Globetrotters

Parque Nacional G.D. Omar Torrijos Herrera
Known locally as Parque Omar, this park was named after the General de Division whose plane crashed in the jungle here in 1981. It’s a drive of about 1 ½ hours from Playa Blanca & we set out on a gorgeous day to explore the area. The park straddles The Continental Divide & on a clear day you can see both the Pacific & the Caribbean Oceans from the top! Encompassing 27,275 hectares the wildlife you may see includes many species of birds, sloths, monkeys & even the elusive jaguar stalks the forest here-WOW!
The park also houses a research station & I contacted them about a visit. I was told the road is strictly for 4 wheel drive vehicles & costs $20 for a ride to the top. Of course Hans decided that the intrepid Fortuner was up to the task of driving to the top & off we went!
We have an excellent ‘adventure map’ of Panama, BUT the roads give no indication of where you are on the map as they’re not marked, nor are there any road signs for turn-offs & such-LOL! Of course we got lost & ended up driving along a dirt road in some remote area with no people in sight. FINALLY we saw some folks hanging out in front of a tiny house & I jumped out to ask about the park’s location. They had no idea what I was talking about! Luckily I remembered the name of the last town before the park & this they recognized….they burst into hysterical laughter & slapped each other heartily while pointing at me! Always up for a good laugh, I joined in despite a feeling of foreboding about this drive.
They pointed back to where we had come from & said we needed to return & take a turn we’d missed way back there somewhere-OOPS! We finally got our bearings & arrived at the park ‘entrance’. No one around so we proceeded up the hill. The dirt road posed no problem & we rudely laughed at the weenies who thought this needed 4 wheel drive….be careful what you laugh at! Soon the road changed & became steeper & more & more rugged. It no longer even remotely resembled a real road but was simply a collection of ruts & rocks! I clung to the door-rest as the Fortuner clung to the road & steadily climbed higher & higher. Even Hans looked a bit freaked out at times as we fell down into holes & crawled back out again. Definitely glad for the high suspension of our vehicle at that point or we’d have bottomed out for sure!

Finally the road became impassable even for Hans & his formidable Fortuner & we were reduced to walking the last bit to the top. Scrambling over rocks, we wished we’d worn hiking boots-4 wheel drive for our feet-LOL! At last, huffing & puffing & soaked in sweat (me at least!) we arrived at the peak of the Continental Divide….only to find ourselves in the ‘cloud forest’! No view at this time of year-boohoo!

We walked back down to a trail around the visitor’s center. In the thick of the jungle, the trail takes you through the lush landscape of the forest as it existed before the loggers denuded the land here. Absolutely still except for the exuberant chirping of birds & frogs, surrounding us yet invisible in the trees. We sat on a bench to experience it fully. Hans pointed to a movement in the trees trying to show me a tiny red bird he’d spotted. I peered into the dark woods & suddenly, a few feet in front of my face, flashed a bright orange blob! I looked up to see a Orange Bellied Trogon bird fluffing itself on a branch right next to us!

A bird watcher’s delight, this bird hung out around us for quite some time, posing & puffing for our enjoyment! Lucky us!
Traditional communities can be found within the park, with no road access or electricity, eking out a subsistence lifestyle as their people have done for generations in the rainforest. You may visit these villages by pre-arrangement with park officials & the villagers will provide you with a meal & overnight lodgings. It’s a 7 hour hike down into the village & a 5 hour horse ride back up…we took a rain check! BUT we’ll definitely return in the rainy season when the view is spectacular-not to mention what the drive will be like in the mud!

Up up & away! My menopausal meltdown in the fierce heat of Playa Blanca inspired us to head for the hills! We decided to visit Boquete, a community of expats in the mountains about a 5 hour drive from us.

The town itself is not much to speak of but the landscape is spectacular! Set at an altitude of 3,878 feet on the slope of Volcan Baru towering 11,450 feet above sea level.

Boquete enjoys eternal spring & is home to coffee plantations, jungles & the elusive resplendent quetzal bird. The ‘bajareque’ is a “unique weather phenomenon that occurs when a fine misting rain is pushed from the Atlantic & into the highlands. The mist is so soft it ‘caresses the face’ as locals say.” (Excerpted from Frommer’s Panama).

When we arrived the mist felt more like a smack in the face, blown as it was on a wild wind. Wonderfully cold, I felt immediately chilled! I delighted in each goose bump popping out while Hans yelled “TOO COLD! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? WHERE’S THE SPRINGTIME?” He put on his windbreaker while I soaked up the cool.

We stayed at Finca Lerida, a B&B coffee plantation high above the town.

They had their own trails through the jungle & also offered guided hikes. Why would we need a guide with marked trails? We set off on a two hour trek through the jungle on a trail that ran along a ledge sticking out from a mountainside. Amazing views of the foliage above & below us & a clear blue sky (along with the breeze!) made for great hiking. BUT no bird sightings.

So we broke down & hired a guide. Jason arrived the next morning armed with his bird book & promptly informed us (in excellent English) that he was rather new at this! Uh-oh! He proved to be more modest than truthful as we ended up sighting 2 of the elusive quetzals & A SLOTH!

Why hire a guide? Well it’s NOT about the looking in quetzal bird watching, it’s about the listening! Jason listened for the birds & then imitated their call to lure them to us! The female came to check him out as a mate (not cute enough, I told him after she flew off) & we watched her flit through the trees for quite awhile. The male came to challenge Jason & we had a spectacular view of him flying through a patch of sun that irradiated his iridescent plumage so he positively glowed, his long tail flowing out behind him-what a sight! Truly resplendent!

Where we had stood staring stupidly into the foliage, Jason spotted birds at a glance & pointed them out to us-WOW! If you’re reading this & planning a trip to Boquete, call him locally at 6718-62-79-he’s well worth it!

The sloth sighting was my all time fabulous favorite! Jason pointed out a big blob in the tree above us & said it was a sloth. I wanted it to move so I could get a good look but Jason told us it only moves 2 hours out of 24 & then a mere 20 yards before stopping to rest again! SOOOOO SLLOOWWW is the sloth that it actually grows algae on its fur!

As he told us these facts IT MOVED! Ever so slowly it uncurled from its balled up position, unfurled a paw & began to CLIMB DOWN THE TREE! I had to stifle myself so I wouldn’t freak the poor thing out. On the verge of imploding, I punched Jason in the arm to vent my excitement! He took it in stride, smiling at me & said “It’s very exciting yes?” YES! The little critter climbed down to where we got a great look at him & calmly munched some leaves, then curled up in a fork in the tree for another snooze. Awesome!

We took a tour of the coffee plantation & I recommend you call ahead to schedule this with the manager himself. Coffee is his passion & his tour in intense, you will never feel the same about coffee again! We spent 2&1/2 hours learning about the coffee production process, from the field to the tasting room.

It’s much like making wine & since Hans grew up on a farm growing wine grapes (among other things) he proved a good student for our coffee maestro.

Finca Lerida strives for sustainable ecologically conscious coffee production & works hard to develop environmentally sound practices. For example, coffee requires a LOT of water to process BUT the government is quite strict about effluent entering the rivers (put this in the back of your mind for future reference OK?). So Finca Lerida has developed a process whereby the water remains in an enclosed system. The technology is quite advanced & the entire process is a continual science experiment.

Finca Lerida specializes in gourmet coffees. We did a ‘cupping’ with the manager who tastes brews daily to ensure quality control. With each taste test he knows exactly what happened in the process to produce a less than perfect brew-amazing!

Our drive to Bocas del Toro took us over the Continental Divide & we lucked out with the weather! Clear blue skies offered panoramic views of the mountains all the way to the coast-WOW! Big rains had washed out the road in many places which made for challenging driving. But Hans & the Fortuner handled it fine. The Caribbean side of Panama is quite poor & we saw lots of wooden huts with thatched roofs & people living in appalling conditions.

Bocas is an archipelago with many islands scattered around the ocean so we boarded a skiff ferry to take us to the biggest island, where we began our explorations. As we motored out of the marina my Caribbean dreams were dashed. Ramshackle shacks lined the shore with dilapidated docks leading out to tiny buildings perched precariously at the end of each dock. I asked Hans what those were & he just looked at me- “Outhouses”. HUH? You mean “plop plop fizz fizz oh what a relief it is” directly into the ocean? Hans nodded. NASTY! Rewind your tapes to the coffee plantation’s strict gov’t guidelines for disposing of effluents into the rivers! No such protections exist for the ocean, just a big toilet it seems.

Luckily we spent our 2 days in Bocas far out on the water, away from shore-LOL! On one boat tour I asked our guide (a local Panamanian) about the ocean dumping. He yelled out “NASTY” & I just cracked up! He went on to say how Panamanians are not at all ecologically aware of how sensitive the ocean is & trash as well as sewage finds its way into the sea. He felt this hurt his business as tourists go to Costa Rica for eco-tours because Panama needs to clean up its act. Interesting to hear a local say what I thought about when we visited Costa Rica. I do believe that sustainable tourism may help save the planet, along with giving locals work.

Now we’re back at Playa Blanca for awhile. I’m back to being ‘swampthing’, sweaty & soaked whenever we’re outside, which is LOTS! The good news though is that they’ve completed the ‘Laguna’ here-the 2nd largest swimming pool in the world! It’s 17 acres of salt water (600,000 gallons!) we can swim, kayak, even sail on-FUN! And COOL too-LOL!

Franklin details cars here in the parking lot at Playa Blanca. One day we drove in & saw him working on a car so I ran over to ask him to do our Fortuner. He opened the car door & removed the glove compartment! Next he reached in & yanked out a filter totally black & nasty-YUCK! If this weren’t disgusting enough he proceeds to sniff it, then crunch up his face, hold it away from him & state the obvious “stinky” (malodor) in Spanish!

Duly impressed by his ability to ferret out the nasties in our car we asked him when he could work on it.

“Manana” he told us.

At 10am he arrived. I watched him ‘work’ from our window….hose in hand he’d scrub some, and then chat on his cell phone for awhile. He removed the floor mats, and then a buddy came by for a ‘visit’-more chatting! This was my kinda guy! No sense killing yourself working in this hot tropical sun!

By 1:00 I thought we ought to go down & give a gentle prod so he’d finish by nightfall. Franklin looked happy to see us & proudly gave us a tour of what he’d cleaned so far-gleaming in the sun, the car looked wonderful. I asked if he was finished & he looked shocked. Pointing to the engine & various other cubby holes he indicated he was far from done.

Then he pointed to himself, looked me straight in the eye & announced “I am a man.” I resorted to my usual tactic when confused by the ‘lingo thingo” & made a friendly face, smiled encouragingly at him, nodded my head & said “Si, si.” Hans asked what Franklin had said & I told him “He said he’s a man.” Hans looked confused & said “Was there some doubt?” I jabbed him in the gut-“DO NOT make me laugh!”

Franklin carefully watched this exchange, hoping for some response. Not getting any he decided to approach us with a different strategy. Using the old standby when in a communication glitch, he shouted out the same words, only this time LOUD & CLEAR! Pointing vigorously at himself he shouted “I AM A MAN.”

I stepped back, not sure where he was headed with this. I decided it was best to placate him so I shouted back at him enthusiastically in Spanish “SI MUY HOMBRE, MUCHO HOMBRE!” Giving him a vigorous thumbs up sign, I felt I had done my best to assure him of his virility.

Now it was Franklin’s turn to look confused & a tad terrified. He stepped back & stared at me. Then he opened his mouth WIDE! He pointed into that toothless cavern & yelled at me “TENGO HAMBRE.”

Suddenly the confusion cleared & it dawned on my menopausal mind what this poor guy was saying….”I am hungry.” In Spanish hombre (man) sounds a lot like hambre (hungry), especially if you have geezer ears & menopausal mind fog-LOL! I burst out laughing, to the consternation of both Hans & Franklin. I explained to Hans the confusion & he asked “Is lunch included in his job?” Guess so!

Off we went to scrounge up a bite to eat for Franklin…now if you’ve known me long at all you know I’m a food freak & follow Rose’s Rule of Food: You must be able to feed at least 10 people at a moment’s notice. This comes from living in a LARGE overextended Italian family where hordes of cousins might descend upon you at any time, demanding to be fed. If you failed in this family duty, the aunties talked bad about you. Heaven forbid!

It took us 3-4 months to ‘eat down’ all the food I had stored in our pantry, freezer & frig before we left Florida. BUT those days are gone forever! Our condo is too small to indulge in stockpiling for the Apocalypse. Plus the months of purging 30 years of accumulated STUFF transformed us into minimalists. Thus we found ourselves scrounging around the kitchen for food for Franklin!

I held up a jar of peanut butter & yelled out “How about a PBJ sandwich?” Hans held aloft his prize “With a banana?” Together we shouted “The Elvis special!” & cracked up. I wasn’t sure how this foreign treat would go over with a Panamanian but Hans had faith that Franklin would share his love for the Elvis special.

I decided to let Hans handle the lunch offering to practice his Spanish. I watched from the 9^th floor window as Hans approached Franklin & held out his treat. Even from my eyrie I could clearly see Franklin recoil with a look of horror on his face! Hans smiled, rubbed his stomach & proffered the plate again. This time Franklin held up his hand & shook his head! I imagined Hans encouragingly saying “MMMM-bueno!” Finally hunger overcame distaste & Franklin took a tiny nibble…his face lit up! A new convert to the Elvis special-too funny!