The Resplendant Quetzals and Haunted Mansions of Boquete

In 2009 during my first visit to Panama Ben had taken me on a drive up to Boquete high in the mountains. That year they'd had some big floods that had destroyed some bridges so we weren't able to go as far as i would have liked. So this time Maree and I took a few days to explore the mountains after our days at the island.

We spent two nights in Boquete, high in mountains directly on the other side Volcan Baru from Cerro Punta. Boquete was originally explored by gold miners travelling up the Caldera River looking for a shortcut across the country. Today it's most famous for it's coffee plantations and it's large expat population. Sixteen percent of the population are from foreign countries, with most expats being from the U.S. and Canada.

Boquette runs along the scenic Caldera River that flows from the walls of the continental divide.

I had wanted to do some jungle hiking but the first day we arrived 4 hours late due to crazy Panamanian protests on the highway. It was a bit rainy that evening anyway so i waited until we'd explored the local roads through the mountains.

Boquete is at 4,000 feet and a couple of roads will take you an additional 2,000 feet higher into the mountains. It was there, at around 6,000 feet that i picked a hike to go look for the rare Quetzal. I admit i had never heard of the bird before but at the rate that pretty much everything on this planet is going extinct i decided the bird was a more interesting goal than the waterfall at the end of the trail.

The trail starts out traversing native farmlands with a few crops and chickens.

Maree took this picture of these guys who won't get out of your way.

There's a national park up there and a huge billboard where the road ends but the giant billboard did not have a single interesting picture on it so i opted out of that trail. There were two other trails we drove by. One was 6 miles round trip and went by at least 3 waterfalls. The other one was a very short distance away and went up a different valley to just one waterfall. It was 3 miles round trip, i think. I chose that one because i've seen a gazillion basalt waterfalls, it was the dry season, the other trail is known to be very muddy, and the trail i chose went through the habitat of the Resplendent Quetzal.

The "Waterfall Trail" as it was called is very similar in name to the other trail, which has a lot more waterfalls on it. I think that is purposeful Central American deceit in order to trick you into paying for access across the wrong land owners' property. But this place seemed generally legit with a roster required to sign both in and out. You'll know you are at the right place if it's the trail that is a little lower on the road, near the intersection, and has the above three pals laying out front past the rocky grass parking area.

Eventually the trail enters the jungle as an old road following a working water pipe complete with leaky valves.

In Boquete I didn't see any monkeys but i heard them clearly in the trees on the mountainsides, along with a lot of birds i had never heard. I recorded some of their songs on my phone.

Eventually the old road narrows into a trail and the jungle starts looking proper with lots of bromeliads and cool vines.

 The base of this huge old growth tree was at least 14 feet in diameter.

I was amazed that within i mile of walking I did indeed come upon a pair of nesting birds. I was looking hard but thankfully i happened to run into a true bird watcher at just the right moment. She pointed them out to me but it was hard to pick the birds out of the jungle, even while being given directions. Through sheer chance they were building a nest in a dead tree with the entrance facing the trail from across a gorge. They were actively building the nest, each bird taking a turn to climb in and carve the place out, then taking a break on a nearby tree. I watched them for quite some time, screwing up an astounding number of opportunities to get a good picture. I really am truly an amateur when it comes to birds.

 A Quetzal! This one is a male, i believe, and had a fluffy crown adorning it's head.

There were two of them building a nest together. The female was green. Quetzals come in several varieties and live all through Central America and northern South America. Some have 'resplendant' tail feathers that are very long and decorative.

Each bird would take a turn digging out the nest for five minutes, then burst out in an explosion of sawdust.

In between bouts they traded time resting in a nearby tree. Quetzals are sexually dimorphic so the females have brown or grey plumage on their chests with the males being "fancier" looking and more brilliant. You'll notice the male in these pictures also has a yellow beak.

Moseying up the trail in perfect temperatures and no bugs i met another lone hiker, a man who was not unlike a very frightened  John Waters decked out in safari gear. He was absolutely terrified of the jungle and kept swearing up and down that he would never ever be back. I had to reassure him that he would definitely make it back to his car before sunset, which gave him 4 hours for a 1.5 mile walk. The guy was really acting like a cartoon character and i had a hard time not laughing at him.

I continued onward past streams and big leaves in the jungle.

It was a very relaxing hike and on the way back Volcan Baru emerged from afternoon rain showers.

The restaurants in Boquete were a mixed affair with the greatest challenge being able to distinguish between some terrible tourist ripoff of something with reasonably priced good food. We ate at a terrible touristy Peruvian restaurant for our first meal, because i miss Peruvian food. That left a bad taste so the next day we ate lunch at a great and cheap Panamanian cafeteria. For dinner I wanted pizza but the first place we sat at had a menu that seemed to be saying the owners had no idea what pizza actually was, so we walked out. I'd already had horrific pizza in Cuba and was not in the mood for another offense against mankind. Against my better judgement we went across the street to a shady looking bar, but in back they had a nice outdoor area and some, dare i say, DECENT pizza, so i ended up happy after all.

A blazing hot rural mercado served as an odd gathering place for a lot of locals that appeared to be doing nothing. (Maybe waiting for a bus that would never arrive due to spontaneous protests miles down the road.)

 I wanted to bring one of these home. They would be useful in Alaska.

 Indigenous Panamanians

 I noticed that Boquete was a windy place and also that there was a lot of trash around. This is why: in Boquete you take your trash out and throw it in an open cage in front of your house. It's bizarre but better than dumping it in the river or burning it.

 Can't get away from winter.

 We drove high up the valley past farms canyons and ranches until the road ended at the entrance to the national park.

One of the cooler things i saw in rural Panama was the "fence tree". They have these trees and they cut logs off of them, then post hole the logs just like a regular fence. But whatever this tree is will grow anew just from a log so the fences don't need as much maintenance and eventually forms a wall of trees.

 A steep field with a young fencepost in the foreground.

 We had no idea what this was.

 A weird half abandoned park with a creepy snake in it.

 Boquete makes great use of pipelines for irrigating the crops. This one pipeline stretched for miles up the valley, here following a hairpin 180 degree bend in the road.

 I never did see the end of the pipeline so i assume it ended in another snakes head.

 Another swinging suspension bridge, this time for cars.

It was great to see the Quetzals but Maree wasn't able to go due to some dehydration problems she'd had on the island. While i was hiking that afternoon she went to the spa but earlier in the day we did go for a fun drive through lush hillside farms and plantations. Along the way we found a haunted abandoned palace, so Maree was as about as excited as she can be. The palace had a tragic story of a man who had built it for his wife as their dream home. The  woman died though, before the home was completed, and then he too died of a heart attack before it was completed. Or something like that. It's on an absolutely amazing piece of property. So that was fun as well.

 We found the haunted mansion!

 It came complete with a spooky stairway!

 Maree is about to disappear into it's depths.

 The mansion was surrounded by unattended gardens growing out of control.

It was on a beautiful piece of land right next to the river and nestled among towering trees that blew in the wind.

After our unwarranted 6 hour journey to get to Boquete i wanted nothing but to get out of the car and walk around. Leaving our little hotel i wandered around and as twilight set in and it began to rain i stumbled into the town cemetery on a hillside just outside the forest. It was the type of central American cemetery where it seems every family creates their own grave site.

Boquete was nice and relaxing for the two nights we were there. I could probably have stayed another two nights but i could also have had an equally good time spending all that time in Cerro Punta. There is certainly more to do in both places than i was aware of and the climate was ideal.

After a jungle hike or haunted castle or cemetery our hotel The Haven was very nice to come back to. Fountains out front offered water to tons of frogs that croaked loudly during the early part of the night.

Boquette doesn't really need air conditioning or heat. I enjoyed waking up the cacophony of birds every morning. Not so much the giant black squirrel combat right in back of our bathroom.