Day 101
After a few days in Las Tablas I set off South on Highway 2 to explore the peninsula. I rode along the South coast of the peninsula and then I headed North to Macaracas and then on to Highway 50 where I eventually re-joined the main road, Highway 1. To be honest there was very little of interest to see in the peninsula except for signs of land being cleared for future developments, presumably to exploit the Southern coastline for tourists.
I then headed West for Santiago where I spent the night at a hotel by the side of the main road about 10 miles East of the city for about $30. It was a nice enough place but there was nothing near to the hotel which had no restaurant. Another downside to this hotel was that during the night there was a lot of noise and serious vibrations from the passing lorries that thundered along taking advantage of the deserted road.
Day 102
The following morning I set off to have a look at the city of Satiago De Veraguas. The city is quite small but it was realtively busy and the only thing that I found worth stopping to take a photograph of was the Cathedral, which in size was really no bigger than a good sized church. I also tried to find the Transport Authority (ATTT) office to pay my speeding fine, but as usual good old Google maps directed me to a location close to the Cathedral that was not the correct location.
I asked a local for directions to the ATTT offices but after following his directions as best as I understood them, I did not find it so I then headed off for the town of Boquette. Boquette is in the mountains next to a volcano and is one of the main coffee growing areas in Panama. I had arranged to stay with a friend for a few days as a guest in his house so from Santiago I rode West to the city of David and then I turned North on to Highway 41. Atter riding up to the town and finding my way to the home of my friend I settled in and then set off to explore the town.
Boquette is a very popular place for ex-pats from the USA, Canada, and Europe to stay due to the cooler climate that the elevation provides. However, because it is also in a valley next to the mountains, it gets more rain that Panama city. Whilst I was there there was some low cloud over the surrounding hills and it was obviously raining, however the strong winds were blowing some of this fine rain over the town which was bathed in bright sunshine causing the most vivid rainbows that I have ever seen.
North of the town at the very end of the road there is apparently a waterfall so I rode up to have a look but when I got there I needed to leave the bike and trek up to it, needless to say in my riding gear and boots that was not an option in the sweltering heat so I stopped at a bridge over the water flowing down from the waterfall in to the town to take a few photos.
I also took the road up to the volcano which is shown as a national park but when I got to the end of the road there was nothing there except a sign saying “National Park” pointing up a very steep and very rocky road which is obviously used by trekkers and 4WD vehicles. In my opinion Boquette was very scenic but unless you are in to hiking in to the hills there is very little for a biker to do there.
Something that drew my attention was the apparent lives of the ex-pats some of whom I met in the local bars. My observations were that they all appeared to be living the exact same life that I was living prior to me stepping off the hamster wheel, that is that they just appeared to socialise in and around the bars in the town. Now I may be completely wrong and these people may have very fulfilled and interesting lives but for the few days that I was there, I saw the same people in the same bars, doing the same thing, drinking beer or soemthing else, and talking about everyone else that was not present.
This is what I gladly left behind when I started my travels and whilst they all appeared to be very nice people I could not help but think that in moving to Panama they did not really change their lives very much, the only thing that they really changed was the location where they did the same thing that they did in their country of origin.
I am so glad that I have left that life behind.