Boquete, Day One

We awoke this morning to blue sky, sunshine and the wind rustling through the tall pines surrounding the house. Excited to take in the beauty here, Susann made coffee and we sat out on the verandah, enjoying our morning coffee ritual and listening to the birds and wind whispering through the trees. Apparently, most mornings are like this throughout the dry season (December – April).

Marni’s cottage is comfortable, quite delightful and certainly reflects her artistic flair.

 The yard is as she promised, park like with awesome views and we are thankful that we found this haven.

The house sits back from the quiet road and on a clear day we can see the Pacific Ocean in the distance from the rear verandah. The front of the house looks out towards Volcan Baru (extinct volcano) and highest peak in Chiriqui province.

 

Following coffee, we ventured into Boquete, looking for the Sugar and Spice restaurant for breakfast and a loaf of fresh baked bread. The restaurant is a gringo favorite and was busy as always. Next door is Casa Solutions, a local realty office. We stopped by to pick up our complimentary map of Boquete and chatted with Nonito, who gave us some insight into the realty market here, and the many locations, all with their own microclimate. We have a large learning curve ahead as we try to hone up on our Spanish and learn about local culture and life here in the mountains of Panama. Locals are friendly and a warm smile goes a long way when one has not mastered the language.

Our morning exploration took us through town and around the square to the cell phone store, where we got a sim card for Susann’s phone and purchased minutes. This was easier than we expected, but given that there are about 2000 ex-pats living here, plus the volume of visiting tourists, I’m sure they deal with this on a daily basis. Our next stop was the bank, where we deposited our rent money into the landlady’s bank account. All banks have armed guards as you enter, and it is a requirement to remove hats and sunglasses. This transaction went without a hitch, the fact that the banker we dealt with spoke English was certainly a great help. Next stop was the grocery store (there are 3 or 4 in town) and they were reminiscent of ones we visited in the small towns of Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Cuts of meat were different, cheese selection poor, a disaster for Alan, who lives on cheese. Given that this area of Panama is where most of the fruits and vegetables are grown, I was shocked at the limited selection and poor quality available in this store. We later learned that there are small produce stores and a weekly market, held every Tuesday morning with selection and quality more in keeping with what we have been used to in North America. This initial cursory stroll through the store indicated that a trip to David City might be more fruitful, no pun intended. Prices seemed more expensive than I had anticipated, many being on par with the states.

Later that evening we ventured out for dinner since we were not yet set up to cook at the cottage. Not knowing the area or our way around proved somewhat challenging. Based on internet reviews, we drove out to Il Pianist, a recommended Italian restaurant, only to learn upon our arrival that Thursday was the day they closed. We headed back to town and settled on "Big Daddy's", a favorite of the tourists. The fare was mainly fish, which was fresh and good and the redeeming fact was that beer was $1 bottle.

After a busy few days, we were not long out of bed upon our return. The climate here in Boquete is described as eternal spring, with daytime temperatures between 70 & 75F, and night time lows dropping about 10F. This makes for wonderful sleeping, especially in the dry season. Heat nor air conditioning are required here and it is cool and calming to sleep with the windows open, being lulled to sleep by the sound of the wind rustling through the trees. Tomorrow is a new day and another adventure.