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From Islands to Highlands: Panama's Misty Boquete

© Colleen Kaleda

From the islands to the highlands I wander, still in Panama but feeling like I'm in a different country. Palm trees have morphed into pines, islands into steep mountain slopes, and sand into squishy, nutrient-rich soil where some of the world's finest coffee grows. And the breeze - oh the breeze! - comes laden with a fine, cool mist. I'm in heaven.

Heaven this time is Boquete, a pretty little mountain town in the foothills of the Volcan Baru, the highest point in Panama at 11,000 feet. No one can remember the last time Baru blew, or even rumbled, but the volcano still hasn't been classified as extinct. I hope my three days here doesn't include any volcano wake ups. I take the chance and settle in at Pension Virginia, right off the main town square. I fork over $7.50 and am shown a charming little room overlooking a small garden. Four turquoise-painted walls and a full-size bed with a flower print bedspread will be my home for the next three nights. Just off the hall is a balcony with a view of a chicken yard. Downstairs is a diner-style restaurant with ancient vinyl booths and dinners for $1.50. Will chicken be on the menu tonight? At least it will be fresh, I think...

Lounging in the pension's common area after a long day of planes, buses and cabs, I meet a fellow solo travelling woman. Heather is from California, a 20-year-old vagabond exploring Central America on a shoestring. She is talkative and tells me all about the free meals and lodging she's received in Panama. We go downstairs and have a big tasty dinner of yucca, vegetable and meat soup and beans and rice. The tab comes to $3 for both of us.

Heather is leaving the next morning for the coast. I ask her about her time in Boquete. She says it was amazing. But then she tells me about this friendly man in town. He told her he was a tour guide and would take her horseback riding for $4. She thought this was a fantastic deal and went for it. At the end of the horseback ride, given by a local ranch, the cost was really $25. She only had $10 in her pocket, so that's what she paid the ranch owner. Ever since, Heather has been trying to avoid this "tour guide" who wants to show her the valley for a cut-rate price.

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