Boquete - full recovery day! - Central America

January 25, 2023

Boquete - full recovery day!

Today was a total rest day. Really! I spent most of my day in bed, just re-planning the rest of my stays and route until Panama City, and changed quite a few things actually, based on my biking experiences and looking more at Panama City street view on Google.

I did make it out of my room and across the river here in Boquete to see the cutest little… I don’t even know what to call it, but it was a little community with stores in it that you had to pay a $1 entrance fee (for the whole day), and it had tons and tons of flower gardens in it! And so many different kinds too! They had just opened when I got there, so a lot of shops were not open yet, but I could certainly see having a coffee and snack from a café and just sitting and looking at the magnificent gardens for a while. The river crossing is beautiful too. All this was just a couple hundred meters away from my hotel. Otherwise I was just really trying to stay off my legs today. I can definitely still feel the soreness all over my legs, so, just drinking plenty of water too. Tomorrow should be a fairly easy cycling day though.

I stayed in Boquete longer than any other stop so far. I really like it here. The breezes are so refreshing, the lush green mountain views are breathtaking, the nights are nice and cool, and the water tastes so good – like filtered stream water when you’re camping good. I understand most of the homes here in Boquete enjoy not having any heating or cooling bills, as it stays 65 to 75 degrees from morning to evening nearly every day of the year, and then I stayed in Boquete longer than any other stop so far. I really like it here. The breezes are so refreshing, the nights are nice and cool, and the water tastes so good – like filtered stream water when you’re camping good. I understand most of the homes here in Boquete enjoy not having any heating or cooling bills, as it stays 65 to 75 degrees from morning to evening nearly every day of the year, and then a rain shower nearly every afternoon too - even in the “dry season” (the area gets about 110-200” of rain per year)a rain shower nearly every afternoon too - even in the “dry season” (the area gets about 110-200” of rain per year). I which my legs were better and I had more time here. A quick Google search of things to do in and around Boquete reveals so many other hikes for waterfalls and views of and from the mountains. There is one hike where you can see a 1,000 year-old tree.

After laying in my bed then snacking on chips, squeeze refried beans, salsa, and water, I went back to the place I had dinner at last night (it was close, had a good atmosphere, and giant margaritas!) to have a great Boquete farewell dinner. I wouldn’t normally have a margarita the day before a long bike ride, but they were pretty weak (which is just fine with me), and it was early still. I had seen these whole fried fish dinners all over Central America, but have not had had one until now. I figured I could use the extra protein too! It was so delish! Cooked perfectly. I saw someone else have it last night, so that’s what made me come back here to order it. It came with a scoop of finely shredded coleslaw and a pile of tostones – fried platanos (like bananas, but larger), then smashed, seasoned, and fried again, and then some yummy salsa verde and tartar. As the server brough my dish, another American couple turned around and noticed and asked about my dinner (just like me last night!).

I have three long days ahead of me, just because there’s really nothing in between, and as I’ve learned on this trip, I can’t stand being in a town with nothing to do or see really – or good to eat. Tomorrow is about 80 miles, but with the first 20 miles being all down hill from ~4,000’ Boquete to nearly sea level. Then, the next day will be one of the toughest of the whole trip – about 80 miles but with a couple big hills that amount to about just over 5,000 elevation climb. I hope my legs will have recovered enough by then! Then, the next day to Coronado - just west of Panama City, will be about 85 miles but relatively flat. Then it will be all gravy from there (knock on wood)!

Boy I sure could use a real haircut.

What I did most of the day, with my laptop on me though

Flower city! Right across the bridge over the river from downtown Boquete.

Fried whole fish. Man, you can still see the teeth on that sucker. Still not too bad of a deal - $21 for food and drink.

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