Due to laziness and lack of planning, our two days off in David were wasted. We had grand plans to go to Cerro Punta the first day (the town I was an exchange student in) and stop off in Volcán on the way. In Volcán we were going to eat at two of the restaurants that I ate at a lot when I lived there, and also going to walk to a nearby lagoon that I used to go to with my friends a lot. In Cerro Punta, we were to visit Parque Internacional La Amistad. This is a place I never got to visit, because the day my school went there on a field trip, I was vomiting up bile and strapped to an IV. I had then planned for us to stay the night at the Los Quetzales EcoLodge in Cerro Punta, which actually has dorms. The next day we were going to hike from Cerro Punta to Boquete. Then we'd have spent the second day exploring Boquete and possibly doing a coffee tour. It was a big agenda and not really rest, like we probably need.
This is what we actually did:
Los Quetzales dorm bed prices have skyrocked to $20 per person and for some reason were not available this week, and the trail to Boquete has been closed for over a year due to land slides!
So day 1, which turned out to be Palm Sunday, we caught a bus to Boquete, with no plan in mind. We didn't know it was palm Sunday until we got there and saw people walking around with palm fronds. Lots of businesses were closed. We considered touring some gardens in the area, but they were closed. We were too late for a coffee tour and they were rather expensive anyway. We could have hiked, but we ultimately decided we didn't feel like it so we ate some food there and headed back to David early. Once in David I proceeded to take a 4 hour nap! Apparently I needed it!
Day 2, today we wanted to get on the first bus to Cerro Punta at 5:30 am, cause it takes 2 and a half hours to get there. We missed the first one and the second one drove right past us without stopping! So we were on the 6:30 bus and had woken up early for nothing! We headed straight for La Amistad park. We had to pay $7 round trip (each) for the bus to Cerro Punta, then $6 for a taxi to the park entrance, then $5 each for park entrance fees. I had always wanted go to the park since I missed that field trip. It's supposed to be really pretty cloud forest scenery. We hiked to a waterfall, the trail was slippery, muddy and damp and the waterfall was just ok. That is the only hike we did and we are glad because it started to pour down rain when we got back to the park entrance. And it is quite cold in Cerro Punta, not a place you want to get soaked! We'd planned to try and hitch hike back to the road, but we're forced to get another taxi back to the bus stop. By the time we got on the bus, we were tired and hungry, and went straight back to David without stopping in Volcán. We are at the rotisserie chicken place, repack and hand washed our laundry. So it was an expensive day and not really worthwhile.
We are getting up early to start our bike ride towards Panamá City. I can't wait to get there and be able to sleep in! We plan to do about 100km a day for the first 4 days and then have a short day on the last day so we can get into the city early and find the place we're staying, Hostel Aleman. I'm sure that isn't going to be an easy feat! It's gonna be hot and probably somewhat miserable riding. Each day seems to be hotter, and Panamá City is considered to be the hottest capital in Central America, but we'll make it!
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