After Wenke and Fux had made their way back to Costa Rica, I stayed in Boquete for a few more days to enjoy the peace and nature a bit before I was supposed to continue to David. I had discovered a really nice place to stay on the internet that I really wanted to spend a few days in. After checking out of the old place, I took a cab to the Bees and Butterflies, a coffee and honey farm just outside of downtown Boquete. There was some confusion when I got there because they weren't expecting me until the next day. Apparently I had made a mistake when booking the day. However, the owner Emily, who is British, came to the café at the entrance shortly after to greet me anyway. I was lucky, because my hut was already free and only had to be prepared for me. The owner was very accommodating and offered me a coffee and invited me to a free tour of the in-house butterfly house. After that I went to a restaurant nearby and then sat in a meadow and watched birds for a while until I was able to check in. When the time came, an employee drove me and my luggage to the huts, as they are a bit away from the entrance to the finca. The owner came by again to show me and explain everything. When she was gone, I stood in my hut for a few minutes with my mouth open and could hardly believe how beautiful everything was there. For me it was absolute luxury. A huge room with a great bed, a kitchen, a chic bathroom and a terrace with a beautiful view of the countryside. Wow. I think this was the best accommodation I have ever had. After I had spread out in the room, I first explored the finca. The garden was incredibly beautiful and there were all kinds of birds, butterflies and insects everywhere. There were feeding stations for the birds, beehives and information boards about the flora and fauna. Emily had created a little paradise here. My "little" hut surrounded by greenery. The bed was awesome, super comfortable. And this hung above my bed: A picture of a Motmot 🙂 The other part of the room. Breakfast was served here in the morning. Everything was made with so much love and you could watch the birds while having breakfast. The way from breakfast to my hut. There were boards everywhere with information about bees, honey and other things. The view of another hut and the mountains. The property was huge and bordered directly on the forest (on the right). Some of the beehives. Everywhere there were nesting places for various species of bees and other insects. The view from my terrace. Everything was kept very natural and I was regularly visited by squirrels, agoutis, hummingbirds and other birds. Do you see the squirrel? Unfortunately there was nothing left on the feeding platform. The flowers hung from the roof of my patio. Unfortunately, I was often too slow to take really good photos. Probably a stubborn organist, male. A yellow-billed cassava. In the butterfly house on the finca. Someone in particular wanted to present themselves. A glass wing moth. The caterpillar of a Great Swallowtail. Several caterpillars of a species of owl butterfly.
But since I had a pretty bad cold, I couldn't do too much that day and, in addition to recovering and writing a blog, I only briefly explored the area on the way to the supermarket. But don't worry, because my accommodation was so nice that I could have stayed longer without doing anything big.
The area surrounding the Bees and Butterflies Finca was also beautiful. This river was right behind the property. Unfortunately, you couldn't get to it properly and the current was too strong for swimming. Between the river and the property were these colorful trees called rainbow gums. The bark is actually brown to yellowish and green in peeled areas. The green inner bark turns blue, purple, orange and maroon tones over time. This is how the tree gets its colorful bark. At first I thought the trees weren't real or painted or something like that, but they are. Impressive what nature produces.
On the last day, at breakfast, I met 2 German biologists with whom I had a nice chat for quite a while. After breakfast, the two wanted to go to Finca Lérida and asked if they could take me with their car. I thought about it for a moment, as I was still not fully fit again, but then decided to do it. I definitely wanted to look for Bellbirds again, which I had seen there on the first visit with Wenke and Fux. So we drove to the finca together. On site, the two spontaneously decided on a coffee tour and I went to look for the bellbird, which I could hear calling immediately after our arrival. Since I knew where he was most likely to be, I went straight to the spot from where you have a good view of the group of trees. I heard him there but didn't see him. So I went to the viewpoint from which you can see the whole group of trees. But I couldn't see him there either, although I heard him calling all the time. After quite a while of searching and staring without success, I decided to hike one more loop through the forest. After all, there are other birds. But also there I heard Bellbirds again, very close. I looked for half an eternity, but couldn't spot him because the forest was just too dense. So I walked the path to the waterfall again, where Wenke had seen a quetzal the last time. Unfortunately I didn't see any birds there. I was probably a bit inattentive and unfocused because of the cold. So I went back towards the café. The hiking trails were really nice, but it was sweltering hot and I felt pretty exhausted. In the café I drank a coffee, ate a delicious piece of passion fruit cake and tried to photograph the hummingbirds again. Since my potential ride, the two Germans, were not yet in sight, I went again to the spot from where you could see the group of trees. Unfortunately I still didn't see the Bellbird even though I heard it. There I met the two who were just on their way back from their hike. Very practical, because I didn't have to worry about the return trip. In the evening it was time to pack up and enjoy nature again, because the next day I was supposed to go to David, a town south of Boquete that I didn't really want to go to but had to because I had a doctor's appointment.
Again at Finca Lérida. On the right is part of the finca building, where you can also spend the night. Certainly quite expensive. Directly in front of the picture are coffee plants and in the middle said group of trees where I heard the bellbird. You can imagine how difficult it is to spot birds at this distance. The hiking trails on the finca are really nice. The waterfall at the end of a hiking trail. I skipped the steep way down because it seemed too strenuous. On the way back to the café we discovered this beautiful hummingbird. Either a volcano elf or an orange-throated elf. That was difficult to determine. But it's probably a young animal, probably a female. Someone is trying to get a piece of the pie here.
In the morning, a hotel employee kindly drove me to the bus station. The bus ride only took 45 minutes and at the bus station in David I found a taxi driver who took me to the hostel. Since there was no accommodation around the hospital where I had my doctor's appointment, I had booked a room in a hostel just outside. The only one far and wide that, according to the pictures, didn't seem to be a concrete block with the typical monotonous standard hotel rooms. And there was a little greenery in the courtyard and a pool. When we got there, everything looked a bit more tattered than in the pictures. Well, there are worse things. The main thing is that I have a bed and can have my coffee somewhere in the morning in peace. In the smoking corner, reminiscent of a 90's bachelor's room, I met Roger and Joe. The two met while traveling and are now like brothers. Hailing from Panama, Joe is a bit of a tech nerd and has been traveling around for a while. And Roger was born in Panama, grew up in the USA, was in the army for many years and was stationed in Germany as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan. I had deep conversations with Roger in particular and I learned a lot about his past. He also told me about the war, its physical and psychological scars and the experiences that made him the person he is now. There was a moment when I was so touched by his stories that I had tears in my eyes. For Roger it was probably a very significant moment that touched him deeply. You really can't put into words the connection we had at that moment and even afterwards. Little by little we realized how much we had in common. The three of us are almost the same age, like the same music and grew up with similar things. Really amazing when you consider that we grew up in completely different worlds and yet in the same reality. We talked about ICQ, the Playstation and NES and listened to System of a Down, Limp Bizkit and similar stuff from the time 😅 As Roger is passionate about cooking, he suggested conjuring up a dinner for us. He asked me about my eating habits, what things I like and what I don't like. It was really surprising how he inadvertently inferred my character from my eating habits. And he also said that I have very interesting and extraordinary taste. Yep, I've known that since I was a kid. Only at that time everyone called it "funny" and not "interesting". Fortunately, I now know that the word "weird" is really just a thoughtless and narrow-minded term for "special". Anyway, we were planning to have dinner together and I said I would like some shrimp. Shortly afterwards, when we made our way to the supermarket, there was a man standing across the street in front of the hostel who was selling freshly caught shrimp from his pickup truck. What a crazy coincidence. So we bought a few and put them in the hostel fridge. When shopping, Roger packed everything I had an appetite for in the basket. And we bought a bottle of wine. Roger cooked with a lot of passion and then we ate together prawns in garlic and broccoli with mashed potatoes and drank wine. I have an unwanted talent for getting people to cook for me 😅
But I also "cooked" from time to time, mostly salad. Highly concentrated 😅 However, that was on a different day.
The next day was my doctor's appointment. I had exchanged numbers with the taxi driver from the day before and so I immediately had a contact who would drive me to the hospital reliably and at a fair price. There I asked my way through something to find the doctor. But fortunately the hospital wasn't very big and so I found the right place pretty quickly. After the appointment I wanted to go somewhere to eat, but couldn't find anything appealing. When I passed a sign that said "Sendero Los Quetzales - Las crónicas" (The Quetzal Trail - The Chronicles) while searching, I was curious. The Quetzal Trail was the hiking trail that Wenke, Fux and I actually wanted to walk in Boquete, but it was closed. I went into the courtyard of the building to find out more. There were 3 boards with the history of the trail, unfortunately in Spanish. As I was standing there, a man ran past and showed me the plaques on the ceiling that had the pictures for the plaques on them. We chatted and I told him that I like bird watching and that I am a zoo keeper. He was very excited and really wanted to introduce me to a few people. He was an agricultural engineer or something and worked at the university where I had apparently ended up. He introduced me to a professor who came out of a meeting and a little later his wife, an older and very elegant lady who studied in Switzerland and was involved in the founding of the Quetzal Trail in the 70's. We exchanged some information and I found out that the lady and her husband regularly go to a nature reserve that belongs to the university. Unfortunately, I didn't quite understand the context and was a bit taken aback by the whole situation.
In hindsight I found out that the lady is the rector of the university and is quite an important and respected woman in Panama, with a life's work to be proud of. I definitely have the agronomist's number. Who knows what that could be good for. After the whole surprise number, I went to a sushi restaurant nearby. In the evening in the hostel we cooked again, listened to music and talked a lot.
On the left one of the 3 panels and above the associated pictures for the chronicle of the Quetzal Trail.
Since there isn't too much to see in David, I thought I had enough time to continue writing my blog. But somehow I didn't get around to it because we talked a lot again and...hm, I have no idea what else we did all day. Since I ran out of tobacco, there isn't a single tobacco shop in David and we had time, we decided to go to Boquete. The boys have a car and so we drove north quite spontaneously. At first I was a bit concerned. Not because I've only known them two days, but because I don't particularly like driving and there were no seat belts in the car. But Joe drove great and I gradually relaxed more and more. We listened to loud music, sang along and smoked in the car 😅 In Boquete we drove to a vantage point from which you can see the city. We drank hot chocolate and ate cake there. On the way back we stopped at the supermarket, which is the only one in the area that sells tobacco, and then drove back to David at sunset. On the way back I felt really good and was almost completely relaxed. The good music certainly helped too. The boys are almost always stopped by the police when they are out. They said it's because they don't look quite like Panamanians. Or perhaps optically fit into any drawer. I can not judge over this. In any case, we were not stopped this time.
In the café at the viewpoint. The view over Boquete.
I actually wanted to leave the next day, but didn't really have a plan yet. Because I had another doctor's appointment in 2 weeks and had to be back in David. So I decided to travel to Santa Catalina, which wasn't that far away and I could get there and back without much hassle. It wasn't planned that I ended up spending a whole week there. I extended the room in David by one day, Roger called a friend who owns a hostel in Santa Catalina (because there weren't any suitable places to stay with such short notice) and I booked a shuttle for the next day. So the day went by somehow quickly. In the evening we ate together again, chatted and relaxed.
Another impression from David. A playground on the way to the supermarket. Sliding is definitely a lot of fun here. There doesn't seem to be a TÜV here. After my "control" I found the rest of the playground to be usable. I got the bracelet in the colors of Panama as a farewell gift from Joe ☺️
It takes about 4 hours to drive to Santa Catalina and so I arrived at my surprise accommodation, the Surfers Paradise, around noon. The hostel was quite comfortable, had a great view and my room was fine. Surfers were everywhere and I felt like I was the only one in the hostel who didn't surf. Since Roger put me in touch with a surfing instructor, I decided to try something new and immediately wrote to Keone if he was available the day after next. That suited him. I used the day after my arrival to walk into town and go shopping. Santa Catalina is small but spacious and my accommodation was a bit out of the way. Luckily one of the surfer boys in the hostel had explained a shortcut to me so I didn't have to walk on the street all the time. The shortcut led across a vacant lot, through a half-open barbed wire fence, and then across a beach that's almost impassable at high tide. Luckily it was low tide and I could watch the dozens of crabs running back and forth on the beach. In the "centre" I was then in one of the 2 supermarkets and in the frutería, the only fruit dealer in the city. The way back was tough because I was fully laden, it was incredibly hot and I was still a bit bruised from my cold.
The view from the hostel. However, the beach down there was tiny and you couldn't really get into the water as the bottom was all sharp-edged rocks which became really visible at low tide. Even the surfers who ventured out there had to paddle quite far to be able to surf safely. Part of the hostel with the rooms. Here you could sit comfortably, eat or hang out. If the owners' 4 dogs haven't taken everything 😅 Another view of the sea. On the way to the supermarket I spotted a bear... ...and passed a beach teeming with crabs as the tide was low. The crabs pushed sand into their mouths while running and formed small balls out of it, which they then spat out again. Maybe that's how they filter food out of the sand? In downtown Santa Catalina.
The next day I had my first surf lesson. Keone lives just around the corner so we walked from his property to the beach with my beginner's board under our arm. There I had to do a few dry runs and then I went into the water. I was really surprised at how well I managed it for the first time. I got on the board well, then stood very securely and was able to take the waves almost to the beach. But afterwards I realized that it was so easy because Keone always told me the right time to get up. You need a good feeling for the waves and the right timing. And I had the "toy board" as Keone called it. Running back into the deeper water was super exhausting and so I was pretty exhausted after the hour, but extremely hooked and shortly afterwards I threw myself into the waves again on my own. It didn't go so well this time. I came back to the hostel completely exhausted and with bruises. But I had made up my mind to go surfing again the next day.
Santa Catalina's surfing beach. At high tide and when the waves were good, surfers would hang out in the water waiting for the perfect wave.
Since the tide shifts a little every day, the next day early in the morning was the best time to surf. Keone had a surf lesson with 2 girls from my hostel around 7, but since it was too early for me, I picked up a surfboard from him around 8 and dragged it to the beach by myself. This time I didn't get it at all. But that was probably because I had a smaller board this time. So I gave up and tried again in the afternoon with another board. Somehow the air was out or the board was still too difficult to handle, but I hardly managed to get a wave and then stay on the board. I knew from the day before that I could theoretically do it. I had now spent so much time surfing that I wanted to stay in Santa Catalina longer to learn more about surfing and get some work done on the blog. So I extended my stay again. I had only booked 2 days anyway, because I wanted to have a look at the hostel first. Since the Surfers Paradise cannot be found on any hotel platforms, it was quite relaxed and the woman at the reception/kitchen/bar just nodded when I told her that I wanted to stay another 2 days. Without having to look in any reservation book. In the hostel I got to know Amina. An absolutely tough and cool woman of my age who was born in Algeria, has lived in Germany for several years and speaks 5 languages fluently. Super impressive. I went surfing with her the next day. She had just finished her first surfing lesson but was just as hooked as I was. This time I had the toy board again but the waves weren't that good so we chilled in the water most of the time waiting for a good wave which I got more or less well.
Unfortunately I only have this one picture while surfing and I got it from a video. Because the first time I was alone on the beach and when surfing it's hard to take your cell phone with you. Then when I went surfing with Amina, she made a few videos. But I was just too far away for photos, mostly in the water and not on the board 😅 Enjoy the sunset on the beach. In the evening while showering I had company. I would have preferred a handsome young man, but he was really cute too 😉 So, as I was fumbling with the shower curtain to find the lizard, I spotted a scorpion at the bottom of the curtain that seemed to have been sitting there all along. I was super lucky that he stayed calm while I took a long shower and took photos of the lizard. This could have gone really wrong. I brought in Italo's wife and she said it was poisonous but not necessarily deadly. Ah yes. And we discovered a second scorpion, a cub. An absolute highlight for me. I don't want to explain what happened next. Maybe there was no other way, I can't judge that. In any case, it certainly affected my karma and made me feel bad.
The next day I changed accommodation again because one of the hotels that I had discovered in advance and found really nice had become vacant. Italo, the owner of Surfers Paradise kindly drove me there in the afternoon and I moved into my pretty bamboo hut overlooking the beach. I had agreed in advance with Amina that I would pick her up later on the beach, because she doesn't have any social media. Super good 🙂 We wanted to go shopping together in the village and get money and I had to go back to the old accommodation because I hadn't paid for the overnight stays yet.
The Rancho Estero in Santa Catalina. My hut is on the right in the picture. And again my hut. I love bamboo bungalows. In the morning the sun shone through cracks, that was great 🌞 And that was my view. Massage and yoga were provided by Ruben, a Spaniard who studied Hinduism in India and now travels and does some volunteer work at the hotel. He also wants to travel to Colombia in early April and we might want to meet up there if the time is right.
For the next two days I hung out in my new accommodation, diligently blogging, cooking, relaxing and every now and then Amina would drop by to visit me. I actually haven't been surfing again. Since the accommodation was only available for 3 nights, I took the shuttle bus back to David on the 14th, even though my appointment wasn't until the 17th. But I was also happy to see the guys again who, by the way, have been living in the hostel in David for quite a while and managing the guests' bookings there. The two picked me up from the bus station and brought Naomi with them, a young girl from Switzerland who they met a few weeks ago in the hostel and who the boys also visited for a few days. We went back to the supermarket and in the evening Roger made us chicken schnitzel and pesto noodles and we watched a disturbing film called Gummo.
On the way from Santa Catalina we stopped briefly because there are police checkpoints all over the country at the borders with the provinces. That's where I took this photo. Chicken schnitzel with pesto noodles from Roger.
The next day there was a lot to talk about because the two are planning to open their own hostel. The concept sounds very good, but the right location is still missing. The two had an appointment with a broker for a potential property in the morning and asked if we wanted to come along. So we looked at the property in David together, which was quite dusty but definitely had potential. In the afternoon we decided to go to the beach to watch the sunset. The beach is only about half an hour's drive from David. On the way there we again listened to loud music and sang along. Less than 30 minutes after we had made ourselves comfortable on the beach with wine and snacks, it started to rain. Joe and Naomi had walked a bit and arrived completely soaked at the restaurant where Roger and I had sheltered under the roof. Since the sunset had now fallen into the water, we drove back to David, had dinner and then watched a 3-hour Indian action film, which we only managed half of.
Chilling out on the beach with Roger, Joe and Naomi. Unfortunately I can't publish all the other pictures that we have on our trips. In the US Army, where Roger served for many years and was also in crisis areas, there seems to be a rule that no pictures of the ex-soldier may be published for the next 5 years after service. Probably for security reasons. So I pixelated this picture.
The next day I had to go to the doctor again and called my taxi driver again. After the doctor's visit, I planned my trip for the next few days, because I wanted to move on to Panama City afterwards. When it was dark, Allan, who has also been living in the hostel for a while but works part-time and is a passionate street artist, gave a small fire show in the hostel. In the evening we watched the rest of the Indian action film, which was a mix of kitsch, fight and love story. It was really nice to sit outside and watch a movie with snacks and lovely people. It was very relaxing and I felt really good.
Allan at his fire show. Too bad you can't post videos here.
Somehow the roof fell on all of us and so we spontaneously drove to Boquete the next day. Roger and Joe had a retreat there in a hostel whose owners they are friends with. So another road trip to Boquete and more music to sing along to. The hostel was really pretty and there was a garden and a table tennis table. Naomi and I went for a walk around town because she wanted to go to a thrift store to look for a specific pair of pants. I already know why I've avoided clothes shops so far, because somehow you can always find something 🙄 After that we went to lunch and to an ice cream shop with amazingly good ice cream. The guys were pretty jealous when we came back with ice cream on our hands. But I wouldn't have made my ball anyway, so I shared with them. We played table tennis, I finished my blog and listened to the music from the restaurant next door, which was just to my liking. And I was playing a game on an old Nintendo slot machine where you had to shoot down enemy spaceships. super cool We had a nice meal in a Mexican restaurant and then drove back to David, with loud music, including from the Spice Girls and The Prodigy. Oh, what I would give to see them live again. Not the Spice Girls, they're back, aren't they?
nThe ice cream shop in Boquete had flavors like Salted Caramel Brownie and Chunky Monkey, whatever that was. Completely engrossed in the Nintendo slot machine ❤️
Since there was a trade fair in David, the three of them really wanted to go there. I somehow didn't feel like it and stayed in the hostel. At around 3 a.m. I heard her come back. We actually wanted to drive to Panama City at 9 a.m. the next day. But I could have imagined that nothing would happen at 9 a.m. Nevertheless, I set my alarm for 6:30 a.m., for whatever reason. I actually wanted to take the bus to Panama City, but since the boys happened to be going there anyway and Naomi also had to go to the capital, it was a perfect fit. Just not with the punctual departure. When I went to have my coffee in the smoking corner, Roger was lying there on a couch and asleep. Naomi and Joe weren't seen either. So I tried to relax and not think about the time. However, I didn't feel so good and had a fever of 38 degrees in the morning. The wait felt more like torture. And I didn't want to leave that late either, because the drive to Panama City takes about 7 hours. Sometime around noon we finally left. I was happy when we were out of town and the pleasant headwind improved my condition a bit. Naomi slept most of the time and Joe and Roger listened to music. I just sat there and tried to distract myself with food and a movie. Short stopover at Joe's sister and little niece in a place called Aguadulce and then on. Naomi had booked the same hostel as me and so the two of them dropped us off there in the late evening. Goodbyes aren't really my thing, so I tried to keep it short. But I am convinced that I will see the boys again soon. Noami booked a bed in the dorm and I booked a single room, as always.
I wanted to go to the San Blas Islands the day after next and still had to take care of the transfer, and I also needed a new cell phone card and money. In the hostel they were able to organize the transfer for me, but it took half the day and didn't really give me any peace. Luckily there were ATMs and supermarkets nearby, so I was able to check that off quickly. I hung out in the hostel for the rest of the day, as did most of the other fairly young people, some of whom I didn't like very much. Except for the handsome Norwegian, who had lost his passport and is now waiting at the hostel to get a new one so that he can travel to Colombia, I didn't really talk to anyone.
The next morning at 5.30 a.m. I was picked up by a driver and then we went the almost 120 kilometers in almost 4 hours to the pier in Carti, where the boats to San Blas start.
Next time you will read what awaited me on the dreamlike San Blas and why I cannot share the romanticized opinion of many of San Blas.
By the way, I have booked a flight and will be arriving on 3.5. back to Germany.
