Panama, The Canal and Beyond

Day Five – 11 Nov 2014

Weather: Sunny and warm

I changed my wake up call after to 6 am cause they were calling early and sure enough, I got a call at 5:40. So, they were either late with my 5:30 call or early with my 6 am one.

The sun rose just after six so I had everything packed and ready to go, so I was able to lay on the hammock for a while and watch the sun rise. I went down for a quick omelet and went out to see if the toucan had come back to the papaya tree outside the lobby. The birder in the group was out there waiting and moments later, one of them showed up.

We watched, took pics and waited….7:30 came and went and then we started to wonder what was going on. Gustavo said the bus had broken down and that they were going to send three smaller buses. (Remember, our regular bus is already in David with our luggage).

Just after 8 am, the buses arrived and we loaded up and were off. Halfway there we met up with the traffic that Gustavo said we were trying to get ahead of by leaving at 7:30. We moved slowly for a few kilometres and saw that two other main roads fed into this one so that it slowed traffic. Once we passed the second feeder, the traffic sped up and then we got to multi-lane roads. We got to the airport by 9:30. Gustavo had taken the first bus and gone on first to check us all in so when we arrived, he had the passports and boarding cards ready for each of us.

Our 11 am flight took off at 10 am. So, we were late leaving the hotel and early leaving the airport. The flight was on a Fokker 50 Air Panama aircraft.

The flight took about an hour and gave us a nice view of the southern entrance to the Canal.

We met up with our driver at the airport and left David, driving towards Cerro Punta – about 90 minutes away.

En route, Gustavo told us that the area is called Chiriqui which means Valley of the Moon. It has a population of about 440,000. It’s an important region for Panama for the agriculture. In the lowlands, they grow tomatoes, corn etc and in the highlands they grow colder weather plants like carrot, potato, onions, coffee etc.

Gustavo handed around a map to show where we were in relation to the “country to the west.” That’s better known as Costa Rica to the rest of us, but they don’t call it by name.

They don’t want to give it the extra exposure and attention given how its tourism industry has taken off.

So, when I decide to go to Costa Rica, I’ll got to my travel agent and say that I want to go to the country west of Panama.

The highest peak in Panama – Volcan Baru – is here. It’s among the 25 volcanoes in Panama though most of them are under water. I manage one pic of the Volcan when we pass it later.

We pass through some beautiful green hills as we climb into the highlands and Gustavo points out Cerro Punta – the pointed mountain. Below it is the 100 hectare stud farm.

It breeds thoroughbreds and employs 27 people and the owner had set up a tent for us to have lunch in the spot that is reserved for their own special functions like weddings. There were young horses in the paddock nearby and after getting some pics, we sat down for a delicious feed of rice, chicken, beef, salad and strawberry shortcake.

After lunch, we walked up to the stables where we were shown some of the horses boarded at the farm as well as some of their champions, like Dicky’s Cat, Tortellini Ted and Papa’s Bull. They had been bought in the US and brought here to breed.

The competition lifespan of the horses is 2 to 7 years but they’ll retire at 5 years if they are particularly successful. This way, they are bred when they are their most virile.

We were given a chance to feed some grass to the horses and then went inside to be shown where “the action” happens.

It’s in the centre of the stable in the open and the floor is a soft, cork-like material and there are padded sides so that the horses can be pushed up against them so that they don’t hurt themselves. Fifteen days later, the mare is checked to see if she is pregnant. The stud can have up to 3 mares in one day but after that, it can be risky.

Take note, guys.

After that, they brought out a work horse named Centurion and gave people a chance to sit on it and get their pic taken. The sun had come out and it was perfect weather for pics.

After a bathroom break, we headed back towards David. Apparently, there is a shorter route but that it’s too weavy for the big buses, and given that some had felt motion sickness on the slightly curvy drive up the mountain, the curvy road would have done them in.

As we left the area, the clouds looked very angry and sure enough, as we descended towards David, the skies darkened and opened up. It poured all the way to Boquete. Gustavo gave us a bathroom break after David and we were able to pick up snacks and that. We pulled into The Farma Lerida around 6:30 and we needed guided help to find our rooms. Most are up the hill but I’m below them in a cabin where I seem to be able to pick up the wifi from the office next door.

The bathroom in this room is nice and the TV has the NFL Network, so I’m set. We get dinner tonight starting at 8.

Gustavo had us pick between two choices – steak or chicken with flan for desert. I go up to the restaurant and find that everyone up top has a hammock.