Boquete – in search of perfection

At 3,600 ft., Boquete is nestled between the beautiful Caldera River on its east and cloud-covered Baru Volcano on the west. Boquete has made many international lists of the “best places to live in the world.” And I guess the word is out. I have read that there are about 17,000 inhabitants with that number continuing to increase due to an influx of North Americans and Europeans who find the year-round spring-like climate and modern, affordable housing to be and ideal lifestyle choice for retirement. Since we are always searching for perfection we decided to check this place out for ourselves. Growth is very apparent as you approach the town. There are several housing developments springing up across the landscape. All very “North American” in style and features. You could easily be approaching the “East Valley” in Arizona. The bus dropped us off in the center of town (see photo) where we met up with a friend from Costa Rica who was also doing her “3-day thing.” Next on our agenda was finding a place to stay. Our friend had already checked in at a hostel by the river where dorm rooms were $8 a night. They were now full so we found a beautiful hotel down the street where rooms started at $66 per night. Luckily for us they also had a non-descript 3-unit complex a few doors down where we were able to get a clean, comfortable room with a double bed, single bed, tv and private bath – all for $25 per night. Time to eat. There are many dining choices including pizza and bistro-style restaurants but we decided on Mexican food...it’s hard to beat AZ Mexican food but the Panama version wasn’t bad. Beer was next on our list. To our surprise, finding a bar on a Monday night was not as easy – apparently most of them are closed. So we headed to the Amigos Bar right off the town square (see photo). This was definitely an “ex-pat” hangout with burgers, wings and onion rings on the menu and English on the tongues of the customers – something you don’t hear very often in our part of the world. The temperature was cooler than we are used to but not too cold. The town was more “American” than we had anticipated, but still Panamanian. And although our hotel was near the center of town there was little noise from traffic, people or monkeys. Seems like a very peaceful place.