This past week was Carnival, similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. There are parades and queens, and water sprays, and drinking and noise. We have experienced it before in Gorgona.
Thousands of people inundate our little community from Panama City. There are 5 or 6 cars in every yard, and Diablo Roja busses parked everywhere. The people come to party, and are loud about it. Not my kind of festivities.
We had an enquiry from a family in North Dakota who wanted to experience Panama Carnival by renting our casita. We agreed, and rented our home for three nights at a good rate. If I had been renting to unknown Panamaniana I would have had to worry about the 25 friends they would bring with them to spend the weekend. I didn't worry about North Dakotans.
We headed west toward Boquete, Volcan, Guadalupe, and then Las Ollas, none of which celebrate Carnival with much vigor. It was a quiet, relaxing trip. We had only a taste of Carnival on the road home on the day after the official holiday. The traffic was heavy and many gas stations were out of gas.
We got out of town at the crack of noon for our 5 hour drive to Caldera, a small town near Boquete. It is in the mountains, but not at as high an altitude as Boquete, so it receives much less rain. Our cabin was very nice and situated a few dozen yards from a mountain river.
There was a very nice swimming hole, of about 50 meters. The water is just rain runoff, so not the snow melt one would experience in many parts of the states. The high altitudes can be cold, but there is no snow in Panama.
Volcan Baru is near Volvan, abut an hour from Boquete. It is the highest point in Panama, at about 11,000 feet, compared with Mt. Rainier at 14,000 feet.
We had left on Friday. On Saturday morning we drove about 20 minutes to Boquette, where we linked up with Donna and Dave and their friend Bryan for breakfast. Donna and Dave bought a lot in the Boquette are a few years ago, but have since purchased some apartments in Panama City and are selling their lot. They love Boquette, but have chosen life in a larger city.
Boquette from the tourist center outside of town.
Our cabin in Caldera. Caldera also has a four star eco lodge, and a very large housing development.
The river near our Caldera cabin. The owner of the cabins told me he bought 100 acres here in 1994 for $40,000.
The Caldera river.
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