Boquete, Coffee, and the Road to the North

In the late afternoon I bid farwell to Dan. After a good handshake and some parting comments of good luck, we went separate ways for the first time in 5 weeks or so. He was on his way to catch a flight bound for Cartegena, Colombia, to meet up with his vehicle that was to be shipped there in the next few days. I decided to head north, making my way back to Guatemala, instead of continuing on to South America. There are still some things that I want to do before my trip is over and inorder to have a sence of completion to Central America. I feet as though going north would allow me to accomplish these things. So now I am traveling on my own for the first time in this trip.
Early in the morning I boarded a bus bound for David, Panama. After a painless journey, with the only difficulty being the amount of time, I arrived in the city. Quickly searching out my connecting bus I hopped on and was headed for Boquete, in the Chiriqui Highlands. Arriving just before dusk I settled into the hostel, greeted by the overly energetic and more than helpful owner Pancho, who runs the operation out of his house. A rather relaxed evening was ahead, and I tried to plan for the next few days in this new area.
Boquete in a beautiful place situated in the highlands of Panama. The temperature here is beautiful with a warm sun during the day and a cool, refreshing night to make for comfortable sleeping. The air here is fresh, and crisp, similar to that of the mountains in Alberta. The people are friendly, wanting to talk and interact with you as you go about your business. There is something a little bit magical about the place that makes it infectious. I realize that I need to do what I came for and then leave, because I very easily could be caught here for a long period of time, with such a fun, welcoming, and relaxed environment at my disposal.
In the morning I worked on coordinating the activities that I hoped to do over the next few days, with the main goal being to go on a coffee tour and visit the plantations that have made the area world famous. Finding out that a tour would be difficult to set up for that day, I decided to pursue it for the following day. This meant that the day was going to be filled with hiking and some gardens that were in the area. I made my way up one of the hills to the Explorador, on the detailed directions of Pancho. The Explorador is a garden set away in the hills of Boquete with some beautiful flower beds, and excellent vistas of the surrounding area. After a leisurely stroll through the gardens I make my way back down the hill. Instead of turning left, back towards the town, I went right. This lead up and around the hills and plantations in the area. It turned into an afternoon of beauty and leisure as I made my way past all the little farms and houses nestled in the hills. Along the way I visited another garden, where the family opened up their property for the public to walk around their estate and see what they had to offer.
After a well deserved nights rest, I readied for the real reason that I came to the area, and that was for a coffee tour on the Kotowa Coffee Estate. This expereince was nothing less than spectacular.
Picked up at the hostel by the friendly Dutch ex-pat, Hans, we made our way the the estate. This particular place was founded by a former mayor of Vancouver in the early 1900´s. Hans was to be our guide and helped us navigate through the incredibly large and complex world of coffee production. Starting with the history of coffee production, and then moving on the the progression of the actual coffee plants used, my head was spinning with all the knowledge that I was being given. We then moved on to the even more involved processing and roasting steps, as the fruit was then turned into the wonderful hot brew we know and love.
The Kotowa Estate, is actually one of the leaders in the environmentally conscious production of coffee. The production takes quite a toll on the environment, with many of the bi products created. Kotowa however has brought their waste down to almost nothing through different strategies, and are one of the unique operations in Panama. They too also have an incredible relationship with their employees, such as the pickers. The families are given good accomidations, a doctor, and schooling for their children, along with the job in the fields. A lot of effort is put into making sure they are taken good care of, which is somewhat rare in these parts. Finally, we came to the end of the tour, where we were able to take part in the wonderfully delicious cupping process. This is where the coffee is tasted to ensure quality and consistancy, but for us was just an excuse to taste what the estate was brewing up. From the smell to the taste, the coffee is scrutinized, looking for any imperfection in the coffee and analyzing the different flavours present in cup. This tour was easily one of the highlights that I have had on the trip and well worth the trip to Boquete.
Tomorrow morning I will head back down to David to catch a bus bound for San Jose, as I continue on the road north, back to Guatemala. Again, it is sad to look at it this way but I feel that I am now coming towards the end of the trip even though I have a few weeks still ahead of me. Im not going to let this affect me because there is still so much that I want to see, do, and experience along the way.
I hope that you have enjoyed this, and I would whole heartedly encourage someone to make Boquete a stop on any trip to Panama.

Thanks for reading. Please contact me with any questions or comments that you may have on anything mentioned above.

Bye for now.

Mike