A Full Month of Adventures

Jen and I started our month of adventures on January 23 when we went to Panama City to prepare for a short visit to Florida.  We are fully vaccinated and not required to test for covid when we travel TO Panama, but when we travel to the United States, even though we are citizens, a negative covid test is required.  I am going to climb on my soap box for one brief moment, and then I will continue the story. The United States hardly requires masks, and the infection rate is under control enough for the President to repeal mask mandates at the White House.  However, citizens traveling from a foreign country to the US must get a negative covid test to go home after a vacation or to visit friends and family there.  We got our negative covid test and, as resident Jubilado’s, paid $30 USD each with our discount.  Travelers without this benefit must pay $50 USD each, adding to the cost of travel.  I believe that this is governmental overreach.  Immigrants crossing the southern border are not tested and are allowed to board buses and flights all over the country, but as a tax-paying US Citizen, I must provide a negative test to go home.  It is time to stand up to the tyranny of the government on this matter. These useless requirements should be removed.

We got our negative test at the airport which is required to be taken the day before travel. This cleared us to travel to our 2nd home in Florida on a flight the next day.  Our winter guests in our condo were to arrive on February 1st, and we wanted to make sure everything was perfect for their arrival.

We got our negative test.

On Monday we boarded our flight to Florida.  While in Florida we visited Jen’s brother, Bill, and his wife, Deb.  They were snow-birding in Fort Myers, and it provided an excellent time to catch up with them.  They treated us to a great meal at one of their favorite restaurants.  In the morning, we all went over to a great outlet mall near their place, and I managed to buy a jacket and a couple of new shirts.  Note to self…even in Florida a jacket will be necessary during the winter months. We had a delightful visit at their vacation condo, before continuing on to our place in Port Charlotte.

Mom and Rich had been staying in our condo since the end of November.  It was a great time to be sure all the kinks were worked out.  There were a few small mechanical issues that they were able to take care of for us before we arrived.  One other issue required that we replace the washer and dryer before our guest’s arrival.  With the nationwide logistics crisis, this was easier said than done.  But we persevered and on Saturday, the new laundry pair was delivered.  This gave mom time to do their laundry before traveling to Panama.  We also had time to get all the sheets and towels washed before leaving, getting the condo in tip top shape for our winter visitors.

In addition to dealing with a few small problems, we were able to do some other visiting before turning our condo over on February 1st.

Lime Tequila in Port Charlotte is our favorite when we are there

The main reason we wanted to be in Florida at the end of January was to bring Mom and Rich back to Panama.  They had been reluctant to travel to Panama because of the language barrier, and they had rarely been outside of the United States.  On Tuesday February 1st the four of us boarded our flight in Miami for our non-stop flight to Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, Panama.

Loaded and awaiting departure

Our arrival in Panama was late evening, and I choose not to drive after dark when possible.  We had reservations at the Riande Hotel near the airport. This is where Jen and I had stayed prior to our departure for Florida, and they allowed us to park in their secure lot for about $5 USD per day.  This detail is for those of you who may be looking for similar options in your travel to and from Panama.  We stayed the night, had a nice breakfast, and found the car just as I left it.  We loaded up the next day, and began our journey to Coronado.

Our journey took us past Casa de Jamon and Price Smart.  We made brief stops at both.  Casa de Jamon is a great restaurant supply-type food store in Costa Del Este.  We picked up a few groceries there and went on to Price Smart for a few other things.  Then it was on to our home in Coronado.

We arrived in Coronado mid-afternoon, and our special guests were able to settle in and relax in preparation for their full month of adventure.  Our dinner plan took us to Gold Coast Brewery for half price wing night.  There they met a few of our friends, and we enjoyed the wings.

I do not know where to begin other than to take the whole month in chronological order.  That first partial week, we relaxed by the pool, took the buggy to the beach for some sand play, Rich got a haircut, and Mom and Jen got pedicures.  Thursday is our weekly domino game. Mom and Rich joined us each week during their visit.   Throughout Covid, Jen and I got together with the same small group of friends for this weekly event, and it has continued.  Everyone agrees that it was one of the things that helped us all maintain our sanity during the lockdowns and other measures imposed by MINSA to keep everyone safe from the virus.

Low tide. We explored a great stretch of beach
Pool time
Saturday morning at the club pool
Mom got a beach excursion too

My favorite barber gave Rich a trim.

The other constant during their visit was Sunday worship at Coronado Bible Church.  Each week we had brunch after church with many of our awesome friends.  Our special guests enjoyed the church, brunches, and meeting a few of our friends each week.  They were slowly beginning to understand why we love our life here in Panama.  Mom loved that I was an active participant in the praise team at church.

Our first adventure outside our little community was to El Valle de Anton.  We included good friends Diane and Mike for a full day of exploring up there.  El Valle has been a favorite of all of our visitors, with those who have had repeated visits always wanting to return.  There are so many places there that we had a difficult time choosing which to explore.  That day we took them to the Orchid Sanctuary, The Butterfly House, El Macho Falls, and the Sunday Market.  We were disappointed that our favorite restaurant was closed.  This gave us a chance to try another place that just did not meet our high standards.  The market gave me a chance to grab some fresh vegetables while everyone else shopped the vendors.  El Valle is a short 45-minute drive from Coronado straight up the mountain.  The entire village lies in the crater of a volcano.  The climate is a bit cooler than the beach communities, and many expats live there.  Check out my book or the archives of this blog to learn more about this magnificent place.

Ready for adventures

El Macho Falls. We couldn’t get them to zip-line it.

The bookstore, El Hombre de La Mancha, had requested more books which I was able to bring back from the States.  The second Thursday our guests were here we went back into the city to make the delivery.  This was a big highlight for me as, when we arrived, they asked me for an interview and photo session.  They are promoting my book on their social media, and it appears that it is selling well in their stores.  The delivery allowed them to stock it in every store nationwide.  We were surprised to find it among the Panama Travel and History books despite the fact that it is only offered in English.  People who have looked for it in the English section have been unable to find it in the stores.  The price for it here in their stores is higher, but the bookstore is a huge advocate for literacy in Panama.  That makes my day to feel like I am doing some small part for literacy here.

Mom found it in the main store in San Francisco

Karen Ceballos, Director of Marketing at El Hombre de La Mancha

After leaving the bookstore we were able to take Mom and Rich for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants in the city, Michael’s.  Mike Nikolich is the owner, and his place is a very successful for breakfast and lunch. He is a native of Michigan and has spent years in the restaurant business in Panama.  Following lunch, we went down to Panama Viejo.  This is the original ruins of the first Panama City.  It was the first port where goods entered the country and were transported over land to the Caribbean for shipment to the America’s, Europe, and Spain.  This gave our guests a perspective of what Panama was like before the canal was constructed.  This location was repeatedly attacked by pirates who were after the precious gold and silver from South America.  The city was later relocated to what is now called Casco Viejo (old town), where they could more easily protect it.

Mike Nikolich grabbed a copy of my book.
Mom and Rich in front of the tower at Panama Viejo

The following week we caught up with our good friend, and the master of tour guides, Marc Vargas, to take an adventure to the Caribbean side of the country.  Marc picked us up and took us for a look at the Agua Clara Lock on the Caribbean end of the canal.  Agua Clara is the new lock designed to accommodate the huge Pana Max ships.  This gave Rich a firsthand look at how the canal works.  Marc took us from there to the Gatun Locks just adjacent to the Agua Clara lock.  The visitor center there is closed, but we were able to see a cruise ship passing through over the hill.  He continued on down to the Gatun Dam where the Chagres River is dammed to provide water to Lake Gatun which is a huge part of the canal passage.  We went from there across the new Atlantic Bridge.  I call this the bridge to nowhere because, when it was completed, the road leading away from it on the west side of the canal was dirt.  It is now paved and leads to Fort Sherman, Shelter Bay and Fort San Lorenzo Castle.  We visited all three.  The road is now nicely paved right through the jungle to the ruins at San Lorenzo.  It is also paved all the way north to Shelter Bay.   Fort Sherman has been mostly deserted since the United States turned the canal over to the Panamanian people.  Shelter Bay remains a prosperous marina which is protected from hurricanes.  After lunch at the marina, we went through the jungle to Fort San Lorenzo Castle.  This was a wonderful experience.  The Fort is under full restoration to maintain its UNESCO World Heritage designation.  I cannot wait to visit again after the restoration is completed.  Despite the construction going on, this is a beautiful tour.  The Fort sits at the mouth of the Chagres River high on a bluff where it was easily protected from the pirates.  Thank you, Marc, for showing us a great time.

Marc gives us a little detail on the new Agua Clara Lock
The Gatun Dam
A cruise ship passing through the Gatun Locks
How about lunch at Shelter Bay?

This Coate’ came to see where we were going
There was a major restoration in progress at San Lorenzo Castle

Fort San Lorenzo Castle sits at the mouth of the Chagres River
Marc checks out the heavy artillery
Fort Sherman is in ruins…no need to stop here
The Atlantic Bridge

Every week during their visit we went to the club at Coronado Luxury Club & Suites.  Jen and I are members, and we enjoy the entertainment on Saturday nights.  That first week we enjoyed a comedian in the Sports Bar followed by Pascal Turner at the pool bar.  We especially enjoy Pascal, and, fortunately, he played every Saturday night during their visit with us.  Pascal often invites me to sing with him and it has become something for which I look forward.  The third Saturday we took our special guests to the fine dining restaurant at the club, Secundo Piso.  We invited friends John and Barbie to join us.  This was a special treat, and it is one of the places which we highly recommend.  Reservations are required and they are only open on weekends.  In the past, non-members have been welcomed at the resort on Saturday night.

Mom and Rich take the opportunity to dance
We did too
John and Barbie got in a little Salsa

Also, that last week in Coronado Mom and Rich spent three nights at the resort hotel to give us all a break from each other.  Jen and I get free nights every year with our paid membership, and we wanted them to have a special treat.  They hung out by the resort pool and got waited on.  Rich wanted to order foo foo drinks with fruit and little umbrellas.  I wish we had pictures of that.  During one of those days at the resort, we got together for a special late lunch at the Beach Club.  The Beach Club is reserved for members and resort guests.  We had a nice lunch and missed the last shuttle back.  I wish they had let us know that it would be the last, but we were hardly done eating when it came.  The staff sent us back on the employee bus.  Someone suggested that we just stay and sleep on the beach.  That was not an option…LOL.

A bird’s eye view of the beach at the club
Mom and Rich at the Beach Club

Almost every Tuesday we ventured to the movie.  The local theater, Cine Moderno, plays movies in English every Tuesday, and it is a favorite way to spend Tuesday evening in the community.  We always meet up with many friends there and enjoy the show.  For Jubilado’s (retired people), the movie plays for $2.50 USD each.  They have great refreshments also at a reasonable price. I put the movie schedule in my newsletter every week, but recently they have added more shows in English on other days.  I cannot always put all the shows and times, so check with the theater for additional showtimes.  Rich said he had not been to the movies in years, and both he and mom thoroughly enjoyed this activity…even if the movie was not always something we would normally go out of our way to see.

We ventured to Santa Clara to another of our favorite places on the beach, Deliciosa Del Mar.  We invited friends, Lorin and Judy, along for what we hoped would be a lobster feast.  Judy gets the credit for the magnificent sunset photo in the featured position above. Unfortunately, we missed the beginning of Lobster season by a few weeks.  We all still had some great fresh seafood before venturing onto the beach.  Everyone had a great time people watching and swimming in the ocean.  This little restaurant has palapas on the beach where you can eat or have drinks.  They rent them to people who do not order from them, but they are free to patrons.  We all had a great time.

Yes, we got in a swim
Mom and Rich hanging out in the palapa
Lorin and Judy walking the beach
Mom and Rich wade in

That last Friday night in Coronado we caught up with Mike and Diane for a great dinner at Café Med. We always seem to get a great meal there and this visit was no exception.

The ambience at Café Med is stunning

To cap off our month of adventures with Mom and Rich, we went from Coronado to Panama City at the beginning of Carnival traffic.  Travel into the city can be a challenge during Carnival.  We soon encountered the lane inversion and we were sharing our side of the highway with traffic heading to the beaches.  This was not horrible, but it slowed down our journey.  We anticipated travel challenge, so we wanted to have plenty of time to get them near the airport for their journey home on March 1st.  This gave us a couple of days to adventure in the city.

The lane inversion

When we crossed the Bridge of the Americas, the decision was made to check out the Amador Causeway and go to the Biodiversity Museum.  This is something that all of our past visitors have enjoyed, and we knew that Mom and Rich would love the experience as well.  We were not wrong.  The Biodiversity Museum is something that no visitor to Panama should miss.  We went down the causeway for lunch and some souvenir shopping, followed by our visit to the museum.  After the museum, we checked into our hotel at the Radisson Panama Canal.

Check out the huge Fig Tree
Panama City skyline from Amador Causeway Love the new Sombreros!
See the Biodiversity Museum over Rich’s shoulder?

Even after almost four years living in Panama, I look for new adventures when we have company.  Sometimes the new adventures are a giant failure, but this one was a definite high and one of the best experiences for myself.  On Saturday evening we ventured to the JW Marriott (former Trump Tower) for a ringside seat on the 66th floor for sunset.  The pool bar is owned by the casino and only accessible through the casino.  The elevator will only stop at the parking garage or the 66th floor unless someone has a key to stop elsewhere.  When we exited the elevator, we were welcomed into an amazing outside venue with an infinity pool, and our reserved table was waiting for us next to the pool.  The views of the city and sunset were unbelievable.  We enjoyed a light dinner (pub food) and drinks while we watched the sunset.  This will be another of those experiences that we share with others.  If you get the chance, do not miss this one.

The following morning, we were whisked away by shuttle to a boat dock in the middle of the Gamboa Rain Forest where we caught our boat.  It is definitely a small world when every one else on the tour bus is from the Grand Rapids, Michigan area, really close to where mom and Rich live!  The Pacific Queen took us on a partial transit of the Panama Canal.  Rich was so intrigued by the canal that we could not deny him this experience.  When we departed the dock, we had a few drops of rain which quickly subsided.  Our boat went south on the Panama Canal as the guide told us interesting facts about what we were seeing.  We traveled past a Pana Max ship, the largest of container ships.  We would see this ship later passing through the big new lock at Miraflora while we were passing through the smaller locks.  We passed the prison where Noriega spent the last years of his life, and several big dredging cranes.  The Gaillard Cut, which was formally known as the Culebra Cut, is where most of the lives were lost in the construction of the canal.  It is the narrow mountain pass taking the canal through the Continental Divide.  This stretch of the canal requires constant maintenance due to the mud slides and silt accumulating in its bottom.  This is where the canal authority spends the majority of its maintenance budget.

The prison where Noriega was incarcerated
Titan, the biggest crane on the canal
This is a large Pana Max ship. We passed it after entering the canal from the dock in Gamboa
Our transit vessel, The Pacific Queen

We continued through the cut and past the Centennial Bridge before reaching the Pedro Miguel Lock. We moved into the lock which we shared on this journey with another tour boat, a small cargo vessel, and a larger ship.  We were lowered in the lock to the level of Mira Flores Lake.  Mira Flores Lake is a manmade lake connecting the Pedro Miguel lock with the Mira Flores Locks.  Once across the small lake, we entered the Mira Flores locks once again sharing with the other three vessels. Mira Flores has two locks taking us down to sea level.  After passing through all three locks, we moved on toward the Pacific and our destination port.  We passed under the Bridge of the Americas, then past our hotel and the Amador Causeway before rounding the point and making dock at the Port of Panama.  The total time of our excursion was right around 5 hours.  Previously, Jen and I did a full passage which took around 12 hours.  The partial passage was much better, as the full passage took several hours crossing Lake Gatun.

A small cargo vessel entering the lock at Pedro Miguel ahead of us
The Welcome Center at the Mira Flores Locks.
The Centennial Bridge. See the Gaillard Cut (part of it) as we approach.
This is the 1st lock at Mira Flores. You can see the last lock ahead of us.
While going through the locks we were next to this other tour boat.
Moving out from the locks toward the Pacific
Every vessel has a pilot from the canal authority during transit. This is our pilot departing the vessel.
Welcome to Port Panama

Our day was not over.  We went back to the hotel for a minute, and Marc Vargas picked us up for a little tour of Casco Viejo.  We wanted to have another sunset experience from a rooftop in Casco.  Marc selected Tantalo, where we had a bite to eat and watched the sunset from a different perspective.  Marc graciously showed us around a little, and we took in the amazing sites of Casco Viejo.  This is one of those places that really requires an entire day.  If you are fortunate enough to get to this neighborhood, check out the many plazas, the churches, The Panama Canal Museum (among others), the artisan vendors, architecture, restaurants, coffee shops, chocolatiers, souvenir shops, and do not miss the rooftop bars.

A short walk through Casco Viejo
Cool picture…Thanks, Marc
Bring on the food and drinks
the main Cathedral of Panama
Another cool picture. This is a panorama before the sun began setting.

On their last day in Panama, we mostly just rested from exhaustion.  We relocated to a hotel near the airport, got covid tests, and shopped in a mall nearby.  Jen and I are still recovering here, and I imagine that mom and Rich are doing the same in Florida.

Our visitors waiting to be tested with their capable translator
El Hombre de La Mancha at the Metro Mall
They had it in stock

For more information about adventuring in Panama, grab a copy of my book 2 Retire In Panama?.  It is available at Amazon, on Kindle (Kindle Unlimited Readers get it free), and at El Hombre de La Mancha bookstores in Panama.  I am sharing some links below for some of the adventures and sites that contributed to this great month of adventures with my folks.

Blessings From Paradise,

Greg and Jen

#welovepanama

 

Casa del Jamon

Coronado Bible Church

Coronado Luxury Club & Suites

2 Retire In Panama?

Tantalo

Panama Canal Tour

El Hombre de La Mancha bookstores

Gold Coast Brewery

Marc Vargas

Biodiversity Museum

Pascal Turner

El Valle de Anton

Panama Viejo

Cine Moderno Coronado

Casco Viejo

Café Med

Shelter Bay, Fort San Lorenzo Castle, and Fort Sherman

Our friends Lyn and Ty Gilbert are always in favor of going on an adventure and we rarely refuse an opportunity to explore with them. The four of us have the greatest time heading into the unknown. You may recall our adventures previously that took us to the end of the road. A little over a week ago they asked if we would like to go to Shelter Bay to explore the area.

Shelter Bay is at the north end of the Panama Canal. Previously the only access to the bay and its magnificent marina was by boat or a ferry ride across the north end of the Panama Canal. Recently the Atlantic Bridge across the canal was completed which made access to this area a little easier. When we reached the bridge it was a great surprise to find almost no one using it. At first glace I thought that this must be the bridge to nowhere. It basically starts and ends in dense jungle. When we reached the west side of the bridge the roads leading away were all narrow and rough. Ty says eventually a nice road will take people from the bridge to the new copper mine where he works. Otherwise there is a long stretch of undeveloped ocean front from there to Bocas del Toro. The Caribbean coast is very pretty but not as accessible as the Pacific The dense jungle has a little bit to do with how populated this area is.

IMG_3165
The new bridge across the Panama Canal

Our first stop after crossing the bridge was the gate at Fort Sherman. Fort Sherman was a U.S. army base tasked with protecting the north end of the canal. The gate is protected by a Panamanian Aero-Naval company. We told them that we were going to Shelter Bay and they let us pass. Once inside the base we were amazed to see how the Panamanians had allowed the unused base to fall apart and deteriorate after the American military was pulled out. Panama uses some of the former U.S. Military buildings in the canal zone, but has little use for a lot of it. By the way, since President Carter returned the Panama Canal to the people of Panama it has done very well and even expanded under the management of The Panama Canal Authority. The Panamanian Government does not technically run the canal. It is owned by all the people and decisions for its operations are made by directors who are elected to their positions.

IMG_3159
The barracks at Fort Sherman Army base are deserted.

Shelter Bay lies on the west side of the north end of the canal. It is on the Caribbean and like all of Panama is virtually exempt from hurricane activity. Many people from North America sail south to safety here during hurricane season. We found the marina which is on the former Fort Sherman Army base to be very busy and almost at capacity.  The marina has a restaurant, pool, stores and just about anything people will need who typically live aboard their boat. They even have scheduled bus trips to Colon and Panama City for shopping and entertainment. We were there to pick up some paint for Ty and Lyn’s boat.

After we picked up Ty’s paint, we headed south through the jungle. After driving a couple of Kilometers we reached a ranger station for Parque National. The park is part of the extensive National Park system of Panama, however I could not find a name for it. Several of these guys came to meet us as we entered the park. They are called Coate’, and they are a little bit like a racoon. We found them very friendly and nearly as welcoming as a dog. They probably thought we would feed them.

Several kilometers of driving through the jungle in the park we found ourselves once again at the end of the road. The road ended where the Chagres River meets the Caribbean on a point where the early Panamanians protected the trade route. This place was called Fort San Lorenzo Castle. It is a protected historical site and it is a great place to explore. In the late 1400’s early settlers would take their wares by land from the Pacific to a place in the mountains near what is now Gamboa. From there they would travel down the Chagres River to the Caribbean. This trade route had to be protected from the pirates. The Chagres river is now the source of much of the water used for the operation of the Panama Canal.

We found Fort San Lorenzo very fascinating. As we traveled through the jungle we were doubtful that we would find other people at the end of the road. We did, however, find many people there exploring. The price of admission was $3.00. The fort lies on a point where the Chagres river meets the Caribbean Sea. We learned that the original fort was built in 1595. After the fort was built it was first attacked in 1596 by English pirate Sir Francis Drake. The fort was continuously attacked until the original wood fort was destroyed by Sir Henry Morgan in 1671. Morgan then went over land to attack Panama City. These pirates were very interested in this area because early settlers brought gold from South and Central America across land into the jungle high in the mountains near what is now Gamboa. There they took it in boats down the Chagres River to the Caribbean where it went by ship to America. This trade route had to be protected from these pirates. Fort San Lorenzo Palace was part of the triangle of protection which ran from Gamboa to here to the ruins near Portobelo called Fuerte San Jeronimo. We explored the ruins near Portobelo a few months back. Clicking on the Fuerte San Jeronimo link will take you back to that post. Fort San Lorenzo was rebuilt of stone in 1680, which lasted until an attack in 1740. In 1768 it was once again rebuilt and in 1779 it was fortified. It is the remains of this fort that we explored on our visit. In 1980 UNESCO declared this and Fuerte San Jeronimo both World Heritage Sites. As I stood on the point looking over to the Chagres River and out into the Caribbean it was easy to imagine how the soldiers protected this area from the pirates. We were able to explore the moat, barracks, ammunition’s storage, and even get up close and personal with the cannons.  Enjoy a few pictures from our adventure. A picture paints a thousand words, but there is no way to visually or verbally describe this place, and do justice. This is a must see if you are ever fortunate enough to visit this area.

In other news, Jen and I bought a dune buggy. It is great for getting around the complex and beach riding. We have been having a blast with it. 

The first day with our buggy
The first day with our buggy

Our Panama Adventure in Boquete’

We departed Coronado early on Sunday morning for our 402 Km drive to Boquete’. Our navigation system said it would take right at 5 hours with no stops. At Santiago we found that the brand new InterAmericana Highway was complete and the drive from that point was nice. There were very few places to stop. It was almost like an interstate highway in the States. Somewhere between Santiago and David we did find a truck stop where we had a nice lunch for $6.

After lunch, we continued to David, the second largest city in Panama, and it is where our journey turned north into the mountains. David has an international airport and a hospital with world class healthcare. This area was one of our of possible relocation considerations. There are beach homes and resorts on the ocean about 20 minutes south.  We wanted to see some places  which we  heard about so our plan is to stop on our return journey.  About 40 minutes to the north we reached our destination. Boquete’ is half way between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, high in the mountains, about 60 Km from the border of Costa Rica. There are a lot of expats there and we had no trouble finding people who spoke English. Our plan was to find a coffee farm and take a tour before finding a hotel.

Our navigation system took us to a coffee farm. We found the gate locked and nobody around. We would later learn that the tours of coffee plantations are only arranged by a tour guide. We had a nice drive through the mountains on roads not meant for safe passing, before returning to the downtown area to find a hotel.

We settled on a lovely place just out of town called the Inn at Palo Alto. We were surprised to find many places were already full. Boquete is a tourist destination, and the streets were packed with people visiting from all over the world. The Inn Keeper was able to sign us up for tours on Monday afternoon and suggest a hike for the morning. She also suggested a nice casual dinner place in town. We enjoyed dinner and went back to the hotel to rest for our day of adventure. The climate is cool and we were actually pleased to find a fire on the patio of the hotel bar where we enjoyed a drink.

Getting up early on Monday morning was no problem, because we had a chicken next door that kept us up most of the night. The first income source for this community is agriculture, followed by tourism in a close second. It is interesting to see the two co-exist to create a solid economy. We took it all in stride. By 8 a.m. we were having breakfast so we could get in the hike up the Pipeline Trail before our 1:30 p.m. coffee and cloud forest tour. The drive to the trail-head was a repeat of our drive on Sunday. The roads were narrow and often steep, with very little room to pass. The drive took us more than 30 minutes and we found the trail-head deserted with nobody to point us in the right direction. This hike would take about 3 hours and we were supposed to see monkeys, waterfalls, and rare birds. With no direction and no obvious sign of where to start we opted to forgo the hike. Neither of us wanted to be lost in the jungle, with nobody really knowing where we were. Upon our return to town we found another interesting opportunity for adventure, but I was unable to convince Jen to zip-line. The photos below are from bumming around waiting for our 1:30 p.m. tour.

We ended up at Boquete Tree Trek. Zip-line adventures, hanging bridges, hotel rooms and restaurant. We did not have time to do anything more than eat lunch. During lunch we watched the last 2 legs of the zip-line finishing there near the restaurant. We talked to a guy who had just came from the hanging bridge tour and it sounded great. Jen absolutely would not zip-line, but we nearly decided to do the hanging bridges. It would have to be Tuesday morning prior to the Market. Following lunch we made the drive back to our hotel where we were to meet our tour guide.

Jorge showed up at 1:30 p.m. and off we went to our coffee tour. The coffee farm was roughly 19 acres and employed 6 people. The coffee is all hand picked and processed (dried) to the green bean for shipment to the customer. The wholesale coffee customer will roast the beans to his own specification. The farms that grow coffee are very low tech and this farm was no exception. All of his drying processes were done with equipment made from recycled parts. The farm we visited has a very small roaster for demonstration and roasting beans which he sells on the tour. We found the entire thing very interesting and learned a great deal about the coffee industry in Panama. This coffee grower produces an award winning coffee and we were pleased to buy a couple of pounds at the end of the tour. He also grows the famous Geisha coffee which we opted not to purchase.

The coffee plant. There aren’t a lot of beans as it is the end of the season

The fruit being dried. These are in different stages of drying. There are also different ways in which the coffee is dried.

The coffee is roasted to light , medium or dark. That entire process takes about 40 minutes with the dried beans.

The darker the roast, the lower the caffeine. Here you see our guide taking the dark roast from the roaster.

Light roast is on the left, medium in the center and dark is on the right.

The small coffee roaster for our demonstration.

Once we finished the tour  of the Coffee farm we had a very nice tour of the area up into the mountains and saw amazing views of the Baru Volcano. The summit on a clear day is the only place in Panama that you can see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans from one place. It is, also, the only place in Panama where you may find snow. A hike to the summit is a full day adventure and we probably will never have that experience. For now it was enough for us to see the Volcano from a distance.

Baru Volcano

We spent the rest of the afternoon taking in the sights with our guide by jeep. The pictures below are just a couple from that part of the adventure.

The roads were often difficult to maneuver.

The haunted house of Boquete

Rainbow over the cloud forest.

We always believe that there is a reason for everything in this life. We decided to have dinner at a grill that was a 5 minute walk from our hotel. Georges Grill was the name on the sign and once inside we met George. There were two other couples in the small smoky place (George was cooking on an open fire). One of the couples was from Michigan and the other from Colorado. Both have spent considerable time in Panama over the past several years. We quickly became acquainted and had a great dinner together. The couple from Colorado, as it turns out, are staying at the Rio Mar, just a few minutes from where we are staying near Coronado. They were on an adventure of their own and headed to San Blas, once they left Boquete. We visited for a while and arranged to have dinner with them next week. We are anxious to get better acquainted. We also hope that they will share some of their experiences in Panama here on our blog. They are professional photographers, by trade; and we have already seen some of their amazing pictures on Facebook.

Dinner at Georges Grill

When we woke on Tuesday morning it was raining. This is the only rain we have seen during our nearly 2 months on the ground here in Panama. Given the weather we did not think it wise to do the hanging bridge tour. We will save that adventure for another time. We enjoyed the Tuesday Market. It  is entirely under roof, so even if it had not stopped raining, we would have still went to it. The market is a must see for any visit to Boquete. We bought a few things, and met a few people before embarking on our journey. Our return trip to Coronado was uneventful. We made a stop at PriceSmart in David to pick up a few supplies, then continued to the beach to look at a condo. The condo turned out to be horrible so we easily ruled out living there. We wanted to see one other, but we were not able to find it. We got on the highway and made one stop in Santiago for dinner. By the time we got home it was after dark so we kicked back and enjoyed the evening. Since our return to Coronado we have enough material to easily publish another blog post. We have continued to research our impending move and are learning every day how the economy here will benefit us for years to come. This post was long, and we fear that posts of this length will lose some of you. If you read to the end…THANK-YOU. Check back in a couple of days. We will bring this thing up to date.

Adios,

Greg and Jen