a relaxing afternoon at a calm white sand beach on the nearby Isla Carenero.
On the backpacker trail you often get restaurant and hostel recommendations weeks, or even months, in advance, and since Colombia we had been hearing great things about a small German-owned hostel and an Israeli-run falafel truck in Bocas. Both places lived up to our lofty expectations, but the most important recommendation (largely because you need to book weeks in advance) was for the place we spent our next two nights, the Palmar tent lodge at Red Frog Beach, the most iconic beach in Bocas province (if not Panama).
The lodge consists of a couple of dozen large tents complete with wooden floors, double beds, furniture and bedside lights, and offered us our first ‘glamping’ experience. A tent only meters from the beach, a fully stocked bar, a restaurant with an accomplished Canadian chef, surfboard rentals, beach chairs and hammocks were the glamorous features of the experience. However, rainwater showers operated by foot pump, the tendency for sand to turn up everywhere and large numbers of mosquitos regularly reminded us that we were camping, after all. The place is owned by couple of young New Yorkers who ran the place with the help of some high school friends from back home. They were a great group of people and ensured a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. However, after a couple of days exploring the island, sun baking surfing and swimming, we were ready to head off in search of a proper shower. Next stop - Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica.