More of Boquete

We rose the next day in Boquete to solid rain. We were told over and over again that the rain is not normal for this time of year. They have a rainy and dry season, and we were supposed to be there in the dry season. Oh well, it was still beautiful, but not very conducive to the hike we had planned. So we hopped on a chicken bus (called that because there is usually at least one chicken on there with you, often more) and headed out of town to a bookstore we had heard about. The Bookmark is the largest English language bookstore in Panama. It is chock full of used books from every genre imaginable - over 30,000 books at last count. Jonathan and I are speeding through our books, so we needed to stock up. We spent over an hour browsing and ended up buying 3 excellent books in great condition for $20!  

Back in Boquete it was still raining, at times completely horizontal rain. It can get very windy there, and the town sits down in the valley, so the weather just sits on top of the town, but you can see the sun shining in the mountains on either side. So we spent the afternoon reading our new books with our friends from CO and the other folks staying in the hostel. 

Despite the weather we still had big plans that night, because we had to head up to the house of the Packers fan Jonathan met, so we could watch the game at his house. We grabbed some beer and wine and headed up into the hills in a taxi with only vague directions. Things have an amazing way of working out for us, and even though we didn't know the exact street this guy lived on, the taxi driver drove us around his neighborhood, and he happened to be standing out in front of his house as we drove by. 

We were warmly welcomed into Dan's beautiful home and pretty soon were joined by Jerry and Erdy (a retired couple from WI who were a hoot), Steve (a great guy from MI who was starting his own farm and eco retreat here) and Ryan (a young guy from WI who works part of the year here as a real estate agent). Everyone brought delicious food & immediately started yelling at the players and cracking jokes, so we felt right at home. Unfortunately it wasn't a good game for the Packers, but it was a lot of fun for us. 

The next day was very rainy as well, but we were determined to go for a hike. We set off with our CO friends in an incredibly cramped little van that promised to drop us off by a trail head way up in the mountains. We were sure that once we were up there it wouldn't be raining anymore. Well, not only was it still raining, it was raining harder, but the land was absolutely gorgeous, so we just kept going. We hiked out to an amazing waterfall. By the time we got there I might as well have been standing under the waterfall, I was so wet. The hike back out was drier and we were in some incredible farm land. The way they can plant crops on these steep hillsides is almost dizzying to look at. We passed tons of coffee, some sugar cane, onions, corn, orange & papaya trees and even a Christmas tree farm!

In the afternoon we got to do a tour of Finca Dos Jefes, a farm that grows coffee under the label Cafe de las Lunes (coffee of the moon.) Dave, an American from Berkeley, CA, retired here about 8 years ago and bought an abandoned coffee farm. He was a serious coffee connossiour, but he knew nothing about growing coffee when he bought the place.  He gave a fantastic tour, explaining the history of coffee in the world & specifically in Panama,  how to grow the plants, how to process the beans, how to roast the coffee, and finally how to taste it. Dave's farm is organic, and he plants and harvests in coordination with the cycles of the moon - hence the name of his coffee!   It was fascinating, and I even got to roast some beans myself. 

We got a bunch of laundry done yesterday (washed, dried and folded for $3!) so now we are setting off to Panama City with clean smelling clothes. A miracle!