Panama - Week One — What We Saw, What We Read

Since our last post, a lot has happened! We made our way back to Chicago for the holidays, taking a few stops along the way to visit friends and family. It was wonderful to take a pause and spend quality time with family for several weeks. Just a few days after celebrating the new year, we packed our bags once more, this time for a completely different type of adventure. We plucked ourselves out of negative temperatures, dangled in the sky for about six hours, and landed in Panama City at 2am on a Thursday morning. We luckily found a few other travelers willing to share a taxi ride with us and made our way through the cavernous highways, over and under bridges, to a hotel in the center of town for a few hours of sleep. The next morning awaited us with sunshine, heat, and humidity, a drastic change from the day before. We explored the city center and grocery stores and had a few adventures with our timid Spanish. After making it to an AirBnB for the night we finally got some much-needed rest. Our final day in the city we packed in a visit to the Panama Canal (though unfortunately not in time to see a ship pass through) and to Casco Viejo, the old quarter of town. We finished off our evening trying local ice cream and then turned in for the evening. Early the next morning we made our way to the bus station and found a bus to take us to our next destination- San Juan de Oriente, a tiny stop along the Pan American highway en route to David. We would be spending three weeks there working at a sheep and goat farm.

The bus ride was hot and stuffy. At one point a man jumped on and stood in the aisle advocating in Spanish the wonders of a miraculous tea that helped him lose weight and keep his colon healthy. He then proceeded to sell the tea to passengers on the bus. This is a typical occurrence on public transportation. When we finally made it to San Juan we were dropped in front of a restaurant/grocery store/gas station on the side of the road. We asked the woman at the counter to direct us to "La finca con las ovejas y las cabras" (the farm with the sheep and goats) and she drew us out a map in the dust on the counter. Miraculously, with no address, map, and very little Spanish, we found our way to our destination. Carol, our host, showed us around the farm and to our room. We would get lunch on the days we worked and additional items to cook breakfast and dinner ourselves. In addition to two days off a week, we had our afternoons off. At 6:30 am the next morning, we got straight to work, appreciating the fact that this early it's not quite so hot. Our work involved milking goats, feeding baby goats, cleaning out pens, corralling sheep to different pastures, taking care of chickens and ducks, and various other odd jobs. We were partnered with a local worker and assisted with the tasks. The first day involved a lot of miming, but by the middle of the week our Spanish had improved enough to communicate and feel more at ease. By 10 am each morning, the sun would be bright over our heads and we felt tired from the heat and the work. When noon came each day, lunch was more than welcome. After a cold shower and some laundry, we had the rest of the afternoon to read, study, practice Spanish, take walks, and read some more. This opportunity to work while traveling has been a wonderful chance to immerse ourselves in a new language and culture, extend our travel dollars, and really get to know a particular place. It also lets us use our weekends to their full advantage. After lunch on our last workday of the week, we grabbed our bags and caught a roadside bus to David, and then onward to Boquete, a small town nestled by the Baru Volcano.

We arrived in Boquete just in time for the flower and coffee festival. The elevation of the town meant it was approximately 15 degrees cooler than San Juan and much less humid. We checked into our AirBnB, dropped off our bags, and took a walk through town and through the flower festival, trying traditional empanadas and enjoying the music and the atmosphere. The next morning (after sleeping in until 7!) we hopped on a minibus that took us all the way up into the mountains to get to the trailhead for one of the most popular trails in the area, Los Quetzales. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of some Quetzal birds. Unfortunately, at a creek crossing about halfway through the water was too high and we decided to turn back early. However, we still enjoyed the abundance of tropical flowers and birds we found along the way. After making our way back down to town (courtesy of a nice young man who picked us up along the road) we took another long walk to a different part of town to try Fresas Mary, a favorite spot among locals and tourists for strawberries and cream. The treat was well deserved and we finished off our last night in Boquete with some reading, some pizza, and a rainy stroll around the flower festival. Before our bus ride back to the finca the next day, we took another morning hike through the hilly streets around town. We loved our weekend getaway so much we will be coming back again during our next break! Now we are safely back at the Finca, preparing for another week with the animals.

Boquete in the early evening. Visitors already pouring into the festival grounds, located along the river's edge.

Walking down the main street of Boquete on our way back to our hotel. The town was covered in fast moving clouds most of our visit.

The entrance to the national park and the Los Quetzales trail.