Boquete, Panama

We reached Alto Boquete then dropped over the hill and into the valley. The temperature was mild, maybe a high of 70F. The forested mountains were shrouded in low hanging clouds. We reached the city center and turned at the park. We were early for check in, so we just did a drive by to suss the house out.

Check out was at eleven and the drive today was only a mere 50 minutes or so up the mountain. We lingered until the last minute in order to kill as much time as possible waiting for the apartment in Boquete to be ready. Panamanian roads are a clear step above anything that their neighbors provide. The road up to Boquete was two lanes each way, nice and wide with a sizable shoulder.

We continued past and just drove around in the hills. Lots of coffee in the area and beautiful jungle covered mountainsides. It was nice to cruise around with the windows open and not come near to breaking a sweat. Lots of flowers and colorful landscapes.

We returned to town looking for a restaurant where we could keep an eye on our fully loaded car. Donde Giselle looked like it would do. We parked across the street and commandeered an outdoor table with a clear view of our rig. Panamanians are taking Covid seriously with thermometers and hand sanitizer at each entrance. As we sat on the patio enjoying our pizzas, a text came in telling us our apartment was ready to go.

After lunch, we drove over to meet Jon and move our gear into a cute little one bedroom flat sitting next to a fast running stream. His dog Chef came over to give us a sniff and see if we are alright. We got set up and took a short nap before walking into town in the late afternoon. Lots of traffic and people moving about. After hearing so much hype about all of the gringos that have settled here, I saw very few as we walked around town.

We entered a few shops along the main drag and I picked myself up a Panama hat. No, not that kind of Panama hat, a ball cap with a Panama flag on it. Maybe I can go undetected among the local population now. After a visit to the park and the market for water, we marched back up the hill to the house and settled in for the night.