A one hour flight from Panama City and we were landing in the city of David ... still stinky, sticky and hungry as ever. With only carry-on backpacks, we exited the airport quite quickly and hailed a friendly looking cab driver to take us to the bus station. Dario couldn't speak much english but he wasn't going to let that stop him...you could tell that he wanted to chat. Since our stomachs were grumbling, I uttered a word that I knew was universally understood ..."McDonalds" 😆 Before even 5 min had passed, we were pulling up to the restaurant parking lot and running inside. We invited Dario to join us and enjoyed a quick bite and conversation with him using google translate on our phones.
Instead of taking us to the bus station, Dario asked if he could take us to our next destination. He negotiated hard and in the end, we felt the few extra dollars it cost and the time it saved, was worth it. At this point we all just wanted to find our next lodgings, have a shower and crawl into a comfy bed.
We hit the jackpot with our next Airbnb. The place that I booked was under construction so they gave us a family suite at the next-door hotel for no additional cost. It was positively palatial after our few days on the sailboat! 3 big bedrooms, 2 huge bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, dining area AND laundry!! We all had some of the best showers we've ever had and retreated to our own rooms for some much needed alone time and rest.
The next morning revealed just how stunning Boquete was! Our hotel was surrounded by rainforest, nestled against a hillside with a creek running through it. The property was full of beautiful flowering bushes and trees and many species of birds.
We spent the next day wandering around the charming little mountain town. Tourists and expats flock to Boquete for the cooler climate and beautiful natural surroundings. It's a region known for its amazing coffee, flowers, veggies and fruit growing. Boquete is only a few blocks long but it is loaded with many great restaurants and shops. The temperature was around 22 degrees Celsius and there was no humidity! Yay!
From this tranquil spot, we drove back in the direction from which we came to another gravel road. We bumped along this route for about 15 minutes and parked the vehicle at the end of the road. We followed our guide on another hike for about 15 minutes to a small farm where an elderly lady came out of her home and across a bridge to collect a small fee to use her property. There were 3 natural pools, spread out and hidden amongst the trees, each one with a different temperature of water. Our guide called them soft, so-so and mucho calliante! We eased ourselves in slowly to the soft pool and took our time to work up to the hottest water. The temperature outside was starting to feel really warm at this time of day and I couldn't even dip my toes into the hottest pool. I chose instead to wander down to the river for a soak in some much cooler water. (Jeff and Max were able to tolerate the hot pool but only for a little while)
Our time was very short and sweet in Boquete. I wish I had booked us a little longer stay but hindsight is often that way when travelling, isn't it?!! The places you plan to stay for a longer period of time, you sometimes wish were a shorter duration and vice versa. I guess that's why people travel to the same destinations again and again ... they are able to refine their itineraries to perfection!😉
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