Here’s a short video showing the street flooding from our hotel in El Salvador and the celebration after the Costa Ricans won their match against Greece in a penalty shootout.
Our last night on the road en route to our house sitting gig in Panama was spent on Costa Rica’s hot, steamy pacific coast. After setting up camp we spent the afternoon playing in the sand on the beach.
Playing on the beach in Costa Rica
Our campsite amongst the palms
The next morning we set out early, hoping to cross the border into Panama and be in Boquete in time to watch the USA-Belgium soccer match. The Panama border went much like the rest of them and took about two hours. At many of the borders, especially the more chaotic ones, there are “helpers.” These are guys who look for tourists like us and help find all of the various offices, inspectors, and stamps needed to successfully navigate the border formalities.
The helpers range from outright crooks to great guys. Sometimes it’s worth getting one just to keep the others from hassling you. Elias, the helper I got for Panama, was great. He was calm and didn’t try to hurry things along, which can be stressful when you’re trying to make sure you don’t lose track of all of the different bits of paper you’re carrying around.
Bienvenidos a Panama!
Elias helped us navigate the process and saved us lots of time. He knew we needed a particular stamp on a particular form from an un-marked office up some stairs. When we got there no one was in the office, so Elias reached in the window and grabbed the stamp and stamped the paper himself. He said the woman who works in that office leaves the stamp accessible so he can do that. He said she was probably out watching the soccer match.
Border formalities completed, and after driving through the fumigation station, we were on our way. It took us about 2 hours to reach Boquete. As we turned inland and climbed into the hills we were happy to notice things cooling off outside!
Boquete is an expat haven set in a beautiful valley filled with coffee plantations. The valley looks vaguely Swiss as you enter. We found Will and Cate, who are currently renting the house we will be sitting, in a bar watching the football match in town. We joined them and had a late lunch in the bar while cheering on the USA.
Our temporary abode
Will and Cate left for Uruguay, where they are thinking of moving next, two days later. We moved in and made ourselves at home.
Boquete is very much an expat enclave. It was recently rated the #4 place in the world to retire, and is home to many gringos and some super-expensive houses. The difference between Boquete and Panajachel (in Guatemala) is that in Pana you always know you’re in Central America and are sometimes surprised by little reminders of home. Here it feels like you’re living in a small town in the US, and sometimes you get reminded that you’re not. But there’s lots to do in the area and we’re looking forward to a couple of weeks of exploring before it’s time to move on once again!
The town’s central plaza
The valley is lush and tropical, but its high elevation keeps the climate cool.
The wet climate means lots of rivers and creeks.
On Saturday we went on a whitewater rafting trip. Quinn really enjoyed the first half, but 3 hours on the river proved a little much for him.
We saw squirrel monkeys, cormorants, and egrets along the river.
Our lunch stop featured lots of great rocks to play with.