The hotel has three bungalows which are exactly the same size and design. Each has a terrace, kitchen, living room with dining area and a separate bedroom with a bath and hot water. All bungalows face the Barú volcano and have spectacular views. My husband and I went for a romantic weekend escape and stayed at the “Jewel”, the most desirable accommodation and the most romantic terrace facing colorful rainbows almost every morning.

Jane and Barry are very attentive hosts. They also prepare and serve elegant candlelit dinners in the bungalows, either on the terrace or in the dining room. It was exactly what we needed after a day of traveling and exploring our new environment which we got used to very quickly.

The next day, after having fruit muffins prepared by Barry and fresh squeezed orange juice from the estate, off we went to explore the Flower Fair which was beautiful but didn’t take that long to look at - let’s just say – it wasn’t a big event like I expected it to be from the advertisement it had in the newspapers and other visitor magazines. Later on, we explored by car the various hotels and inns, and different bungalows and decided that we had definitely found the best and most luxurious place in Boquete.

Barry and Jane were very helpful in suggesting where to go and what to see and provided before our arrival an information package based on their adventures and experiences in Panama: what to do and see in Boquete, services of their hotel, and general information about Panama. I found it to be very thoughtful and helpful and easy to plan before arrival and not waste any precious time. Boquete is known for its coffee farms, hiking and nature tours including bird watching, nature treks, waterfalls, mountain loop drives, nature trails and hot springs. There are also a few pampering spots such as the health SPA at the Panamonte hotel. Also, there are private technicians who specialize in different types of massages and Energy Renew Therapy. In their information package they suggest various nature tours (including river rafting in Chiriqui) and professional guides.

We continued to explore Boquete and found Mi jardin es su jardin (My garden is your garden)—Beautiful gardens of the Gonzales family open to the public-Amazing! I wouldn’t mind having such beautiful gardens that make your eyes watery from all the greenery and the colorful flowers that simply make you want to smile.

Strolling around the town is easy and enjoyable- we visited a few handicraft shops, sat in a few coffee shops and had lunch at the Boquete Bistro restaurant which offers continental food and is housed in a historical building. The restaurant has an interesting full wall mural painted by a famous Panamanian artist.

Apart from the beautiful mountains, the volcano, the flowers and the fresh air, a big attraction is Boquete’s coffee. There are several coffee estates, usually family owned and run for several generations, such as Café Ruíz, Kotowaa Coffee, Lerida coffee farm (Panamonte Hotel) and Café Sitton. People have been saying for years that Colombia has the best coffee - well, this might be changing. Boquete is the place for coffee farms, special coffee tours which include explanations of the processing and coffee tasting.

As a matter of fact, Barry and Jane cultivate the traditional Arabica coffee in their estate. The coffee is handpicked at the peak of the season but until then guests enjoy a guided complimentary tour conducted by Barry which ends with a coffee roasting demonstration. We found the tour very interesting and informative. During our stay we had made a few special stops at different estates to try the different coffee.

The next day we drove to the Caldera area where we visited the undeveloped hot springs. I think we had to pay about $2 a person in order to pass. It was quite of an adventure since we had to pass some kind of forest in order to get to these special hot springs. People from all over come to see and dip in the hot hot water in order to ease their aches. We also met a man from the Ngobe Bugle tribe who came to fill a few bottles of water to take back to his village – for the purpose of drinking and for curing.

Interesting!
That same day we headed back to the David Airport expecting to fly on the 5:00 p.m. plane back to Panama City - but unfortunately that did not happen! Even though we got there on time - the young girl at the front desk told us we were simply not on her list of confirmed passengers and that we should wait and see if there will possibly be a space for us.

We were in shock and terribly upset since we had already paid for these tickets and we were expected at work the next day. It was a strange scene since we were not the only ones “bounced off” this plane - there were about 10 of us: a family, the two of us and three Panamanian models who had come to the Boquete flower fair.

There was a lot of shouting, complaining, cursing - nothing helped. It made all of us think that some dirty business went on behind the desk on our account for the benefit of other passengers. So, we rented a car, offered a ride to the three models and off we went. Let me tell you it wasn’t a pleasant drive! The road from David to Santiago is a very bad road and at night kind of spooky. Once we got to Santiago (after 3 hours of driving) we stopped to have a pizza and regain our energy for 4 more hours of driving in the dark.

Conclusion: Boquete is a very peaceful place and a great place for nature lovers and perhaps for retirees. But do confirm your flights even twice if needed, think twice about driving at night and always be prepared for the unexpected - ha ha.

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