We woke up the next day in a considerable amount of pain (mike and Sarah were soar from the hike, and my shoulder hurt from the fall). We went to breakfast, and met up with the coffee company for our tour. We went to this really cool plantation, and learned all about coffee. It was informative, and interesting, and overall a very cool tour. I now think of coffee similarly as I do wine. There is an art to it, and every little thing makes a huge difference.
After the tour we got into a taxi and went back to David to catch our flight back to Panama city. Once there we got into another cab, and had him take us back. I asked the driver where the best Panamanian food was, and he insisted it was El Rico Pollo. He loved that place so much he drove us there, and went on and on about how wonderful it was. He eventually took us back to the hostel, and we changed and went to dinner.
We ended up finding this place really close to the hostel that was super nice and really cheap (its good to be in Central America). We got steaks and some sangria, it was delicious.
We then met up with some Austrians, a few Germans, a couple of Brits along with a french man and a few other Americans at our hostel. There was also this weird guy from Ecuador who was very touchy feely and made me very awkward. We drank for a while, and then we all walked to calle Uruguay where we were told it would be a party. As it turns out the street was kind of dead, but we ended up going to the same bar I was at the very first night, and had a good time. we sat down for a while and Sarah took a liking to the British guy (he was cross-eyed). Mike and I were hanging out with the Austrians. We were having a good time until something about the Holocaust came up, and one girl was grilling me about it. It was just awkward, and terrible. Eventually around 2 Mike and I headed back, and were in bed by 3:30ish. Sarah came home around 7 or so.
The next day we woke up, went to get breakfast, and then headed to the airport. Our trip was over, and honestly in an appropriate amount of time, I was getting kind of tiered. I think I may be getting too old to be doing the backpacking hostel ting. I have a great time, but I'm exhausted.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Boquete and Volcan Baru
Early on the morning of the 29th we headed to the domestic airport, and then flew out to David. Once in David we walked around the market a little bit. It was cool, but mostly similar to other third world markets I've seen before. soon we took a bus (we got on while it was moving) to Boquete. We arrived at out hotel (which was paid for by the airlines due to a scheduling mistake by them), and began to do research about the volcano. We soon learned we should rent equipment and head up that night, spend the night on the volcano, and then hike down in the morning. SO we found a hostel to rent us the equipment, and headed up around 2ish. It's important to remember that we woke up around 4:30 or so to catch a 6:30 flight to David this morning, so we were all already very tiered.
As we were dropped off we saw a sign that said 15 KM to the volcano, which was concerning, because we were told it was 11 to the summit, so if it was 15 to the volcano we would never make it in a day.we were walking, and eventually asked a local farmer how far to the volcano's peek, and were told 135 KMs, which was again concerning. Soon after this we came to the ranger station, and found out that it was only 13.5 KMs from there to the summit. So we paid out entrance fee, and began our accent to the top. It was gruellingly steep, and every step was very difficult. There were places with at least a 70 degree incline. We walked for a few hours, and eventually Sarah noticed that the landscape was similar to Scotland, except without sheep. Luckily about ten minutes later we came across a heard of sheep being ;lead down the mountain. It was actually really crazy, and one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It kind of reminded me of the bulls I saw on the bike path in Holland, except less dangerous.
After the sheep we continued to climb, and it became obvious that Mike was the weak link in this group. He began to become very slow, and was struggling around every curve. we began to take more and more breaks, and around 6 it became obvious that we could never make it before dark, so we decided to high tail it for the next hour or so until sundown and then take a break before dark. Mike couldn't have been struggling more at this point, but he pressed onwards. Around 5 minutes to sundown we had just walked up this incredibly steep section, and so we decided to call it dinner time prematurely. We sat for a while and ate and laughed. Over all our spirits were high, but the cold was coming, so we needed to bundle up with winter coats and hats. Around 7:30 we headed out to continue on our journey. It was really cold, but moving was keeping us warm. The stars were out, and everything was making creepy forest sounds. After about an hour Sarah's flash light ran out of batteries, and Mikes followed soon after, so we were all sharing mine, which made things even more difficult. We came across a cat, which kind of freaked us out a little bit. and continued our slow accent in the dark.
Around 9:30 after numerous breaks we finally found the campsite. We were tiered, sweaty, and horribly in need of a good night sleep. I began to attempt to build a fire, but because of the altitude, and because there had obviously been many other travelers who had made fires here, there was no dry wood available to make one. We tried with the wet wood, but had no success, and eventually just called it a lost cause, and went to go to sleep. I began to build our tent in this shelter that was at the campsite. While building it I accidentally fell through a hole in that platform, and only caught myself from falling the 10 or so feet to the ground with my arm. However, by catching myself I think i hyper extended my shoulder, I thin threw myself back on the platform and laid there in horrible pain for a while. I then finished making the tent and tried to go to sleep.
Once in the tent we all tried to go to sleep, but were having a hard time doing so. I was still wet from sweating so much during the hike, and since it was below freezing at night, I was shivering, and in a lot of pain from my shoulder. Eventually I had to be switched into the middle because I was so cold we thought the body heat from Mike and Sarah would help me. It did, but only minimally. I then began to feel Sarah shivering, so the two of us huddled together and tried to keep each other warm. Eventually we did fall asleep for an hour or so, but we then had to get up to get to the top for sunrise.
We packed up the tent, and began to hike in the dark the rest of the way up the volcano. We got up to the top, and it was really cool. We could see both oceans from the top, and see into south and north America. Unfortunately it became unbearably cold and windy up there, so we had to go down a little bit to get some shelter from the buildings on the top of the volcano. I think it was like a radio or television broadcast antenna or something, but there were a bunch of different buildings up there, and we sat behind one to block the wind. We stayed up there for about an hour and a half, and just kind of enjoyed the view, but after a while we began our decent.
On the way down we were going much faster, but we were constantly twisting our ankles, and slipping on loose rocks. It was less physically demanding than the way up, but was much more taxing on your ankles and feet. I believe we were fine for about 8 or so KMs, but then we began to break down. Sarah was first, she began not speaking to us, and became kind of irritable. Next was Mike, with about 3 KMs left he began to guess that around every corner was the end. Even I became a little tiered towards the end, but eventually we made it. It was actually kind of cool walking down, only because it was crazy steep that it was hard to believe that we had actually done this. Honestly I was kind of proud of Mike that he was able to do this, and didn't quit, because I can imagine he must have had a terrible time the day before.
Once we arrived at the ranger station at the base we learned that there was no way to get back, which was concerning. Luckily we convinced one of the rangers to drive us to a main road where we were dropped off, and then caught a bus back to our hotel. We then fell asleep for a few hours, but forced ourselves to get up, get dinner, and then we were back in bed by 8ish.
Overall it was 2 crazy days, but probably the most memorable part of this trip so far.
As we were dropped off we saw a sign that said 15 KM to the volcano, which was concerning, because we were told it was 11 to the summit, so if it was 15 to the volcano we would never make it in a day.we were walking, and eventually asked a local farmer how far to the volcano's peek, and were told 135 KMs, which was again concerning. Soon after this we came to the ranger station, and found out that it was only 13.5 KMs from there to the summit. So we paid out entrance fee, and began our accent to the top. It was gruellingly steep, and every step was very difficult. There were places with at least a 70 degree incline. We walked for a few hours, and eventually Sarah noticed that the landscape was similar to Scotland, except without sheep. Luckily about ten minutes later we came across a heard of sheep being ;lead down the mountain. It was actually really crazy, and one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It kind of reminded me of the bulls I saw on the bike path in Holland, except less dangerous.
After the sheep we continued to climb, and it became obvious that Mike was the weak link in this group. He began to become very slow, and was struggling around every curve. we began to take more and more breaks, and around 6 it became obvious that we could never make it before dark, so we decided to high tail it for the next hour or so until sundown and then take a break before dark. Mike couldn't have been struggling more at this point, but he pressed onwards. Around 5 minutes to sundown we had just walked up this incredibly steep section, and so we decided to call it dinner time prematurely. We sat for a while and ate and laughed. Over all our spirits were high, but the cold was coming, so we needed to bundle up with winter coats and hats. Around 7:30 we headed out to continue on our journey. It was really cold, but moving was keeping us warm. The stars were out, and everything was making creepy forest sounds. After about an hour Sarah's flash light ran out of batteries, and Mikes followed soon after, so we were all sharing mine, which made things even more difficult. We came across a cat, which kind of freaked us out a little bit. and continued our slow accent in the dark.
Around 9:30 after numerous breaks we finally found the campsite. We were tiered, sweaty, and horribly in need of a good night sleep. I began to attempt to build a fire, but because of the altitude, and because there had obviously been many other travelers who had made fires here, there was no dry wood available to make one. We tried with the wet wood, but had no success, and eventually just called it a lost cause, and went to go to sleep. I began to build our tent in this shelter that was at the campsite. While building it I accidentally fell through a hole in that platform, and only caught myself from falling the 10 or so feet to the ground with my arm. However, by catching myself I think i hyper extended my shoulder, I thin threw myself back on the platform and laid there in horrible pain for a while. I then finished making the tent and tried to go to sleep.
Once in the tent we all tried to go to sleep, but were having a hard time doing so. I was still wet from sweating so much during the hike, and since it was below freezing at night, I was shivering, and in a lot of pain from my shoulder. Eventually I had to be switched into the middle because I was so cold we thought the body heat from Mike and Sarah would help me. It did, but only minimally. I then began to feel Sarah shivering, so the two of us huddled together and tried to keep each other warm. Eventually we did fall asleep for an hour or so, but we then had to get up to get to the top for sunrise.
We packed up the tent, and began to hike in the dark the rest of the way up the volcano. We got up to the top, and it was really cool. We could see both oceans from the top, and see into south and north America. Unfortunately it became unbearably cold and windy up there, so we had to go down a little bit to get some shelter from the buildings on the top of the volcano. I think it was like a radio or television broadcast antenna or something, but there were a bunch of different buildings up there, and we sat behind one to block the wind. We stayed up there for about an hour and a half, and just kind of enjoyed the view, but after a while we began our decent.
On the way down we were going much faster, but we were constantly twisting our ankles, and slipping on loose rocks. It was less physically demanding than the way up, but was much more taxing on your ankles and feet. I believe we were fine for about 8 or so KMs, but then we began to break down. Sarah was first, she began not speaking to us, and became kind of irritable. Next was Mike, with about 3 KMs left he began to guess that around every corner was the end. Even I became a little tiered towards the end, but eventually we made it. It was actually kind of cool walking down, only because it was crazy steep that it was hard to believe that we had actually done this. Honestly I was kind of proud of Mike that he was able to do this, and didn't quit, because I can imagine he must have had a terrible time the day before.
Once we arrived at the ranger station at the base we learned that there was no way to get back, which was concerning. Luckily we convinced one of the rangers to drive us to a main road where we were dropped off, and then caught a bus back to our hotel. We then fell asleep for a few hours, but forced ourselves to get up, get dinner, and then we were back in bed by 8ish.
Overall it was 2 crazy days, but probably the most memorable part of this trip so far.
Cosco Viejo
With our final day in Panama city we decided to go to the colonial section of town. It was kind of cool, but a little run down and had a lot of dangerous areas surrounding it. So dangerous that when we wondered off of the main strip for a moment a police officer came up to us, asked us where we were going, and then escorted us to the market we were going to to ensure nothing happened to us. We ended up walking all over the area, and even saw where the Panamanian president lives, which was cool. we then got milkshakes and called it a tour of colonial Panama.
Afterwards we went to this Lebanese place for dinner, which was good, but obviously not the local food. We then went to a place called green house for martinis (we read the were the best in the city), and then to another place for a beer. At the second place (an English pub) I met a guy who lived close to me in Chicago, so he bought me a shot, and then we parted.
After this we headed home because of our early flight in the morning.
Afterwards we went to this Lebanese place for dinner, which was good, but obviously not the local food. We then went to a place called green house for martinis (we read the were the best in the city), and then to another place for a beer. At the second place (an English pub) I met a guy who lived close to me in Chicago, so he bought me a shot, and then we parted.
After this we headed home because of our early flight in the morning.
Taboga Island
We decided that we had spent enough time in the city, and thought we would head out for one night to Taboga Island. Taboga island is a small island on the Pacific side of Panama with a population of 900. When we first arrived we walked around and discovered that there was only one hotel on the island (which makes sense for an island with a population of 900). So, we rented a room, but were kind of ripped off and paid 77 for the night. We then began to walk through town. The town was obviously tinny, but was very beautiful. The center of town was a church that was over 500 years old, and is the second oldest church in the western hemisphere. The church was playing music, mostly Christmas themed, which I would have thought to be annoying, but as it turns out was very surreal, and made the whole town just seem nice. You could hear the music faintly over everywhere on the island, it was kind of cool, and made the whole island even more surreal.
We then walked out of town and began to hike to the top of the island, where there was a giant cross overlooking the rest of the island. As it turns out it was a cool walk, and was a good warm up for the Volcano which we planned to hike in a few days. The only issue was that we had sandals on, and it was difficult to climb without traction. The top was really cool, and you could see the whole town, and still hear the music from the church, which was really awesome. Mike then began to sing "Te gusta Banditos" over and over again, which became kind of the theme song of the rest of our trip.
When we got back, we changed and went to the beach. It was actually really dirty, and had garbage everywhere, which isn't what you expect for these remote islands, but it was the case. We went in the ocean, but the water was so salty, we just got out and laid on the beach. After a while we got bored, we played with the sand, and eventually buried me completely in the sand.
After that we went back to the hotel, and realized that they also had a monopoly on restaurants, so we were forced to eat an expensive dinner there as well. After dinner we walked around, but obviously the town doesn't have too much going on, so we ended up just making silly drawings in the sand.
The next morning we headed back to Panama City.
We then walked out of town and began to hike to the top of the island, where there was a giant cross overlooking the rest of the island. As it turns out it was a cool walk, and was a good warm up for the Volcano which we planned to hike in a few days. The only issue was that we had sandals on, and it was difficult to climb without traction. The top was really cool, and you could see the whole town, and still hear the music from the church, which was really awesome. Mike then began to sing "Te gusta Banditos" over and over again, which became kind of the theme song of the rest of our trip.
When we got back, we changed and went to the beach. It was actually really dirty, and had garbage everywhere, which isn't what you expect for these remote islands, but it was the case. We went in the ocean, but the water was so salty, we just got out and laid on the beach. After a while we got bored, we played with the sand, and eventually buried me completely in the sand.
After that we went back to the hotel, and realized that they also had a monopoly on restaurants, so we were forced to eat an expensive dinner there as well. After dinner we walked around, but obviously the town doesn't have too much going on, so we ended up just making silly drawings in the sand.
The next morning we headed back to Panama City.
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