Boquete, Sept. 29, 2022; El Oasis Hotel
Buenas tardes from Boquete, and our hotel on the Caldera River. While the rain pours down outside and the birds revel in the afternoon showers, it is the perfect time to do the laundry and tell you about our lovely hotel while Miguel catches up on reading.
You might remember when we visited Boquete in January and February, we told you about the coffee and flower fairgrounds, and we posted many photos from our visits there. We are now on the same side of the river, one block south of the fairgrounds, with the same river in our back yard, looking across that river from our living room and bedroom to the central part of town.
We have an open plan apartment with a loft bedroom - albeit up 14 hefty steps. Once upstairs, however, we can sit on the balcony and watch the river meander, the butterflies play, birds flitter, and people and cars move by unhurriedly.
Our hotel is wonderfully placed for access to everything we need while providing quiet and delightful service with a smile and a sense of humor. We have a two-block walk to the largest grocery store, a four-block walk to the Rebechet hotel we stayed at after our tour in January, and for Miguel, a six-block walk to the gym where he is remembered from February. My favorite ice cream store is across the river and 3 blocks northwest; the dollar store is 5 blocks southwest of the bridge. The Library is across the street from Miguel's gym. The sushi restaurant is across the road from the Library.
Boquete has 86 restaurants for 13,000 people, all of wh to close on Tuesday evenings. The police station runs a siren each day at noon to let us all know it is time for lunch. Everyone smiles at me when I walk in the mornings and offer an "Ola" or "Buenas" (gender-neutral "good day" for Panama) as I pass. People seem pleasantly surprised when I say "con permiso" when I wish to move behind them, or when I put the accent on the final syllable of PanaMA, where it belongs.
Rainy Season: Right now, it is 3:49. Today, the rain started promptly at 1:00. Most days, the rain has started with a drum roll of thunder and sometimes a flicker of lightning between 2:00 and 3:00, and then heavy, pelting, straight-down rain for ten minutes just to let everyone know to TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY! After the initial three inches in ten minutes, the rain backs off to a lighter drench before the next drum roll announces another storm drain-filling rainfall. A symphony of a storm where the tympani drums remind you that the action is marching right up to your front door! This action rolls on through 6:00, and then things wrap up over the next hour, and we live mostly storm and rain-free until tomorrow between 2:00 and 3:00.
So, when are appointments available at the dentist? From 2:30 on, when people would rather not go outdoors. When are the taxis busiest? From 2:30 to 7:00 pm while the rains are inevitable. When is the grocery store busy? In the morning, while the sun is out. Are we quick learners? Yes!
Around noon, the high clouds start to meet mists moving down from the mountains and get snagged in the trees. Then, the mists get thicker and start drawing together like a playground's ghosts. From an artistic standpoint, the mists then start getting drapey, looking like Chinese watercolor paintings - and that doesn't photo well with my limited iPhone skills, but it looks mysterious.
Here is one relatively successful photo of a tree to our north that I call "Dragon in the Mist" after Game of Thrones.
I have noticed that unless my photos are close-ups, they do not convey the richness of the environment I see. The rain and humidity are conditions I don't know enough about photography to control, or I cannot manage the settings well enough on my iPhone. But, I am starting to get 0ut into the gardens during the morning before the mist and humidity are as much of a factor, and if I can get the birds and butterflies to stand still a bit, you can have some photos that will give you a better sense of the beauty of our new world.
Until next time!