So here we go...
I´m hanging out in Boquete Panama. And I´ve got to say it feels a lot like a mountain town in Colorado. It´s sorta bizarre. In fact Panama overall is much nicer and more modern than I was expecting. I guess everyone moves forward with the times, and it´s fun to see kids dressed like they could be in LA, with cell phones and baseball hats, next to indiginous folks in traditional garb on buses racing on twisty roads through the mountains. It also feels like Colorado because of the fact the roads are painted like the Usa. A lot of the signs are like the US. And the guard rails are the same too. So there´s this weird collision of USA and someplace else. Oh, and the money, the Balboa, aka: US Dollar seems familiar. However, their coins are diferent. They are the same size as a dime or quarter, but they have strange Conquistador men on them... perhaps Balboa himself.
So yesterday I was going to rent a scooter. But all the scooters in town are broken. One place says they´ll be fixed in January or February. The other keeps saying "maybe tomorrow". I think I might be out of luck on that one. So, i decided to head to the trails and do the Quetzalas trail. It´s considered one of the best in Panama. It´s either 8km, or 12, or maybe 15, or is it 6?. Every sign and map is different. But reguarless, it´s in the mountains and jungles and sounds like fun.
So I got the info, paid 8 bucks or a cab to take me to the top of the road, which is about 1000 meters higher than town. Took 15 minutes, twisting through huge canyons, high walls of trees, and even some rock climbing areas. Past a waterfall and some fields on impossibly steep slopes.
There was no one at the ranger station, so I just headed down the now rutted dirt road which was the path. It went down and up and down and then finally reached the actual trail. Every sign had different distances to the points at either end, so I never really was sure how far I had to go. And most of the signs were pretty badly damaged by people and the almost endless moisture.
Once on the trail I had to cross the river a few times. Balancing on rocks, using my walking stick that I got from the Hostel I´m at. There was a hut on the trail and a dog rushed out barking at me. He seemed to be saying hi... or maybe "get the hell off my property".
Then the cloud and rainforest began in earnest. It was thick. The trail was a bit muddy, but not to bad. I stopped for a picnic on a rock by the river. The trees towering up above. I heard birds, but never saw them.
Then it began to rain. I found a tree that was a perfect umbrella and it slowed down and finally stopped. I headed further up, and found the STAIRS OF DOOM. Possibly hundreds of stairs, some mangled by mud, some okay, that climbed up the slope. It took about 45 minutes of climbing, scrambling, and pulling to get up the muddy path and into the cloud forest.
I chilled at a picnic table, and then decided to head a little further on, where I eventually ran into a huge deadfall that pretty much blocked the entire trail.
At this point I had to decide to hike back he 3 to 3 1-2 hours or try to push through to Cerro Punto, and then take a couple of buses back to Boquete. Thing is, i had no idea how far I had really gone and wheter or not I was coser to Cerro Punto or Boquete... so it being about 3pm, and darkness coming at 6:30 it seemed best to head back the way I´d come.
And so down the stairs of doom I begin... and so does the rain. A lot of rain. Hard, constant rain or the next 2 to 3 hours. Let´s just say the stairs were exciting in a downpoor that was quickly turning the muddy trail into a stream. I made it past those and then walked along a mini river that was once the path. By this point I was so wet I just splashed along the streamtrail and it was pretty fun.
But it was taking longer than planned. I got to the first stream... and it was pretty swollen. I made it accross, thank goodness for the walking stick. But at the next crossing it was a no go on the boulders... so I had to straddle this fallen tree that was about 3 feet above the river and scootch the 20 feet across using my hands and nads...yikes.
past the dog, ruff ruff, and to the final crossing.
No boulders.
No tree.
Tried to find a way over, as it was flowing pretty heavily. Then found a shallow looking area and just marched across using my walking stick and now soaked shoes.
The last part was the rutted road, and going up those steep hills kinda sucked. My legs were sore. I was tired, and it was getting late. But I decided to manifest a car at the ranger station to pick me up...
now this isn´t like a Colorado trail or anything. This is far out and there´s no public transport, no other hikers with cars, so the odds were slim. But I figured I´d go for it.
So at 6pm, as I hiked the final hill near the station I HEARD A CAR!!!
holy shit. I hustled up the hill past a guy carrying a big bag of stuf, and just missed the car!!! It was gone as I came over the rise.
Well... shit. It´s at least a 3 hour walk back to town. It gets dark in 20 minutes. I´m soaking wet and mostly out of food and water. Hmmm....
then the door to the ranger station opens and the ranger, in very broken but smiling English, says i should just stay there. I mentioned I had no foo and no dry clothes. He has an extra shirt and some food. There´s a sleeping bag in the bunk rooms upstairs. So I thought of my backpacking guidelines to ¨"never refuse and invitation", and took him up on it.
Tshirt felt great. His name is Danny. He thought I was from Vegas when I said Los Angeles, so we talked about casinos and gambling. I had a little food left, and he gave me some banana´s to fry up. There was no power. It was dark. A part of me thought Imight have just walked into a serial killers home... that this would be a perfect set up. That no one really knows I´m gone or where I am. There is another guy there who doesn´t say much and just sits and eats. Danny seems so friendly. What if they poisoned the tea? What if they come into the room at night and stab me?
... those thoughts lasted a few minutes, but not really, and not very strongly. This is the ranger station. It even says in the Lonely Planet you can sleep here, but it was an amusing train of thought.
We eat, chat a bit in broken languages, (ugh, I wish I knew Spanish), and hit the bed by 7 or so. I lay awake for a bit, just thinking then sleep came to the noises of the jungle.
I woke up in the middle of the night. A bad headache. Sorta nautious. It wasn´t altitude, since I was only at 6000 feet, it was the mattress being lumpy and my head lyaing on a spring, and it was cold. Probably in the 40s. The sleeping bag was good, but made for a 5 foot tall person i think. I figured it was almost dawn when I went to the bathroom... but it was only 1:30 am.
Anyway, it was a long night. I tried to sleep siting up to make the headache go away. Strangely i didn´t have any ibuprofin which i usually carry withme just in case. Somehow I made it till dawn, got dressed, and chatted with Danny a bit. he´s such a fun guy. Took some pics and with the sun up hiked down the road.
About 30 minutes later, a gas company worker drove past... Ihave no idea where he came from... and I hitched a ride. Thank goodness. It was a 20 minute drive back. My legs were so sore, but Jose got me down safe and sound. Ate some breakfast with the gringos at Central Park coffee and breakfast shop, and then shower, and sleep for 5 hours.
Today my friends, is a "day off" from traveling... journal. Laundry. Nap. Relax as the rain falls. Listening to EUROPE on my iPod. Man, I forgot how much I love that band. (And their song CHEROKEE).
I have no idea how the next week of the trip will go. It´s weird to not be sure where to go or what to do, but it´s nice too. Rumor has it there is karaoke in town, so I´m gonig to rock a mic tonight if possible.
And yes, I know Cherokee is not spelled Chiriqui. But here in Panama, that´s the name of the tribe and the region that I´m in right now. :)
Rock on
Craigo
Next issue, I´ve got some notes on food... Dave and Rachel, get ready!
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