I decided to head to the more touristy town of Boquete to spend Christmas. There I would find other travellers in the same situation as myself – away from family and friends. I have found this is the best option for me as I still find it somewhat difficult even though I don’t really celebrate Christmas and am away travelling most the time. That, and the 13 hour time difference making it difficult to connect with back home. Being with a ‘tribe’ of likeminded folks helps alleviate any disconcerting feelings.
After checking out of my little hospedatje, I found the bus that would take me deeper into the mountains. The road up into the Cerro Punta valley winds through a narrow canyon with small streams cascading down the almost sheer walls in places. All being shrouded in lush vegetation. After a while, the canyon opens up into a wider valley patch-worked with tiny fields of crops. On the fringes of these little farmlets lies the Parque Internacional La Amistad, a 4000 sq km UNESCO World Heritage Site which stretches over both Costa Rica and Panama; its dark interior contrasting with the bright cultivation spread before it.
I hopped off the bus at the tiny hamlet of Guadalupe which is as far as the road goes in that direction. Modest little houses and plant nurseries line one of the two streets that form the village centre, with a small selection of shops lining the other. Sun-baked farmers tend their crops while a group of indigenous women in traditional dress peddle eggs from a makeshift stall. A cluster of hombres gather on the street junction and convivially engage in conversation. A car slowly makes its way along the road with the driver gently guiding a horse trotting alongside it.
The bus took an alternate route through farmland back to the main road, then back down to Volcán. I decided to stop in Volcán for a coffee and toilet break so I wasn’t ‘caught short’ on the lengthy trip down to David for the next leg of my journey. As luck would have it, my bladder decided to mix things up a bit and was most insistent upon our approach to David. With nowhere to stop and just having to wait until we got to the bus terminal, I told the bus assistant I would be exiting as soon as we arrived and would have to come back for my pack which was at that stage tied onto the roof of the bus. It was then that a desperate Aussie banshee was unleashed on the unsuspecting folk at the David Bus Terminal, escrying ‘baño’, ‘baño’! Eventually, I was pointed in the right direction and the very helpful señora in charge opened the disabled cubicle for me. Reckoned she thought it easier to clean that than any resultant puddle that might arise with any further delay. Crisis averted, I then returned for my pack where the bus assistant was duly waiting for me.
From there it was a pleasant hour long bus ride back up the mountains to Boquete. I located my hostel, dumped my pack, and found a lovely little restaurant to have my Christmas Eve dinner.
Wild Woman Wandering 