Primeval rainforests bedecked with clouds, noisy,
chattering birds flash brilliant iridescent colors
as they dart about their daily chores, flowering
epiphytes bloom en masse high above the forest floor
while gurgling streams glisten and tumble hurriedly
over great boulders in their dance towards the sea.
This enchanted land is the Chiriqui Highlands, the
part of the Cordillera Central that defines the
northern border of the province of Chiriqui. It
is a beautiful landscape of cloudforests, volcanic
peaks, coffee plantations and home to most of Panama's
Guaymi Indians.
Fortune magazine's 2005 Retirement
Guide selects Boquete as one of
the 5 best places in the world to
retire. Boquete used to be one of Panama's
best kept secrets. All that changed in 2001
when the magazine of the American Association
for Retired Persons also chose Boquete
as one of the top places in the
world for Americans to retire, a rating
based on safety,beauty, climate and cost-of-living. A
scenic mountain town in highlands of West
Panama, Boquete is also a world class tourist
destination-a flower-filled valley village
with gourmet coffee farms on its slopes, spectacular
mountain views and springlike weather year
round.
David Panama
David is the third largest
city in Panama and the capital of the Chiriqui
province. It is a very convenient stop over
point for several important destinations within
Chiriqui, such as the flower and coffee highlands
of Boquete and Cerro Punta. It is located
45 minutes from Paso Canoas, the border of
Costa Rica and you can also drive to Bocas
del Toro via David with your rental car.
The city of David is on the coastal plain.
It is a market town and center for the thriving
farming industry that is the main economic
activity of the Chiriqui province. David is
not quite a frontier town, but the feeling
is there. It is a regional commercial and
processing center. Raising cattle is the principal
occupation in the region, but tropical fruits,
coffee, cacao, and sugar are also produced.
The city is surrounded by the beautiful and
picturesque highlands of Chiriqui.
Video of Supermarket in David
In the center of town you will
find the central park. Here locals come to visit
or just to relax under the shade of the trees.
Street vendors will shine your shoes or sell you
a cold drink, a freshly cracked coconut or the
juice from sugar cane grounded on the spot. In
March David hosts the Feria Internacional de David,
where International companies exhibit their products
and services to Panama. The Childrens Day Festival
is held on or around July 17th every year.
Bambito is 18km (11 miles)
N of Volcán; Cerro Punta is 7km (4
1/2 miles) from Bambito; Guadalupe is 2.5km
(1 1/2 miles) from Cerro Punta. Bambito, Cerro
Punta, and Guadalupe are three of a dozen
or so tiny farming communities nestled in
a bucolic, alpine paradise. The area is characterized
by rugged hills and peaks cloaked in thick
emerald forest that is speckled with flowers
and interspersed with a patchwork of colorful
fields. Bambito is just a sprinkling of homes
and services along the road. Cerro Punta is
located in the crater of an extinct volcano,
and is the epicenter of agricultural production.
Boquete
