Coffee,
Flowers, Nature and More
In The Mountains Of
Chiriqui, Panama ~ by Zvia Leibler-Danon
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It
was about half a year ago that I heard about the flower fair in Boquete
and decided it was time to see what people were talking about - a valley
village located in the highlands of West Panama filled with flowers, extraordinary
birds and coffee farms on its slopes, amazing mountain views and spring
like weather year round. We spent a weekend at the lovely
La Montaña y El Valle - The Coffee Estate Inn nestled in an
orange and coffee farm, facing the spectacular view of Volcan Barú.
This extraordinary inn is owned and run by a Canadian couple, Barry Robbins
and Jane Walker. As Panama becomes more and more international, there are
many interesting stories to be told – definitely food for thought for others
who want to make a change in their lives.
At 45 and 46
years of age and after 27 years of working in Information Technology, Barry
and Jane decided to sell their home and quit their careers. For eight months,
they tent-camped throughout Mexico and Central America armed with a camera
and a laptop. Each country and the people fascinated them, but Boquete
became their home. As they say: “You know when you have found your place;
the Boquete valley just felt right”. They bought a gorgeous-view coffee
and orange farm in February of 1996. They built the guest bungalows and
their beautiful home and began landscaping their gorgeous gardens and trails.
In December of the same year, they opened La Montaña y el Valle
- The Coffee Estate Inn.
The hotel has
three bungalows which are exactly the same size and design. Each has a
terrace, kitchen, living room with dining area and a separate bedroom with
a bath and hot water. All bungalows face the Barú volcano and have
spectacular views. My husband and I went for a romantic weekend escape
and stayed at the “Jewel”, the most desirable accommodation and the most
romantic terrace facing colorful rainbows almost every morning.
Jane and Barry
are very attentive hosts. They also prepare and serve elegant candlelit
dinners in the bungalows, either on the terrace or in the dining room.
It was exactly what we needed after a day of traveling and exploring our
new environment which we got used to very quickly.
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| Boquete
is combination of cool highlands and tropical greenery. |
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The next day,
after having fruit muffins prepared by Barry and fresh squeezed orange
juice from the estate, off we went to explore the Flower Fair which was
beautiful but didn’t take that long to look at - let’s just say – it wasn’t
a big event like I expected it to be from the advertisement it had in the
newspapers and other visitor magazines. Later on, we explored by car the
various hotels and inns, and different bungalows and decided that we had
definitely found the best and most luxurious place in Boquete.
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| A shot
of one of the bungalows in La Montaña y El Valle Hotel. |
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Barry
and Jane were very helpful in suggesting where to go and what to see and
provided before our arrival an information package based on their adventures
and experiences in Panama: what to do and see in Boquete, services of their
hotel, and general information about Panama. I found it to be very thoughtful
and helpful and easy to plan before arrival and not waste any precious
time. Boquete is known for its coffee farms, hiking and nature tours including
bird watching, nature treks, waterfalls, mountain loop drives, nature trails
and hot springs. There are also a few pampering spots such as the health
SPA at the Panamonte hotel. Also, there are private technicians who specialize
in different types of massages and Energy Renew Therapy. In their information
package they suggest various nature tours (including river rafting in Chiriqui)
and professional guides.
We continued
to explore Boquete and found Mi jardin es su jardin (My garden is your
garden)—Beautiful gardens of the Gonzales family open to the public-Amazing!
I wouldn’t mind having such beautiful gardens that make your eyes watery
from all the greenery and the colorful flowers that simply make you want
to smile.
Strolling around
the town is easy and enjoyable- we visited a few handicraft shops, sat
in a few coffee shops and had lunch at the Boquete Bistro restaurant which
offers continental food and is housed in a historical building. The restaurant
has an interesting full wall mural painted by a famous Panamanian artist. |
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Apart from
the beautiful mountains, the volcano, the flowers and the fresh air, a
big attraction is Boquete’s coffee. There are several coffee estates, usually
family owned and run for several generations, such as Café Ruíz,
Kotowaa Coffee, Lerida coffee farm (Panamonte Hotel) and Café Sitton.
People have been saying for years that Colombia has the best coffee - well,
this might be changing. Boquete is the place for coffee farms, special
coffee tours which include explanations of the processing and coffee tasting.
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a matter of fact, Barry and Jane cultivate the traditional Arabica coffee
in their estate. The coffee is handpicked at the peak of the season but
until then guests enjoy a guided complimentary tour conducted by Barry
which ends with a coffee roasting demonstration. We found the tour very
interesting and informative. During our stay we had made a few special
stops at different estates to try the different coffee.
The next day
we drove to the Caldera area where we visited the undeveloped hot springs.
I think we had to pay about $2 a person in order to pass. It was quite
of an adventure since we had to pass some kind of forest in order to get
to these special hot springs. People from all over come to see and dip
in the hot hot water in order to ease their aches. We also met a man from
the Ngobe Bugle tribe who came to fill a few bottles of water to take back
to his village – for the purpose of drinking and for curing.
Interesting!
That same day
we headed back to the David Airport expecting to fly on the 5:00 p.m. plane
back to Panama City - but unfortunately that did not happen! Even though
we got there on time - the young girl at the front desk told us we were
simply not on her list of confirmed passengers and that we should wait
and see if there will possibly be a space for us. We were in shock and
terribly upset since we had already paid for these tickets and we were
expected at work the next day. It was a strange scene since we were not
the only ones “bounced off” this plane - there were about 10 of us: a family,
the two of us and three Panamanian models who had come to the Boquete flower
fair. |
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The
Caldera River runs through the town of Boquete.
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There was
a lot of shouting, complaining, cursing - nothing helped. It made all of
us think that some dirty business went on behind the desk on our account
for the benefit of other passengers. So, we rented a car, offered a ride
to the three models and off we went. Let me tell you it wasn’t a pleasant
drive! The road from David to Santiago is a very bad road and at night
kind of spooky. Once we got to Santiago (after 3 hours of driving) we stopped
to have a pizza and regain our energy for 4 more hours of driving in the
dark.
Conclusion:
Boquete is a very peaceful place and a great place for nature lovers and
perhaps for retirees. But do confirm your flights even twice if needed,
think twice about driving at night and always be prepared for the unexpected
- ha ha.
Helpful
Information:
Getting
to Boquete:
· Bus
from Panama City to David (about $10)—Main bus lines are Cinco Estrellas
and Padafront. A bus from David to Boquete is about $2 (in total it’s about
7 hours)
· The
recommended way: Fly to David from Panama City on Aeroperlas ($54 per person
one way) – rent a car and drive about 45 minutes to Boquete ( a car is
useful for exploring the area)
· Contact
Budget, National, Avis, Thrifty or Hertz to make reservations for car pick
up at the David airport (this can be done on the phone from Panama City)
· www.coffeeestateinn.com
· Boquete
fair grounds-best from – December until Easter
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| Zvia Leibler-Danon
grew up in Israel and has lived in Panama for the last 5 years. She is
a teacher at a local school in Panama City and has recently graduated from
Florida State University-Panama where she majored in International Affairs.
Her interests include: tropical islands, alternative medicine, local art
and of course spas and yoga retreats up on the mountains of Panama. Zvia
offers market research reports related to Panama. If you wish to contact
her write: zldarticles@yahoo.com |
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