This is our house: you walk up a dirt road that leads off the main road, for about 300 meters. You walk up the stone steps and follow a path about 200 meters through scrub brush, banana trees, spikey trees, other weird trees, and tons of little bushes that love to stick you with their seeds. Skinny little dirt path. The whole yard's dry as hay and full of huge volcanic boulders. If I was a kid I would be climbing all over them. I still need to do that one day: scale all of the big rocks in our yard. The whole place is screaming out for me to make little winding paths all through it to little garden courtyards. I may buy some little cactus plants, you know, those kind you can always find, I think the name has something to do with hens?
There a bougaivilleas everywhere. I am making a magic garden, with candles on the rocks, and I am making a brick patio and hanging windchimes that I'm going to make with seashells I found in Montezuma. Also, the island has every kind of large decorative seed you could dream of, which is fun to make stuff with.
Then we have a house at the end of this path. The most important room in the house is not a room, actually, it is the covered porch in front, which consists of a red cement patio supported by a few wooden beams. I spend 80 % of my waking time at the house on this patio. We have a hammock, and I just today bought a second hammock for myself. We have mosquito coils, an ashtray, Leia's dog bowl, and not too much else besides whatever we leave around. At the far corner are two doors, one to the kitchen, the other to the rest of the house.
I spend about another 15% of waking house time in the kitchen. We have an electric hotplate with two burners. Also we have a sink. There is good news and bad news about the sink. The good news is that I can drink the water! The bad news is that the sink is flat-bottomed. It is probably about 2 by 4 feet of slate with a drain in one corner. This is hateful to me, because all the gross little food bits (which are mega-gross and totally gag me to begin with) just float from one side of the sink to another like lost little souls in rotting food pergatory. But the nice thing is that we have a window over the sink where you can throw all your compost, and it really doesn't smell bad! I think because Leia almost immediately eats most of it. If you noticed that I do not mention any other appliances, a fridge for example, it is because we don't have one. But you know, rice and beans and veggies is all we eat, and that can last just fine from one meal to the next. But usually we give Leia the leftovers. She is useful like that, like a pig, but we don't get to eat her later. She's Thomas's puppy, a little mutt just the right size to be small without being a 'small dog'. Very obediant, pretty much leaves you alone, good tail wagger and watchdog. Very gentle.
Then inside the second door you come into the living room. There is nothing in the living room. Ok, just kidding, we have a machete, a tent, and a large sisal mat. Also hiking boots. The bummer is that the windows are totally open air (as is a large space between the roof and walls), so if you are not in the house you have to keep the windows shut so that the children don't come in and steal your stuff. There is a lightswitch that Thomas wired himself and occasionally gives you a good zap of electricity to keep you going strong.
Off of the living room are Thomas's room and my room. I have a little bed and a mosquito net. I am going to build some bamboo shelving to put my clothes on. I have two windows that look onto the yard (although I usually keep them locked and barred) and a little ledge on one wall where I keep most of my worldly possessions including tons of books.
When I first moved in I was a whirlwind of cleaning and scrubbing. I moved in 100% in less than 2 hours. I haven't cleaned my room since, even though the dust of dead insects is accumulating on my little shelf.
When I first got to the house, supplies were spare. The previous room mate had taken a lot of things with her. We had no tables. No chair. In the kitchen we had 2 pots (plenty), 2 pans (also plenty), two spoons, a fork, a butter knife, a cutting board, a half gallon tupperware, and one plastic coffee mug. For 4 people. We now have pretty much everything we need. Although the chair situation could improve. We have two broken plastic lawn chairs, but if you stack them, because they're broken in different spots, you can even lean back a little. Gently.
But what we do have is peace and quiet, relaxation, nobody telling us to do things differently, good friends, and fresh air 24-7. Thomas has a brilliant collection of world music and blues. One night I made minestrone soup for us, from scratch. I gave the cooked bones to Leia. We listened to Edith Piaf. Thomas ate out of the half gallon tupperware. I ate out of his little glass ashtray. And it's as happy as I have ever been.
We do our washing in the lake. The first time I really botched it, doing it in a rough spot with lots of waves, so I lost the soap in the lake and really just sort of 'rinsed' my clothes, then laid them to dry on a dead boat while I read on a tree that had fallen into the water.
My god, I am always so dirty here. We have the classic dustbowl situation: very dry land, all the dirt in dust. No pavement anywhere. Wind. Plus, it's about 90 degrees so I'm sweating buckets, and the dust just clings. People plan their days around midday heat, making sure they don't do ANYTHING. Or at least we do.
Funny story: I was swimming in the lake (we have a great swimming hole about 5 minutes from our house) and I played keep it up with a ball with some guys. I went home, and two of them caught up with me on horseback. We chatted a little, and then, in perfect English, this 16 year old tells me, 'I will visit you in the night. You will enjoy it very much'. The things you just don't expect, let me tell you. My little brother (also 16) better not be saying those kinds of things to the tourists in Boston.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Ometepe (The Beginning)
I had a headcold and I felt pretty lost without Jay. It was no big emotional thing- I had known from the start that this was the way things would go, and I didn't feel hurt or anything. But I felt sort of vulnerable and closed off at the same time. The trip from San Jose to the island was some of the smoothest traveling I have done, I landed a hostel, and I bunked down in Moyogalpa, the island's main city, for two days to weather out my cold. It's hard to travel when you're sick, even though colds never seem like much when you don't have one. Also I don't like meeting people when I'm snotty and gross.
Then I headed to Finca Magdelena to hopefully run into Thomas, my housemate to be. He often sells postcards at the finca, so I figured it would just work out. I was still sort of sick and didn't want to talk to anyone. I shared the 20 minute walk up the hill from the bus to the finca with a very French Frenchman. He liked to complain about the walk, which was onerous, but he was not sick. It's amazing, because Thomas is French but he is not like anyone from France I've ever met. He doesn't have the self-important bravado. He's part English, but he's not funny and vulgar like the English guys I've met. He's sort of a gentle, underspoken waif who is really good at saying exactly what he needs and gets along with everyone. He's sort of a watermark presence, in that he doesn't come off really strong but then you miss him when he isn't there.
At Magdelena I met Marcy and Leif, two friends who met while traveling. When I first saw them they were doing crazy modern dancing to the sunset, which I respected. We chatted, and it turns out that Leif is obsessed with coconuts and eats them every day. This was a major and also fairly eccentric thing to have in common. So we went into town to go coconut hunting. No luck, but we did eat at Cafe Campestre, owned by Ben and Sarah from England. I said hi to Ben, and asked him where Thomas lived. Without asking who I was, he gave me clear directions to my new house. This was good becasue who knows when Thomas would check his email and know I was here.
Lunch at Cafe Campestre deserves its own paragraph. I had a spring greens salad with slices of organic roasted chicken, avocado, beets, and honey mustard dressing. And the best garlic bread I've ever eaten on the side. Way out of my budget ( a seven dollar meal!) but really the most delicious food I've eaten in this country. If I ever actually start to make decent money here, I will for sure have to treat myself once in a while. Leif told me about his amazing education with the audobon school. He also did a semester at Kripalu, and is a massage therapist, and knows permaculture and wilderness survival and herbal healing. I wish I knew all that stuff!
That night Leif and Marcy invited me to participate in a full moon ceremony with them. It was also the spring equinox. We stated what we were grateful for and what we inteded and hoped for the future. We sang lots of beautiful rounds. It was so great to share something so special with practical strangers.
Then the next morning, Thomas arrived to bring me home! I was so relieved, because I was worried that the plan would fall through, especially becasue we had been having the minimum of communication since we last saw one another. But it all worked out. He also invited Marcy and Leif to come stay with us for the week or so they planned to be there. So we all set out for home together.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Panama II
Next we went to El Valle and stayed at a great little camping place. Except, you know, it was camping. We listened to fantastic live music and played vollyball, and went to some thermal pools. Also, it was really really carnival, and so the kids were sabotaging pedestrians. They lined the streets with waterguns, buckets of water, waterballoons, everything, and they attacked mericlessly. It was so fun to see socially mandated chaos. And they loved nailing "los americanos".
We went to Panama City, which was big and wealthy. The cab driver got very lost on the way to our hostel, and when we got to a very small and poorly labeled little place, the lady told us, "ugh, they never know where anything is". I thought that she was being bitter and crabby, but it turned out that actually cab drivers don't know where ANYTHING is in Panama city.
We visited a little bit of Carnival activities, getting some slushies and getting pegged on all sides with handfuls of paper conffetti. We explored several parts of the city and had a bunch of great meals. Getting Indian food was one of those moments that fill a huge gaping hole inside you that you had gotten used to. We also went out for Italian, Chinese, Pizza, and good desserts. I bought a cute dress, which I continue to wear every time I need to feel reborn and a little bit chic. It's very colorful and has a funny cut, you know, just the kind of thing I go for. I think I wore that dress for about 6 days straight after I got it. I don't want to sound slatternly or poor or despicabl gross or anything, but new clothes ARE that exiting when you have only had about 5 outfits for 6 months.
We did the requisite canal visit. It was pretty cool. There's not so much to say, or to see. Modernity. Commerce. Big boats. You can fill a loch faster than a bathtub. I did learn that. And that was cool.
Before the canal we woke up at 4 in the moring to go to Parque Nacional Soberania. It was a lush big national park that was very close to the city. We went with Jose, a really lovely guide who has been to the Darien Gap many times. This makes him a huge bad ass, ok? And he was so gentle and patient as Jay and I huffed and puffed along behind him. We saw an eagle, howler monkeys, white faced monkeys, coatis, little duck birds, blue morpho butterflies, a poisonous snake (about 30 seconds after I mentioned to Jay how relieved I was not to have ever encountered a poisonous snake in the wild), and A PACK OF WILD BOARS which our guide was scared of but I, not due to ignorance but rather an Indiana Jones brand of bravery and fuck-all, was not frightened by at all.
That night Jay and I took a 16 hour busride back to San Jose. Then Jay became sick, and by sick I mean he was super feverish and felt malaise. However, he was a major trooper. Not only did he not complain about being sick, or about being in a kind of shitty hostel, but he also did not complain when I made him drink my adaptogenic herbal tea. To top it all off, he decided that just what he needed for a swift and comfortable recovery was a 6 hour bus-ferry-bus-bus-taxi trip to Montezuma. Trooper.
He rested for the rest of the day in a hammock, while I explored a river running on top of a lime formation, with pools and tons of iguanas and little fishies and polliwogs. Then I collected seashells and made a three-course dinner.
Montezuma was beautiful, but overpriced. Very hippy, small town, but a lot of tourists. Our lodgings were beautiful and our hosts were gracious. The food in town was magnificent.
We went horseback riding along the beach to a waterfall which is one of only 7 in the world that falls directly into the ocean. I galloped through the surf, which, just to let you all know, is the main reason why I was born and why I exist. To gallop horses on the beach. That is the meaning of my life.
I couldn't walk regular for the next 6 days.
Then it was back to San Jose to take Jay to the airport. I was sad. He was also sad but expressed it in a caring and manly way whereas I cried. The next day I went off to Nicaragua. But that is a story for another time.
We went to Panama City, which was big and wealthy. The cab driver got very lost on the way to our hostel, and when we got to a very small and poorly labeled little place, the lady told us, "ugh, they never know where anything is". I thought that she was being bitter and crabby, but it turned out that actually cab drivers don't know where ANYTHING is in Panama city.
We visited a little bit of Carnival activities, getting some slushies and getting pegged on all sides with handfuls of paper conffetti. We explored several parts of the city and had a bunch of great meals. Getting Indian food was one of those moments that fill a huge gaping hole inside you that you had gotten used to. We also went out for Italian, Chinese, Pizza, and good desserts. I bought a cute dress, which I continue to wear every time I need to feel reborn and a little bit chic. It's very colorful and has a funny cut, you know, just the kind of thing I go for. I think I wore that dress for about 6 days straight after I got it. I don't want to sound slatternly or poor or despicabl gross or anything, but new clothes ARE that exiting when you have only had about 5 outfits for 6 months.
We did the requisite canal visit. It was pretty cool. There's not so much to say, or to see. Modernity. Commerce. Big boats. You can fill a loch faster than a bathtub. I did learn that. And that was cool.
Before the canal we woke up at 4 in the moring to go to Parque Nacional Soberania. It was a lush big national park that was very close to the city. We went with Jose, a really lovely guide who has been to the Darien Gap many times. This makes him a huge bad ass, ok? And he was so gentle and patient as Jay and I huffed and puffed along behind him. We saw an eagle, howler monkeys, white faced monkeys, coatis, little duck birds, blue morpho butterflies, a poisonous snake (about 30 seconds after I mentioned to Jay how relieved I was not to have ever encountered a poisonous snake in the wild), and A PACK OF WILD BOARS which our guide was scared of but I, not due to ignorance but rather an Indiana Jones brand of bravery and fuck-all, was not frightened by at all.
That night Jay and I took a 16 hour busride back to San Jose. Then Jay became sick, and by sick I mean he was super feverish and felt malaise. However, he was a major trooper. Not only did he not complain about being sick, or about being in a kind of shitty hostel, but he also did not complain when I made him drink my adaptogenic herbal tea. To top it all off, he decided that just what he needed for a swift and comfortable recovery was a 6 hour bus-ferry-bus-bus-taxi trip to Montezuma. Trooper.
He rested for the rest of the day in a hammock, while I explored a river running on top of a lime formation, with pools and tons of iguanas and little fishies and polliwogs. Then I collected seashells and made a three-course dinner.
Montezuma was beautiful, but overpriced. Very hippy, small town, but a lot of tourists. Our lodgings were beautiful and our hosts were gracious. The food in town was magnificent.
We went horseback riding along the beach to a waterfall which is one of only 7 in the world that falls directly into the ocean. I galloped through the surf, which, just to let you all know, is the main reason why I was born and why I exist. To gallop horses on the beach. That is the meaning of my life.
I couldn't walk regular for the next 6 days.
Then it was back to San Jose to take Jay to the airport. I was sad. He was also sad but expressed it in a caring and manly way whereas I cried. The next day I went off to Nicaragua. But that is a story for another time.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Panama Part 1
So first I was really exited about Jay coming, and it was all I could think about. Then I literally ran out of excitement and also it was too physically unbearable to be that worked up about the future. And then: what if he decides not to come? What if I miss the bus? What if he misses the plane? What if the plane crashes and he dies and I feel guilty for the rest my life? What if he comes and we meet up just fine but we don't like each other any more and have a horrible time for two weeks?
As you guessed, none of these things happened. So far we have had a wonderful time. I have been incredibly remiss with my blogging efforts, so I will try to catch up the highlights.
Day 1
I wake up at 5am in San Pablo, and leave Turrubares forever. Now, I like to make changes resonant and emotionally weighty and feel moody and grave about things, and consider how they have changed me and how I feel being positioned between two worlds, etc, but actually none of this interested me. My attitude was very clearly one of good riddance.
I got to San Jose and found the hostel, which was a new one. See, before I had stayed at Pangea, which is a great hostel but only if you like dance beats everywhere, all the time. When Jill recommened a great article about hostels in the Tico Times, I found the Molino Rojo. Our rooms was...very red. Actually I have never been in a redder room. And neither has Jack Nicholson.
It was raining in the morning, which freaked me out a little bit, because it isn't supposed to rain in Costa Rica in March and it's definitely not supposed to be raining when I pick up Jay. This is a disaster I hadn't even remembered to worry about.
I had some churros for breakfast, and then I SOLD 3 BOOKS. This is always difficult. But to make it easier, the lady would only give me store credit, and so there was little I could do to prevent me from buying 2 new books: Quartet, by Jean Rhys, and City of Thieves, by some guy. It felt like heaven to buy new books. 7th Street Books in San Jose has the best selection. Really really cosmopolitan. So of course it took me at least an hour to pick out the books.
Then I went to a piercing parlour and had my nose ring put back in. And then I went to a cafe and read, and bought some very bad hash browns.
It took me a little bit of searching to find the right bus, but I did find it. I was frustrated because it looked like I was going to get to the airport really early, and have to wait for Jay for 1 to 3 hours, and waiting for people makes me self-conscious. Luckily, I made friends with this cool couple who were traveling around the world teaching chakra hoolah hooping workshops. I think I am going to have to start dressing more like the kind of people I like. I obviously dress too normal because I don't think you could pick me out of crowd the way I picked these people out. I could see, by their loose, hemp clothes and long hair and artistic body jewelry that they were my people.
The second good thing that happened was that Jay made it through customs and baggage wicked fast. His luggage was embarassingly light compared to my pack. I had gotten rid of so many things, and still it was so huge.
The rest of the day I spent being extremely shy and nervous and giddy. Then we went out for very bad Italian food and were asleep by 9 oclock.
Day 2
We woke up early to catch the bus to Panama. Then we got horribly horribly lost and I asked directions at least 5 times, and when we caved to find a taxi the taxi driver drove us all the way across the city to somewhere I totally didn't recognize. What upset me about this was that it was exaclty the right place, and there is no way we ever could have found it without the ride.
We missed the earlier bus so we had to wait until 11. Then we were on a bus for 6 hours which was too long. Even though Jay was willing to quiz me on Spanish flashcards for a long time.
We got to the border after dark. It was very hot and rainy and my bag was heavy and I was sweaty. We stood in the line to get our exit stamps from CR. Then we had to wait in another, even longer line to get our entry stamps for Panama. After at least 45 minutes of waiting it was our turn, and the man said, where is your onward ticket. Well, I don't have one. You need one. Well, I don't know my plans yet. It doesn't matter. You must buy a bus ticket.
I had heard about this. Because theoretically you can't enter Costa Rica or Nicaragua without a return ticket either, but those countries do not take this rule seriously enough to put it into practice.
I was very hot and tired and frustrated from a very long day. And now someone IN CHARGE was trying to TAKE ADVANTAGE of me by making me pay 38 dollars for a ticket I didn't want. This activated my "Someone is telling me what to do" sensor. So, I got upset. I informed the personel that it was not fair and I did not want a ticket. At one point the man told me to go speak to some bus boy who speaks English, and then I really got upset, because on top of being told what to do I was being INSULTED. I told the man that I speak Spanish and understand every word he is saying but that it was not fair. There are many times when I do not understand anything someone says to me in Spanish but this was not one of those times. And you have to understand that Costa Ricans are the most nonconfrontational people on earth, and I was picking a fight. At one point I almost burst into tears, but I told Jay that I needed a moment, which he respected, and I closed my eyes and breathed and centered and did not have a meltdown. We finally bought our tickets and got through the border just in time to catch the last bus to David. I of course felt horrible the entire bus ride because I had been childish at the border and my plan had been to be on my best behavior in front of Jay. It's just that when I feel like I am being taken advantage of I feel like I have to defend myself. But there are some times when I need to just be graceful and recognize that fighting will not get me anywhere.
We got to David so late, that we missed the last bus to Boquete, where we had made a reservation for the night from a bus stop pay phone. So we took a taxi there, even though it was expensive. The taxi got lost and couldn't find our hostel for a while, but then finally managed to drop us off. Then he left us in front of a hostal that was... locked and closed for the night! We tried knocking. We tried walking around to different entrances. No one. So we walked to the supermarket and called from a pay phone. No answer. I bought a Milky Way and a package of blueberry fig newtons as a consolation prize, then asked the cashier for a hostel recommendation. Across the park. We stumbled over to Mamallena, where the lights were still on and the door was still open. Do you have any private doubles? Actually, do you have ANYTHING? Luckily, they did, even though it was bunks in dorms. But the hostel was great, laid back, lots of young people to talk to. And a hot shower to take.
So, a good ending to the most frustrating day ever.
Day 3
ok, so now it is like 2 weeks later when i am writing this and there is no way i remember all the action blow for blow, day by day. in fact, i was so overwhelmed by how behind i was that i declared to jay that i was going to abandon blogging altogether. because he is magnificent in every way (joke. sort of.) he convinced me to do what i could. thus, the highlights.
Coffee Plantation Tour in Boquete
This was jay's thing, that he wanted to do, because after all when one has harvested coffee for over a week by hand, oneself, in the mountains of ecuador, you don't need to pay someone to tell you how it's done. How wrong I was. First of all, there were pine trees, which i honestly would have paid to see, all on their own. Boquete is at elevation and being out of a tropical climate was exhilarating. I learned a lot more about coffee than my ecuadorian host parents had ever been able to tell me because they were the kind of people who were averse to answering any questions whatsoever. Also Don Tito had used old car parts to build all of his machines, which was very cool. And we got to taste and make different roasts, and really it was just so interactive and fun.
We loved Boquete. It was for sure our favorite place in Panama. The temperature was comfortable, I got to wear my hat at night, there were hot water showers, and our hostel was fantastic.
Rugged Outdoors Adventure in Boquete
My thing was that i wanted to go to a waterfall. Actually, as many as possible. So there was a trail, and we went, but very late. Jay and I had a problem with getting out early in the day. You might assume this is a euphemism for, Jay and I could never stop cuddling in the morning and we stayed in bed most of the time. You would be wrong. While I can cuddle until I starve to death, Jay is a person who likes to DO things, which is one of the reasons we are a good team. Another is because I like him so much that I don't get really mad when he takes it upon himself to be my human alarm clock. I don't think he appreciates how special and unique this makes him.
Anyway the reason we had trouble getting out was because we had made no plans ahead of time. This includes hostel bookings.
Normally, this is fine. But when you decide to visit a country during THE BIGGEST PARTY OF THE YEAR, that is happening even though you had no idea it was happening, finding good lodging is an olympic challenge. It just so happened that it was Carnival. Add to that your own internal lack of itinerary, mix in some no habla ingles reception desks, and you have the entire morning.
So what I am getting at is that it was very late and so the sun was going to set and it was going to get cold. Swimming in the waterfall was not really that appealing. But we kept hiking. And then we saw a trail that was thin and dissapeared up the side of the bamboo covered mountain. Look, a trail! I said. I love little trails that I don't know where they go. And Jay said, let's follow it!
We climbed that mountain on a tenuous zig zag for probably 45 minutes. It was exquisitly beautiful. And when we got to the top we ate dates and brie on bread.
We walked part of the way back in the oncoming dark with two lovely kids who we met waiting for the bus. We didn't know if the bus was coming, although they assured us it was. We asked them how far it was to walk to Boquete. Oh, far, they said. That's Latin American specifics for you. How many hours do you think it would take? Oh, six?
Luckily, the bus came.
Before I get any further on what we did, I want to say what things were like. First of all, Jay and I got along just absolutely famously. This has been the case ever since we met, after we got over the awkward hump of being on a fairly blind date. He was an ideal travel companion: enthusiastic, curious, laid back, accomodating, funny, and real nice to look at. We were sort of 'that' couple, you know, the ones with stars in their eyes who are nauseatingly attentive, affectionate, and adorable. I never stopped feeling super grateful that he was there with me, that he not only tolerated me but continued to like me, and that he treated me better than I ever could have asked for. We had some really great, interesting conversations. They ranged from what happens when we die to what would happen if one of a pair of inseperable siamese twins committed a murder, how would you deal with jail because the other one had been tied and gagged and so it wasn't his fault? (Ok, I came up with that one. Also, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section)
Then there was panama. I didn't think much of it, after all, its name is sort of boring and i had never heard to much about travel there. But i LOVED it. It was amazing, really, because it is a more wealthy and developed nation than Costa Rica. This means that things were by and large comfortable, convenient, safe and user friendly. However, it had so much more culture and personality than Costa Rica, or even, dare I say, Nicaragua. There were indigenous women still wearing gorgeous traditional clothes, selling hand made tapestries. There were things for sale in gift shops that were way cooler than shot glasses that said the country's name. There was a feeling that this country had figured itself out and even adjusted pretty well to the 21st century. I would highly recommend travel in Panama, and I would love to go back.
Geisha Coffee
Is famous. It won a lot of awards. And Boquete is famous for cultivating it. As with all nice things, it is mostly an export good, and so there is only one cafe in town that sells it. Jay and I totally went because he loves coffee and i love nice things. We paid 9 dollars for 10 oz of this majestic coffee.
And I did not like it. Because what 'citrus notes' and 'fruity body' and 'sparkly' actually translate to is, this coffee is unbearably tangy and doesn't really taste like coffee. Banana bread and teaching Jay Rummy 500, which he procedude to woop my ass in for the rest of the trip, totally made up for the dissapointment, though. And anyway, I suppose its better that I like the cheaper stuff.
*Ok, so I am currently on Ometepe. Jay has gone home. I am leaving on a bus quite soon. So I am going to publish this post as is, and hopefully I will finish with the rest of the trip soonish. Where I am moving has very bad internet, so it may be a little while. Jay, please feel free to add any of your own anecdotes or corrections for Boquete and San Jose number 1 in the comments section*
Coffee Plantation Tour in Boquete
This was jay's thing, that he wanted to do, because after all when one has harvested coffee for over a week by hand, oneself, in the mountains of ecuador, you don't need to pay someone to tell you how it's done. How wrong I was. First of all, there were pine trees, which i honestly would have paid to see, all on their own. Boquete is at elevation and being out of a tropical climate was exhilarating. I learned a lot more about coffee than my ecuadorian host parents had ever been able to tell me because they were the kind of people who were averse to answering any questions whatsoever. Also Don Tito had used old car parts to build all of his machines, which was very cool. And we got to taste and make different roasts, and really it was just so interactive and fun.
We loved Boquete. It was for sure our favorite place in Panama. The temperature was comfortable, I got to wear my hat at night, there were hot water showers, and our hostel was fantastic.
Rugged Outdoors Adventure in Boquete
My thing was that i wanted to go to a waterfall. Actually, as many as possible. So there was a trail, and we went, but very late. Jay and I had a problem with getting out early in the day. You might assume this is a euphemism for, Jay and I could never stop cuddling in the morning and we stayed in bed most of the time. You would be wrong. While I can cuddle until I starve to death, Jay is a person who likes to DO things, which is one of the reasons we are a good team. Another is because I like him so much that I don't get really mad when he takes it upon himself to be my human alarm clock. I don't think he appreciates how special and unique this makes him.
Anyway the reason we had trouble getting out was because we had made no plans ahead of time. This includes hostel bookings.
Normally, this is fine. But when you decide to visit a country during THE BIGGEST PARTY OF THE YEAR, that is happening even though you had no idea it was happening, finding good lodging is an olympic challenge. It just so happened that it was Carnival. Add to that your own internal lack of itinerary, mix in some no habla ingles reception desks, and you have the entire morning.
So what I am getting at is that it was very late and so the sun was going to set and it was going to get cold. Swimming in the waterfall was not really that appealing. But we kept hiking. And then we saw a trail that was thin and dissapeared up the side of the bamboo covered mountain. Look, a trail! I said. I love little trails that I don't know where they go. And Jay said, let's follow it!
We climbed that mountain on a tenuous zig zag for probably 45 minutes. It was exquisitly beautiful. And when we got to the top we ate dates and brie on bread.
We walked part of the way back in the oncoming dark with two lovely kids who we met waiting for the bus. We didn't know if the bus was coming, although they assured us it was. We asked them how far it was to walk to Boquete. Oh, far, they said. That's Latin American specifics for you. How many hours do you think it would take? Oh, six?
Luckily, the bus came.
Before I get any further on what we did, I want to say what things were like. First of all, Jay and I got along just absolutely famously. This has been the case ever since we met, after we got over the awkward hump of being on a fairly blind date. He was an ideal travel companion: enthusiastic, curious, laid back, accomodating, funny, and real nice to look at. We were sort of 'that' couple, you know, the ones with stars in their eyes who are nauseatingly attentive, affectionate, and adorable. I never stopped feeling super grateful that he was there with me, that he not only tolerated me but continued to like me, and that he treated me better than I ever could have asked for. We had some really great, interesting conversations. They ranged from what happens when we die to what would happen if one of a pair of inseperable siamese twins committed a murder, how would you deal with jail because the other one had been tied and gagged and so it wasn't his fault? (Ok, I came up with that one. Also, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section)
Then there was panama. I didn't think much of it, after all, its name is sort of boring and i had never heard to much about travel there. But i LOVED it. It was amazing, really, because it is a more wealthy and developed nation than Costa Rica. This means that things were by and large comfortable, convenient, safe and user friendly. However, it had so much more culture and personality than Costa Rica, or even, dare I say, Nicaragua. There were indigenous women still wearing gorgeous traditional clothes, selling hand made tapestries. There were things for sale in gift shops that were way cooler than shot glasses that said the country's name. There was a feeling that this country had figured itself out and even adjusted pretty well to the 21st century. I would highly recommend travel in Panama, and I would love to go back.
Geisha Coffee
Is famous. It won a lot of awards. And Boquete is famous for cultivating it. As with all nice things, it is mostly an export good, and so there is only one cafe in town that sells it. Jay and I totally went because he loves coffee and i love nice things. We paid 9 dollars for 10 oz of this majestic coffee.
And I did not like it. Because what 'citrus notes' and 'fruity body' and 'sparkly' actually translate to is, this coffee is unbearably tangy and doesn't really taste like coffee. Banana bread and teaching Jay Rummy 500, which he procedude to woop my ass in for the rest of the trip, totally made up for the dissapointment, though. And anyway, I suppose its better that I like the cheaper stuff.
*Ok, so I am currently on Ometepe. Jay has gone home. I am leaving on a bus quite soon. So I am going to publish this post as is, and hopefully I will finish with the rest of the trip soonish. Where I am moving has very bad internet, so it may be a little while. Jay, please feel free to add any of your own anecdotes or corrections for Boquete and San Jose number 1 in the comments section*
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