Keith's Panamanian Travel Ramble

The wanderings of Andrea and Keith around Panama

Posts tagged ‘horse’

Impressions of Santa Fe

Howdy All,

Sadly, today we leave this beautiful place and head for our next destination which is at the beach in Gorgona and is about a three-hour drive without stops.  After another great breakfast, we packed up and hit the road.

Yesterday, I mentioned a blockade of the Pan-American, west of here closer to David.  It turns out that the local Indians (Ngobe-Bugle) had blocked westbound traffic on the highway for several days.  They were protesting the changing of some legislation around mining and the Cerro Colorado mine, which has one of the largest copper reserves in Latin America.  There have also been some short-term interruptions to traffic eastbound headed for Panama City.  The westbound blockade has held the second largest city in the country, David, hostage and there are reports of stores being short of food stuffs and fuel stations closing as they are out of fuel.  The police were directed to clear the road last night and the ensuing scuffle resulted in a number of injuries and one death.  Several police were hospitalized.  Further investigation into the death found that the bullet was of a caliber not used by the police.

President Ricardo Martinelli has blamed the opposition and “foreign elements” for inciting chaos.  I did a little Internet research and oddly found that an Indian band in Ecuador held a protest at the same time over a similar issue.  When you look at the pictures of the Panama protest, I cannot help but draw the conclusion that this was organized by someone or group other than the natives that knows the techniques of how to successfully protest today.

Now our friend Octav that left Santa Fé a couple of days ago, was headed to Boquete.  He took the bus from Santa Fé to Santiago where he found out busses were not running due to the blockade.  He had some quick scrambling to do but managed to secure a place back at the Bayview Hotel in Santa Clara, the other direction.  As it is on our way, we decided we will stop and see how he is doing.

We have only been in Santa Fé for a few days and most of that time was spent at the Casa Mariposa Boutique Hotel.  Our top 10 impressions of Santa Fé are:

1.  Book a few days here at the Casa Mariposa.  You won’t believe the experience.  See the link at the bottom of the right column under Businesses We Support;

2.  Don’t miss the “Lunch with the Toucans” at the Mariposa. You will love it;

3.  Be sure to top up your gas tank in Santiago before leaving for Santa Fé. There are no fuel stations in Santa Fé;

4.  Santa Fé is a hilly mountain frontier town, full of friendly locals, around 3,000 of them;

5.  This area is starting to develop, thanks to publications like International Living Magazine.  There is a growing expat community and people from all over the world are starting to settle here;

6.  There is lots of hiking and things to keep you busy in the area;

7.  Check out the Santa Fé National Park.  If you are a birder, your hotel can help you pick up an inexpensive guide to make sure you get to see what you want;

8.  Expect the place to be a bit remote.  There are only cell phones and a high-speed internet connection is still in the future;

9.  On the way to Santa Fé, don’t miss stopping to see the restored old church in San Francisco.  It dates back to 1621; and

10. Be open to all the rugged natural beauty and incredible variety of birds that you will find here.

The trip back to Santiago takes us through Santa Fé and the rolling hills as we proceed southbound back to the Pan-American. Along the way we met a herd of cattle being driven right up the road to us. The guys were friendly and waved as they forced the cattle off the road on the far side to allow us through. One of my favorite pictures so far is this one of the rider on his horse climbing the hill after crossing the bridge. It really kind of describes the character of this area; slow, casual and laid back.

Further down the road, we spotted a hawk flying beside us.  We went around a corner and Andrea said the hawk had landed and was standing beside a blue bag on the road behind us.  I grabbed my long lens and got out of the car as quietly as I could.  This is a Yellow-headed Caracara, a beautifully marked bird.  He was very cooperative.  He posed on the road for a bit then took off away from me and circled back.  I think the markings on this bird are magnificent!

After negotiating Santiago we were again eastbound on the Pan-American, headed for the Bayview.  Watermelon is now in season and it is starting to show up in markets and roadside fruit stands.  We stopped at this place to stock up on some fruit for our next week and bought one cantaloupe for $1.50, three pineapples for $1 and a good-sized watermelon for $3.

We found him on the deck of the Bayview, entertaining a couple of young women from the US!  Octav wasn’t expecting to see us but was glad we stopped by to visit with him on the way to Gorgona.  We made plans to get together over the next couple of days for dinner and a visit then were off to Gorgona to find our new home, Sueno Mar, which means sunny beach.

El Valle Final Impressions

Hi Travellers,

It rained a bit during the night and the normal winds that keep our cabana cool were with us again.  Today is our last full day in El Valle and the weather is, once again, beautiful.

Breakfast was at Brochettes in the Anton Hotel.  I think this is the most westernized restaurant in town.  You even get jam with your toast!  It is right on the main drag across the street from the library and they have WiFi.  Bacon and eggs for two with fresh juices and coffee $15.  A day without bacon is a day without sunshine!

I got thinking this morning that I may have given you the wrong impression about El Valle.  We really haven’t done much of the tourist stuff here because we have been here before and already done it.  There is a good supply of things to keep you occupied for about three to four days according to out hotel.  We have stretched the time out a bit to meet our next reservation block which starts tomorrow.  When you come here there are waterfalls to hike to and mountain hikes that will keep you in shape, a small zoo to see with the endangered golden frog, a serpientium if you are into snakes and bugs, zip lining to get your adrenalin flowing, the public market on Sunday to empty your wallet, the Orchid Garden for some of natures beauty, hot springs or rather warm springs to experience, horse rentals if you are from Saskatchewan and square trees.  Yes, square trees!  (some imagination required) There are no banks but there are two ATMs.

Our impressions of El Valle are many but I will try to distil the list down to a top 10.  They are:

1.  Don’t miss it.  It is cooler than the beach areas and almost always has a cool breeze.  Don’t worry about the threatening clouds racing through the sky.  If they do give a bit of rain, it doesn’t last long;

2.  Be careful driving here at night.  I have never seen a place where people walk and ride bikes with no light-colored clothing and no lights or reflectors on their bikes.  People stop and talk in the middle of the road and don’t move quickly to get out-of-the-way.  That combined with very few street lights makes it really difficult to see.  The whole town is posted at 40K and that is plenty fast.  Also, dogs are slow to get up from their naps in the middle of the road;

3.  Experience the market on Sunday.  The crowds are invigorating;

4.  Take in the zoo but be ready for a place that does not house animals to the standards you are used to seeing.  It is worth seeing because of the variety of local species they have;

5.  Don’t be afraid to try any restaurant in town.  We never found one that provided a bad meal.  Like at home, some are just better than others;

6.  Enjoy walking around town.  There are some beautiful estate homes to be seen by just walking down a side road for a few minutes;  There is a bus that runs around town that you can always grab if you get tired.  I think the fare is $0.50;

7.  If you have a sweet tooth, take in the bakery.  It is right on the main drag across the street and down a little from the public market.  Your dentist probably wouldn’t be happy;

8.  Internet is available at the public library next to the church;

9.  Enjoy the people.  We have met some great folks here.  Everyone is so helpful; and

10. Don’t just come for the day, as many do.  Stay a few days and really get into this slow-paced place called El Valle.

We headed out to dinner intending to try O’Pedros Pub.  We killed some time there waiting for the Casa de Lourdes Restaurant to open last night.  The menu looked interesting and the interior of this place is done in stone and dark woods.  Besides, a pub called O’Pedros can’t be too Irish, can it?  When we arrived we found a tour bus and a buffet dinner set up and the place closed to the public.

On the way back into town, on the main drag, we saw red and blue flashing lights off in the distance and a crowd of people.  Just as we were thinking accident and that we should find a way off the street, a police truck approached and pulled across the road, effectively blocking it for oncoming traffic.  At first I thought the police had finally figured out where Andrea was but it ended up being traffic control for a procession.  Now almost every time we have been in a Latin country, we have at one time or another, encountered a procession.  Some are large and elaborate some are not.  The procession here today was a solemn event led by what looked like the Catholic priest and others in Catholic garb.  There was a statue on a wheeled cart being borne down the street and then what looked like most of the town following.  It was interesting to see the level of involvement by the citizens here in this church based event.  This was a procession for Saint Don Bosco who was responsible for taking care of the young.

Dinner was at Pinocchio’s Restaurant and Pizzeria.  We were the only ones there.  We ordered a house special 12 inch pizza and a couple of drinks for a total of $13.  Nothing special but adequate.

Tomorrow, we move from El Valle to Santa Fe. We will head down the hill to the Bayview Hotel, in San Carlos, on the beach to pick up our friend from Victoria, Octav, who will accompany us to Santa Fe for a couple of days. We have been cautioned that high-speed Internet connections are limited in Santa Fe so my posts may be a bit more sporadic for the five days that we will be there.