Boquete to Volcan Road Trip

We have heard and read much about Volcan, also known as Little Switzerland, and decided to take a day trip. The trip took us a little over an hour by car, taking the Pan American highway south, to the new Route Sur, to Volcan Road. Route Sur twists and turns as it crosses rivers and mountains, including some very steep grades, the new road surface however was in excellent shape.

The views and scenery were stunning, taking us through rural agricultural orange orchards, coffee, cattle and dairy farms. The landscape was very reminiscent of the rural areas of Switzerland and the photos certainly do not do it justice.

About the half way point, we crossed one of the many new bridges, and this particular one still had the old suspension bridge right alongside.
The cool, crystal clear rivers provide swimming havens for those seeking respite from the hot, sunny days



New bridge and old suspension bridge



Volcan, a quiet mountain town of about 10,000 inhabitants is home to many local farm workers, with three supermarkets and sufficient infrastructure to support the town. Unlike the compact community of Boquete, Volcan is quite spread out.
We stopped at a local realty office for some information, and learned that Dalys' Restaurant, where we hoped to have lunch and meet some ex-pats, was closed. "Manna" was suggested as a good spot to eat, but unfortunately we did not heed that advice. We elected to stop at "Kids World" and wine bar, which looked modern, clean and charming, which was all correct. Charming as it was, the food certainly did not meet expectations.

Our home bound trip included a beer break in a small rural community, where some of the local  patrons rode in on horseback, tied the horse under the shade of a tree, then crossed the road for an adult beverage.



Horse parked across the street from the bar
 

 



Local watering hole
 

It was a great day, capped off with a local Balboa beer, in a neat local watering hole.

Tim, Jan and ourselves have tipped an ale or two together, in numerous different and unique bars in several third world countries. This was just another of those fun and adventurous experiences with the friendly locals.