I slept in as much as I could, but between the construction noises and Panama’s neverending marching band practice (seriously, there’s been loud practice in the streets in every Panamanian city I’ve seen so far) I couldn’t sleep much past 8:30.
I bummed around the hostel in the morning, trying to get a feel for what everyone’s plans were. These beach towns have a way of sapping everyone’s desire to go anywhere else, especially among the surfers. So, I decided to hit the road on my own (for the first time in a long time) bound for the mountains and rivers around Boquete.
I didn’t really have to deal with many goodbyes, as I’ll be meeting up with almost everyone in the Bocas crowd back in Panama City within the week.
The only way to Boquete from the Caribbean coast is to head back through David. And so this trip involves one of my biggest pet peeves: back-tracking. I don’t care if it’s running errands around town or trekking through tiny continents, the concept of going back over my tracks just vexes me. I’m terribly vexed. The worst part is that when I eventually leave Boquete, I have to go by David once more.
Anywho, I arrived in Boquete at around 5:30, and checked into Hostal Nomba. Unfortunately, I arrived too late in the day to book a canopy tour, but there are still plenty of hiking, rafting and coffee touring options that don’t require advanced notice.
After wandering the town and grabbing some dinner, I watched Hot Shots Part Deux with some English lads staying at the hostel. I forgot how funny those moronic movies can be. Of course, I did feel a bit old when some of the more dated jokes went over these guys’ heads. I suppose I could chalk it up to their being British instead.