December 28 2012 – Cars Trains Planes and Boats

Ola from a peninsula without road access, a 20 minute boat trip from Boca Chica, Panama
28 Diciembre 2012
6:15 pm

Left the weird gated community of Valle Escondido (sort of a jungle version of a Scottsdale, AZ development with Panamanian architectural shmaltz, nestled in beautiful gardens) — right after breakfast, making it probably the shortest stay anyone’s had at that place. We set out to explore Bouquete — first the town and then the environs which butt up against both a national park and the base of a volcano. The town is really a mess. I think (although I don’t have any confirmation), that this area with its beautiful climate, its rugged but reachable terrain, its proximity to a small airport, probably encouraged developers to market to Americans (retirees and outdoors folks especially) and Europeans as both a destination for vacation and for year-long or temporary resort living. Thus, there are many condo developments hovering the low hills — all sort or protected with gates and security booths. There are also many youth hostels and tour groups who use Boquete as a base for hiking, rafting, kayaking, mountain climbing etc. So, my sense is that all sorts of businesses popped up to support these different populations… and it’s a bit of wild west.. every one for themselves… without any planning or concern about public spaces or public amenities.

Amid all of this is a true indigenous population living in very tiny bamboo houses (one small room) with thatched roof living outside the town in the lush jungle area.. which is clearly the original life of the area. The indigenous population appears to be small and shrinking. The women are noticeable, in towns, wearing very brightly colored (solids) loose cotton dresses with contrasting color trim in a zig zag style across the bodice.

Anyway, we “strolled” the town, if you can call it strolling with sidewalks about 18″ from the street and lots of uneven pavement, and many places without sidewalks.. cars parked every which way. Not much to see.. Lots of real estate offices, sports activity tour offices, local restaurants.. So we set out to do a loop road we found on the Internet (remember, no guide book, and no map)…. which remains challenging since the iPad shows street names but none of the streets are actually labeled in reality. We meandered up to Café Ruiz to purchase some coffee beans to bring back to California and then found the loop road which goes up into the mountains out of town. It was quite wonderful, filled with amazing flowers and great views of the valley and the town.. We also stopped at some place called Explorador –someone’s house (a local) that sits on about 10 acres of hillside jungle, which the owners planted many decades ago with a huge variety of plants, trees, flowers.. and the owner, a bit of a folk artist, then had fun decorating the trees and the grounds with hundreds of “messages” and found objects. Unfortunately it was a bit of overkill and nothing like the great outsider art found randomly around the world. …

Then we headed to Boca Chica where we needed to find a boat to take us to Cala Mia…
We drove from Boquete to David to Horoncitas (sp?) to Boca Chica.. the last part of the drive was delightful, going through tiny little settlements.. and then we followed the directions we were sent — through the little town square of Boca Chica (blink and you miss all of Boca Chica), past the old gas station and the church and then we went behind the church to park our car in the “secure” lot for $2.00 per day… “Secure” means that it is one of several cars parked between the church and this white house, where the whole family apparently watches the cars! OK.. our car is there.

From there we walked to the dock (wheeling our very urban suitcases and computer bags!).. to wait for Marvin who would pick us up in a small motor boat for the 20 minute ride through the lagoons and around to the peninsula where Cala Mia is located. We got to the edge of the boat ramp, but no Marvin.. After a few calls to Cala Mia (what would anyone do without cell phones), we were told to find Carlos who would take us. Turns out Carlos was just hanging out, and Marvin was detained taking someone else back to Boca Chica (very complicated planning). So off we went.. the city folk… to the tranquil Cala Mia.

The boat ride was fine.. a full 20 minutes; no life jackets.. both of us holding tight to the rim of the boat… (a fiberglass shell with a canvas canopy held up by PVC tubing usually used for water pipes. We were greeted at the Cala Mia dock by Eva (a recent arrival as an employee — from St. Tropez, France where she managed several restaurants.. and was seeking “tranquility”… and Rosa.. and another woman. They showed us to our little Shangri-La.. a sort of octagon shaped structure, made of masonry stuccoed over and “white washed” with earth colors.. and a thatched roof… There are 11 of these little cottages. Bedroom, bathroom, little sitting area.. and the room opens to a fantastic “patio which is stepped and cantilevers out overlooking the lagoon about 30 feet below… The patio is covered (thatched roof also).. and we have our own hammock and canvas swing chair… All you can hear is the sound of the lagoon that feeds to the Pacific… Pretty cool

The dining room serves breakfast and dinner.. and there’s a well-stocked bar with Ray attending… and making special drinks each day.. as well as the welcoming drink (a mixture of fresh tropical fruits with rum.. all blended together to create an adult smoothie.) The description of the meals sounded pretty great, but we shall see fairly soon. So far we just sat at the bar and had the welcome drink. There’s a spa (might get a massage tomorrow), an endless pool that just disappears into the lagoon..

Naturally, neither Mike nor I remembered to bring bathing suits… The trip was rather late in getting planned; it was extremely hectic the days just before our departure; and we were headed to NYC first and I think we were mostly focused on that part of the trip and figured that Panama would sort of work its way out.. I, at least, brought shorts.. Each night we’ve been checking on what we are doing and where we are headed for the next day or so.. and finally we realized we were going to this island-like place. During the drive today, Mike kept saying that if we got to Boca Chica early, he would buy a bathing suit… But Boca Chica has a population of about 100 (half of those are chickens) and there isn’t even a grocery store.. let alone a place to buy a bathing suit! Then Mike thought that the Cala Mia (where we are staying) might have a shop… but alas this is really a little haven away from everything, so there isn’t even a thought of a shop at this place.

My plans for tomorrow are to sit on this great patio outside the room.. and complete (or at least make headway on) the work I brought with me… I can’t think of a better setting to be doing it…

By the way, it is hot and humid; the little cottage is air-conditioned, which is probably a necessity for us gringos. Should be interesting to see who else is staying here.. when we have dinner.. in about 15 minutes.

Hasta Luego from Cala Mia..
Fern