Bienvenidos a Boquete!

I'd have to say that Boquete was my favorite vacation in all of Panama. Don't get me wrong - the jungle is great and San Blas was gorgeous. But I'm not the bathing suit type of person - I love my mountains!! And boy were there mountains in Boquete. The town reminded me a lot of Eugene - it has a lot of art and is more developed than most of the rest of Panama.

We rented a car from the city (which ended up being the best idea) and drove to Boquete on a Wednesday. We arrived at the hostel around 10:30pm where we were greeted by 15 other Kalu Yala interns! We basically took over the hostel and to make it even better, the hostel was throwing a beer pong tournament! So fun - by the end of it, I was playing beer pong with wine - I know. Bad idea. But the game must go on.

Here are some highlights from the trip:

1 - Coffee Tour

Boquete is famous for their coffee. Most of the hillsides are covered in coffee plants. We arranged a tour through our hostel and visited Finca la Melagrosa, which means Miracle Farm. Tito, the owner, grows 8 different varieties on his farm where most others only have about 3. He grows a certain type called Geisha which is the most special coffee you can buy. It costs $40 a pound and about $10 for a cup.

Tito makes all his own tools from old car parts! He never was a mechanic, and had to figure everything out himself. It was so cool to see coffee from start to finish. From the greenest tree to the darkest roast. 

Green  beans - ready for roasting.

Italian, American, and French Roasts. French is darkest.

 The tool you see above is another creation. It's what Tito calls the "Scroon". Screw and Spoon. 

2 - Hot Springs

Ian and Greg at the Hot Springs.

The  next day we visited the hot springs outside of Boquete. A few of our friends warned us of a monkey that hangs out near the there. Apparently when they went to visit, they were feeding the monkey (stupid), so the monkey was being rambunctious and jumping on people's backs. As well as stealing wallets, cigarettes, shoes, etc. However, when we went, she was fine and didn't bother us too much or steal anything. 

Crazy monkey

3 - Zip-lining!!!

At the first platform!

No one from my group wanted to zip-line and I really wanted to go. So I decided to go by myself! I was skeptical at first, but I really wanted to go. Luckily it was through the hostel, so there were other hostel-goers there with me. It was soo much fun. What a blast. 

View from a platform.

I met a few folks there and we ended up hanging out the whole time - Stephanie and her boyfriend Jason and Jaime (boy). By the end of the zip-lining experience, I had agreed to hike Volcan Baru with them! 

4 - Volcan Baru

A little blurry - but you get the idea.

Boquete is famous for this Volcano as well as the hike. It's the highest point in all of Panama and guide books recommend the hike to anyone. But it isn't easy. On the hike, you gain over 1000 km (~3,200 ft) in elevation and the total length is about 28 km - 14 each way (~8.6 miles). You start at midnight so you can get to the top by the time of sunrise. We left at 11:45pm and reached the top by 5:50am. It stayed clear at the top for about 10 min and then clouds started rolling in. Apparently when it's clear, you can see the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean at the same time. (This wasn't the case for us tho). 

View from the top.

All in all, it was such a great experience - and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to hike a Volcano - let alone be at the highest point in Panama.

The jungle isn't afraid anymore!

Well it's been a whirlwind of a past - what - 2 weeks?

In the valley last, we had a lot going on. The wind really came to basecamp, and at one point it tore off part of our tarp structure. We had to fix it the next morning, so everything was back to normal pretty quick. It was the only day that we had crazy weather - but let me tell you, being in the valley with a rainstorm was a little intimidating.

That same morning, the gate to our property got left open and the local campasinos (farmers) were herding their cows to another field. So the cows wandered in and were heading straight for the tents! They rallied the cows with their horses and all was good after about 30 minutes.

I was able to get some work done! Finally. Kylie, an outdoor rec intern, and I made table for herbs that she plans on planting for the valley. The table from concept to finished project:

Drawing of the table

The finished product!!

Another project that happened was something called a "Magic Circle". This thing is cool. You dig a pit of about 3 feet deep and around the pit you plant banana trees alternating with yuka plant (similar to potatoes). In the middle of the pit is where compost goes. Also in there you plant nitrogen rich plants to keep the soil enriched. Within 3 years the trees will be grown and you never have to turn the compost! So cool - so we tried it in the valley:

Kelsey and her Magic Circle

The design build team was commissioned to help out the Outreach team remodel a classroom in San Miguel. It was a plain concrete building that needed interior painting, tiling, and roof panels. We started by painting the inside. Some students were so excited - they wanted to help out so bad. Within 5 minutes, only the children were painting!

This may not be the safest way to paint...

And then we played baseball with the little kids. I captured a good moment where one girl ran over to the pitcher who fell on the ground and was pretending to hit him with the bat! Crazy kids.

Because it's Panama and we're young interns, there wasn't enough materials to finish the room - let alone just painting the walls. So we had to come back another day and work some more. The walls aren't square, so getting started was tough, but we got the room started and will hopefully finish it this week.

From this point on should be for non-family members only.....

On one of the trips out, the car got a little stuck. It wasn't raining, but the road has a lot of ditches, so it slipped into one. We ended up getting the car out pretty easily, but it was a sight to come up upon.

I'll leave you with that one! Welcome to Panama. And as we say here "Gotcha!"

Joining the Kuna's

Alas! Another vacation. Can you believe it? Just another opportunity to see the wonders of Panama.

This weekend we visited Kuna Yala. But it's also known as San Blas. It's an entire national park owned by Kuna's - local indigenous people that have owned the land for years. It's a strip of land that runs along the northern edge of Panama on the Caribbean. On the map below, you can see the islands near the words Rio Sidra.

Map off Google showing where Kuna Yala is.

The Kuna's only opened up their land to the public about 30 years ago. Off of the mainland, there are about 360 islands, where about 30 are allowed visitors. The drive from Panama City takes about 2.5 hours. It's a crazy drive with lots of curves and ups and downs! Let's just say it's not a good drive to do when you get car sick easily, but I made it there in one piece.

A hill on the way back from San Blas aka Kuna Yala

View from the drive.

The island we stayed at was called Tony Island. You can walk around the whole thing in about 5 minutes. The beach was soft white sand and the water was knee height for about 100 feet off the shore.

Tony Island

Basically the only thing to do here is lay on the beach and go into the water. Being Irish, Scottish, English, and German - I was skeptical. Main item to bring? Sunscreen!! I didn't burn, and I did get a little color. A.k.a. white, but not as white :) Needless to say, it was a relaxing weekend and definitely a place that is meant to be experienced. Here are some highlights:

My friend Kylie and I hanging out on the beach.

The most beautiful sunset ever!!!

Just a little Israeli eye-candy :)

A crab Emily found in her clothes. It didn't like marshmallows....

Some local Kuna artwork

Pine tress in Panama??