El Valle and Bouquete

Readers, this is published accidently after the last post, when it should have been posted before:

Today I am writing from Bouquette, Panama, altitude about 3,500 ft.  I am on a converted schoolbus going back down to David (pronounced Da-veed), where I came from.  I’m guessing that the distance is about 25 miles, and the fare is only $1.70.   I intend to travel to Volcan, Panama, which is almost on the border of Costa Rica.  But like California, there are only so many mountain passes and the terrain makes it impossible for roads to be built in certain places.  As a result, I must go back down, then come back up on a different road to an altitude of about 5,500 ft, where Volcan is located.  This town is built on the site of Panama’s only volcano, which has been inactive for a very long time.

While in El Valle, which is situated in an ancient volcano crator… my first stop from Panama City, I stayed at the Santa Libre, a popular restaurant with a few rooms to let in the back.  It was recommended by the “Lonely Planet Guidebook to Central America” at $15.00 per night.  It was nothing special, I can certainly tell you that (and worst of all…no internet connection!).  But it had a gorgeous little herb garden in a courtyard just outside my rag tag room.  The little rooming house was also located near a terrific open air farmer’s market just across the street.  So while staying there I had my fill of fresh water, right from freshly cut young coconuts.  What a life!  But the best amenity was another guest in the room right beside me.  Her name was Aldima, a very chatty and friendly woman who was there to enjoy several consecutive days at the El Pozo Hot Springs.  She talked me into going with her to the springs the next morning.  It’s amazing that we were able to communicate as much as we did, since all we had was my Spanish English dictionary.  It worked very well, but as you can imagine, it is an exhausting exercise.   The Hot Springs were something to experience, the mud treatment and all!  We met four wonderful Columbians and had a great time talking and joking in the main pool, buoyed by the warm water for the full span of our allotted bathing time.  Juan Carlos Mancero, an IT project manager, there honeymooning with his lovely bride, helped the conversation along with his excellent English, translating some of the fine points I would have otherwise missed.  I think they pretty much convinced me that I absolutely should not miss Columbia!

Since leaving Panama City, it has been rain, rain and more rain.  We are at the end of the rainy season, but I was told by Leo, the very talented artist in the El Valle Market, that climate change has made the seasons unpredictable.  The last five years have been extraordinarily wet, to the extent that many crops have been ruined.  There is so much water, the plants simply drown.  That afternoon after visiting the hot springs, the rain literally came down in sheets.

Now, I promised to tell you about the harrowing bus ride to El Valle.  While in Panama City, I mostly walked or took taxis, but leaving, I took a Red Devil to the main bus terminal.  That was an experience.  These buses are unique.  They are old converted school buses painted in bright, almost psychedelic colors, have flashy exhaust pipes, and are usually packed to the top with riders.  These are only 25 cents to ride and what a gas!  But my good humor was not to be for long, because the next bus, a little white creaky van in which you are packed like a sardine, was the real devil, and the driver drove like a bat out of hell.  I could not believe it!  Here we were on wet mountain roads, young mothers and little children on board, just flying down the skinny little road!  What if a there was a horse or a cow around the bend?  My heart was in my throat for most of that trip and I could have kissed the ground when we safely arrived in El Valle.    Thankfully, I have ridden many busses since, and have never experienced such reckless driving again.