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Boquete, in the Chiriqui Province of Panama

Bird's eye view of Bajo Boquete, in Chiriquí. I went with some of the guys from Porto Diao to leave some supplies after the latest flood hit.

Boquete is one of Chiriquí’s most famous districts, located up north of the province and west of Panama. With almost 20,000 residents, Boquete is popular amongst the tourist and expat communities mostly because of its template weather, a huge contrast to the rest of the country which enjoys the best in tropical climate. This is due, in large part, to the fact that Boquete is located in Panama’s central mountain range. Bajo Boquete city is the district capital, and the area gets its name from its topography; the capital’s entrance is a great opening, or “boquete” in Spanish, that gives way to a large valley surrounded by mountains.

Boquete is an old lady. A very old lady, if archeologist studies are to be believed; neighboring areas surrounding the Barú Volcano are believed to be the stomping grounds of some of the world’s first agricultural and societies and tribes, populations that date back to 300 B.C – 600 A.D! How about them apples? As a testament to this, several petroglyphs left behind by the ages-old communities have been left behind in the region. Thousands of years later, with Spain’s discovery of the occidental side of the world and their eventual colonization, indigenous tribes found Boquete and the other high grounds as the perfect refuge against the white devils due to the region’s topography but alas, all good things must come to an end; the latter half of the XIX century saw Boquete´s colonization mostly by people from Gualaca, Bugaba, David and a small community of European and American immigrants that, as luck would have it, heavily influenced the architecture seen in the district today. Boquete did not become the district’s capital until 1941, even though it had been proclaimed as such by the populace years prior.

Aside from the great deal of eco-tourism that is practiced in the area, stuff I will get to later in this piece, one of the most important festivals in the country takes place in Boquete during the month of January. First celebrated in 1950, Coffee and Flora Fair, otherwise known as “La Feria de Las Flores y el Café,” is an event visited by thousands of tourists both from Panama and abroad every year. The fair showcases the beauty of the region as well as the high grade coffee manufactured there, as some of the finest coffee beans in the continent come from Chiriquí.

The flood hit Boquete pretty bad. All's good and well now, though; the best way to support these communities is by visiting them and supporting the local economy, so grab a car/bus and haul ass!

Originally focused only on coffee, there was a great flood that took place on April 9th, 1970, that affected one in every three residents with heavy material losses, as well as 8 deaths. As a sign of respect to those who perished as well as the thousands of residents that lost their homes and possessions, the fair was postponed the following year; the fair returned in 1973 with its current name. Another flood struck late november of 2008, cause the same (if not more) property damage than the former, more than 30 years ago. As of this writing, the Fair Committee is hard at work to be able to open the fair in January 2009.

Boquete is one of the expat retirement destinations of choice, and this has influenced in large part what´s happened to the district in recent years. The district is divided into 6 boroughs, if you will: Bajo Boquete, Alto Boquete, Jaramillo, Los Naranjos, Caldera and Palmira. Out of these, the ones with the most population are Los Naranjos (4,930), Alto Boquete (4,307) and Bajo Boquete (4,243). The population is split up into three groups: the Ngöbe indigenous tribes that reside in the mountains and work mostly on the coffee plantations, non-indigenous Panamanians, and the European/American immigrants mentioned earlier. This last section of the populace has made the tourism industry bloom at a ridiculous rate, making it the most important of recent years. This has brought great discomfort amongst the natives, it seems, since the demand for an English-speaking workforce has gradually ruled them out when it´s time to apply for jobs in the many hotels, hostels, restaurants and tourist-friendly businesses that have been showing up in the area. Then again, the Panamanian soul is a savvy one, and as such has managed in most regards to stay relevant in this rapidly-moving globalized world. Because of this, you won’t have to be worried about being understood when visiting Boquete, as most hotels, restaurants, markets and other businesses have at least one element in their staff that speaks English and can help you in any regard. As the real estate business finds Boquete more irresistible by the minute, this trend is bound to go up as the years go by.

Real estate talk aside, if what you’re looking for is a nice place to spend a relaxing vacation, Boquete is an excellent option. Eco-tourism is big around these parts as well; river rafting, camping, hiking and more can be practiced in Boquete either by yourself (if you’re experienced, of course) or with trained professionals. As it is with other towns of the interior, Boquete’s residents are very friendly towards tourists and will lend a helping hand if need be. You’ll see that once you visit Boquete you will most likely want to stay there!

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