Having been sick for the last couple of days in Bocas del Toro, I was glad to arrive back in the mountains! It was a long ride from Bocas: 4 hours to David then another 1 hour to Boquete. I arrived and checked into the first hostel I spotted before sleeping for a few hours!
Feeling a little rejuvenated after some chicken soup, I met up with Jitteke again to plan the next few days.
Today we took the bus to the Baños Thermales in Caldera. After about 45 minutes on the bus we saw the sign and then after another 45 minutes walk along a dirt track we saw some hammocks strung up and heard families laughing. We were lucky not to share the hot springs with anyone but a Panamanian family who were very kind, explaining that we should go into the hot pools (40 degrees!) for three minutes, then the cold for three minutes and repeat four times! That’s when the healing powers kicked in. Good!
The hot springs were just in the back garden of a local family…
… Their chickens and goats just roaming about!
In the afternoon we ventured up hill to the top of the town for the famous Gesha coffee. It’s the world’s second most expensive coffee at $300/kg, coming in after the civet cat coffee.
We ordered one to share (at $9 a pot there was definitely enough to share!)
One of the owners was in the shop and came and talked to us while we enjoyed the coffee. She told us how her grandfather had been a coffee picker and her grandmother had suggested they start their own business. So they started growing regular coffee, always using Gesha coffee but mixing it with other varieties. It was only 10 years ago that someone taster Gesha on it’s own, and since then Gesha coffee has grown! The Asians love it (what a surprise) and it’s imported in the UK only by Harrods and Fortnum & Mason.
I must say it was delicious. The lady said it is almost like a herbal tea. And it is! Very fresh, with no bitter taste. And citrusy…delicious!
Walking back to town the sky was on fire.
Tomorrow, I go in search of the sun again!
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