Boquete is a lovely area in the mountains.

I traveled from Bocas Del Toro to Boquete. I already had $4 return ticket for the boat so I took the boat at 9.a.m. from Bocas del Toro to Almirante and then immediately the taxi took me to the bus stop for $1. I was very lucky; the moment I got dropped off at the bus stop, my bus arrived. It cost me about $9 to go from Almirante to David. Once I had arrived in David, I again was lucky that the Boquete bus was ready to leave. That bus only cost me $1.75. I arrived in Boquete at about 4.30

I stayed in a lovely hostel called Hostel Mamallena (www.mamallenaboquete.com). The hostel staff were really helpful and friendly. The hostel had a lovely sitting area and a big equipped kitchen that everyone was using to cook dinner. Around the corner there was a lovely supermarket to buy supplies to cook with. In the morning they had a pancake mix ready for everyone to cook their own breakfast; it was nice. The only issue with this hostel was that there weren’t enough toilets/ bathrooms.

Volcan Baru National Park

This is one of the main reasons to go to this area of Panama. Volcan Baru is the highest mountain in Panama and most people climb it during the night ready to see the sun rise in the morning. This hostel can give you a lift for $5 to the base, as long as there are enough people. The mountain is 3,475 meters high . People usually leave at about 11 p.m. to climb the mountain but it is very cold at the top. This is why I choose not to do it. I really had no warm clothes.

The Lost Waterfalls

A few people from the hostel and myself decided to go on the Lost Waterfall hike. This hike is a 3 hour round trip and costs $7 to enter. The minibus costs $2.50 to get there.You can just say at the minibus stop in the road parallel to the square that you want to go to the Lost Waterfalls and they understand. It’s quite an easy hike that takes you through a forest until you reach 3 waterfalls.  You can swim in the second and the third waterfalls but they are very cold. Bring your towel!

The Pipeline hike

After our lost waterfall hike, we really didn’t feel finished, so we headed down the road to another turn off to do the Pipeline hike. It cost us $3 each for the entrance and the hike is a 2 hour round trip at the most. It’s a relaxing hike if you just want a hike in the countryside. There isn’t anything really to see at the end; there is a waterfall but it was more of a trickle.

Coffee Plantations

There are many coffee farms you can go to in the area where they show you how the coffee is grown and you can try some of the local coffee. I didn’t do any of the tours though because of time and the fact that I had done one in Colombia.

Transport out

The last bus from Boquete to David is at 19.45 which was a bit annoying because I organised my night bus at 22.30, so i had to wait a while once I got to David (there was an even later night bus). It cost me $18 to go back to Panama and I arrived at 4.30 in the morning. The bus was a double-decker and was very comfortable but it was really really cold.Bring warm clothes!