| Coffee,
Flowers, Nature and More |
| In The
Mountains Of Chiriqui, Panama |
| by Zvia Leibler-Danon |
| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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.
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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Offshore
Resources Gallery
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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. |
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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.
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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Offshore
Resources Gallery
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| As 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.
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:
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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)
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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)
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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)
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www.coffeeestateinn.com
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Boquete
fair grounds-best from – December until Easter |
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