Boquete, Panama

We are now in Boquete, a little town in the mountains of Panama. It feels like we´re in a completely different country. It is actually a little cold here, so it´s been a nice break from the over 100 degree weather we´ve been sweating in everyday. The air is so clean and crisp here, I always find myself just taking a deep breath to soak it all in. The people here are very friendly and alot of people still wear native traditional clothing, very bright colorful cloths.

This town is surrounded by mountains and a huge volcano. Today we went to some natural hot springs- heated by the volcano. I was expecting something touristy in some kind of resort. The taxi driver just dropped us off and told us to walk down a path for 45 minutes. The path was pretty steep and rocky so when we heard a truck coming we flagged it down to ask for a ride. The guy said to jump in the back. We went around to the back to meet 3 big dogs that looked like mixes of pitbulls and rotweilers. Ty jumped up with no problem, but when I started to get in they all started barking at me. The guy told Ty that they wouldn´t bite me. So we rode in the bed of this truck down a path with these 3 scary dogs (one of which only had 3 legs) for aways, I was white knuckled clinching to the side of the truck trying not to make eye contact with the dogs that for some reason liked Ty and not me. It was a fun experience. Anyway, the truck took us as far as he was going then we walked the rest of the way. The hot springs were as natural as they get. They were just groups of springs surrounded by rocks on a family´s farm. We paid the family a dollar to use them. We were the only people there, it was so amazing. The farm was on a river so we just spent hours going back and forth swimming in the river and the hot springs. I was so disappointed because I didn´t bring my camera, I pictured that we were going to some kind of Raging Waters where people would be everywhere and that my camer would get stolen. Too bad!

After the hot springs we went to an animal refuge. It was amazing. This couple from England moved here to dedicate their lives to rescuing animals that have been abused or are endagered and then releasing them back into the wild once they´re healthy. We saw so many amazing birds, monkeys and wild cats. We also got to hold and play with some of the monkeys, I´ll post pictures when we get home.

Yesterday we went on a killer hike on the Quetzal trail on the volcano. It was so beautiful, I can´t wait to share pictures. It is just so amazing how dense the jungle is leading up to the volcano. We didn´t have a guide, so we didn´t want to go to far and get lost, but we had an awesome time. The hike was exhausting, we were planning on going for an hour or two then taking a bus or taxi back into the town. But no bus or taxi ever came by when we got back to the main road so we ened up walking about 12 miles altogether. I didn´t think I was ever going to be able to walk again.

We are leaving Panama tomorrow and heading to Pavones in Costa Rica. Pavones is a legenday wave famous for giving the longest surf rides in the world (3 minute rides!) We are so excited and hope that the waves aren´t too big for us there. We are going to stay at a place that sounds pretty cool. It´s called the Yoga Farm. It´s 20$ a day for lodging, yoga classes over looking the ocean and 3 meals/day that are made purely from an organic garden in the back. I´m sure we will meet some really interesting people there.

I´m sorry that this was so detailed and long, but it´s the only way I´m documenting the trip since I don´t have a journal here!