Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BOQUETE'S FESTIVALS
Boquete's main festival,
Feria de Flores y Café
(
feriadeboquete.com
), takes place mid-
way through the coffee harvest in January. Its ten-day riot of craft stalls, flowers, stage
shows and throbbing late-night music centres on the fairgrounds bordering the eastern
banks of the Río Caldera. Around $20,000 is spent annually on ensuring a vibrant floral
carpet - which you can still admire once the fair has ended. The fairgrounds burst into col-
our again for the annual
Feria de las Orquídeas
in April, while the
Boquete Jazz and
Blues Festival
(
boquetejazzandbluesfestival.com
)
reels in visitors in February/March.
Brief history
Though the
Guaymí
were the first inhabitants of this remote valley, seeking refuge from the
conquistadors, the valley was not formally settled until 1911, when
European and North
Americans migrants
joined the existing population. Drawn to Panama during the canal con-
struction eras, these pioneering settlers started up the various coffee estates and hotels as Bo-
quete continued to develop, especially when, in 1916, the now defunct national railway im-
proved connections with David and other lowland centres.
In recent years, the increase in
foreign retirees
and associated
real estate boom
, driven by
the government's attempts to increase foreign investment, has resulted in considerable defor-
estation and has forced major changes on the tranquil mountain community. Many Guaymí
are only resident nowadays for the duration of the coffee harvest (sometime Oct-March, de-
pending on the estate), when families migrate from across the province for the tiring work of
picking the “cherries”, the earnings from which have to support many for the rest of the year.
Boqueteños themselves remain ambivalent about the effects of the boom - though few could
complain about the stunning new public library (daily 9.30am-6pm) on the main road - yet
for all the unforeseen ill-effects of growth, Boquete still boasts an attractive natural setting.
Jardín El Explorador
Jaramillo Arriba • Mon-Fri 9.30am-5pm, Sat & Sun 10am-7pm (closed Mon and reduced hours in low season)
• $5 • 720 1989 • Cross the bridge in Boquete and follow the road north; turn right at the fork and walk uphill
to Jaramillo Arriba
Northeast of Boquete - if you've time to spare - the quirky
Jardín El Explorador
is worth
the forty-minute walk uphill. Its steep gardens are decorated with tin men and scarecrows,
with plants protruding from wellington boots and old TV sets, plus scattered homilies in
Spanish. On a clear day the views of the Caldera Valley and Volcán Barú from the rose garden
are fabulous, as are the strawberry juices at their café.
