Christmas in Boquete
The forested mountains around Boquete, Panama
Leaving Río de Janeiro and South America felt like a huge milestone for us. As Christmas and the turn of the year approached, so would the final months of our trips.
We flew to Panama City, where talk turned to flights home and life back in the UK more than ever before. Not in a bad or sad way. We always said, we loved our life and we weren’t trying to run away from it, but a year away from it was the sacrifice we had to make to follow this dream. We’ve had quite a lot of fun imagining where we might live, the dinners we will cook, and what our day to day life will be like come the middle of the year… but there is quite a way to go before then!
Pause in Panama City
We spent a few days in Panama City enjoying the old world vibes of the Casco Viejo and, of course, heading out to see the famous canal. Seeing the canal was one of the things we were really looking forward to - really, we are truly that geeky. It was really interesting to see huge container ships passing through, along with a snazzy 45minute 3D film narrated by Morgan Freeman (random) that gave some background on the history and science behind the site. However, a lot of the site, including the four-level interactive museum, was closed for renovations when we visited… such a shame! This also meant that only one small viewing platform was open, making seeing the ships move through the locks a bit of a crowded experience. Still, it was a nice half day trip from the city.
Maybe because we arrived from Rio, one of the most exciting and glamorous cities in the world, but we were a little underwhelmed with Panama City overall. It was a nice stop over for a couple of days, but by the time we left we were itching to get back into nature for a while.
The view of Panama City from Metropolitan Natural Park
Chicken Buses and Christmas
A seven hour journey, including our first ‘chicken bus’, took us to the country’s central highlands, to the mountain town of Boquete. Graeme was very excited about getting a chicken bus, which are usually old school buses from USA or Canada repurposed for local transportation throughout Central America. They are so called as locals use them to transport chickens, although our journey was full of Christmas shoppers rather than poultry.
Being in the mountains makes Boquete a good 7 degrees cooler than it had been in Panama City - a welcome relief. This, coupled with the huge Christmas tree and festive displays in the town’s main square, had us feeling festive for the first time on our trip.
The town sits in the shadow of the impressive Volcan Baru, which is possible to climb for views of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Whilst this sounds like something we would have loved, its not advisable to climb the volcano without a guide… the cheapest we could find being $90 per person. So we decided not to venture up the slopes on this occasion, but we aren’t too upset about it. After all, we are in Central America for the next five months. There will be plenty of volcanoes to climb, we don’t want to do it too soon!
We did, however, make our way into the forested mountains on two occasions during out stay in the town. Sticking to our low cost approach, we used the local colectivos to make our way to trailheads accessible from the town. First we did the ‘Pipeline Trail,’ so called because the path follows a water pipeline through thick forest to a hidden waterfall. It was a fairly straightforward trail that took about an hour each way, perfect as a warm up for us - we hadn’t done any serious walking for a while.
Whilst the path isn’t too taxing, it is a great place for wildlife watching. The forest is a known habitat for the Resplendent Quetzal - a rare and beautiful bird native to Central America. We walked quite slowly, trying not to make to much noise, but we weren’t lucky enough to spot one this time. Fingers crossed we will get a sighting in the next five months! We also passed a the most amazing tree with an incredible tangle of roots. A nearby sign said it was estimated to be 1,000 years old!
At the end of the trail we climbed over some rocks to a huge cliff with water spilling over the edge and crashing down on the rocks in front of us. It was truly beautiful.
A couple of days later - on Christmas Day - we once again went out into the mountains in search of The Lost Waterfalls trail. We weren’t sure if we would be able to get to the trailhead, but luckily for us the colectivo service continued to run as normal on Christmas Day.
The Lost Waterfalls is only 30 minutes outside of Boquete town, but as soon as we entered the trail we were surrounded by jungle. Within a few minutes of walking my path was blocked by a red and white ringed snake, basking in the morning sun… Merry Christmas to me! After waiting for the snake to move along, we continued down the trail to a series of three waterfalls.
The first we could view from a platform opposite the fall and see the water tumbling down the rocks. Following the river further into the trees, we came to the base of the second waterfalls as it thundered into a crystal clear pool. Reaching the third waterfall took a bit more effort as we had to climb up steep, muddy banks - luckily there are ropes installed to help. It was nothing too taxing! Again, we arrived at the pool of the third waterfall, and were even able to climb around so we were almost behind the flowing water.
We spent a little while there, hidden by the curtain of water, and I jumped in excitement - I thought I saw a Quetzal! I quickly pointed in the direction of the flash of blue feathers and Graeme and I waited patiently… only for a hummingbird to reveal itself. Not that I’m complaining, hummingbirds are beautiful! But the colour did have me fooled for a moment.
On our way back, we stopped in a small clearing where the river formed a natural pool intending to have a Christmas Day swim. Shoes and socks off, I waded in to test the water… and it was freezing! I didn’t feel brave enough to jump in in my swimming costume! I let Graeme test it too (to check if I was being a wimp) and he agreed - so we walked in up to our knees and stood in the clear pool admiring the forest all around us. We stayed until our toes were numb, before heading back to the road and flagging down the colectivo to take us back to town.
After video calls with our families, we rounded off our festive celebrations with a DIY cheeseboard and wine, along with festive films, then a celebratory Boxing Day meal at a local restaurant. We have to admit, seeing all our friends and family posting their Christmas dinners did make us a little jealous… whilst we don’t want our time on the road to pass quickly, we cannot wait for a proper roast dinner when we’re home!
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