The landscape and garden design are certainly beautiful, but are by no means the best out there.
During the afternoon hours, the festival ground are relatively vacant.
In Panama, crowds only begin to filter in around early evening. In order to attain the lively festival experience you may need to sacrifice a good night's sleep in order to drive home, or money on a hotel room. During the evening & night, the festival adds amusement rides, live music and dancing to the mix.
Scroll down to see photos of the festival & Boquete
Of course if you don't mind a slower paced festival escapade or the hot sun, a one day trip to this festival is perfect.
Since this event was originally a coffee fair, it still offers up a large variety of local coffee brands. Boquete is known for having some of the best coffee in the world, so if you enjoy a good roast you should give this event a visit.
The festival is surprisingly small, especially for an event that has been held for over fifty years. Venders occupy most of the fair grounds, selling flowers, coffee, and traditional hand crafted souvenirs.
Though many people come for the coffee and flower arrangements, to me the real star of this event is the town and the scenery surrounding it.
During the 10-day festival there is an explosion of venders outside the festival grounds as well as inside. While in town you you might like to visit the plethora of restaurants, ice cream shops, as well tour coffee farms.
So if you come to Boquete solely for the festival don't forget to stay a little while, look at the views, and grab a bag of local coffee beans for the road.
The festival is the attraction, but in order to get the full experience you have to appreciate the town that puts it on, Boquete.
If you want to learn more, my Mom, Betsy, wrote some about the history of the Boquete Flower & Coffee festival.
This article was written by my 14 year old daughter, Skylar Vayda. Over the next 3 months, Skylar will be writing a Panama-related article each week. She will be picking the topic. We hope you enjoy them.
El Pulpo is on a quiet street. It is close to downtown Puerto Armuelles.So our little family of four ventured out to try the dinner fare at Restaurante El Pulpo (The Octopus).
The restaurant is on a quiet street in the Rio Mar neighborhood. It is just one street behind the waterfront houses.
Which is the street that has the short one-lane bridge going from Pueblo Nuevo/Downtown to Rio Mar. It is about 500 meters past the bridge, on the right- hand side of the street.
That one-lane bridge used to be known as the “bridge over the stinky little slough”, before work on the new and improved sewer system for Puerto Armuelles began early in 2015. While the sewer system is not quite finished yet, the family didn’t notice any odors when we crossed the bridge.
There is a sign out front announcing “El Pulpo, so you won’t miss it. (see photo above.) There is plenty of on-street parking, since this part of the road is off the main thoroughfare.
The owner, Cinia, is outgoing and friendly. She only speaks Spanish.
We went with Cinia's recommendations, ordering a plate of Mariscos Mixtos (Mixed Seafood) in salsa, as well as a plate of camarones al aljillo (shrimp in a garlic sauce).
The four of us weren’t too hungry, so splitting the two meals was plenty of food.
We were quite pleased with our dishes.
There was ample succulent seafood, including shrimp, mussels, fish, squid, and yes, pulpo (remember, “pulpo” means octopus).
The seafood was a little greasy though. You didn't notice the grease so much as you ate it. It just tasted delicious. But afterwards, our bodies let us know we had consumed more grease than we were used to eating .
The side dishes were the usual, meaning french fries and Patacones (fried plantains). As usual, there were no vegetables offered, other than steamed Yucca, a starchy root vegetable, and a tiny garden salad of iceberg lettuce, tomato, and onion. However, the presentation was pretty nice, for a budget Panamanian restaurant.
Click on a photo below to enlarge
It is open 7 days a week from noon to 11pm.
El Pulpo seems like a good quality, economical place to eat lunch or dinner. Overall, our family enjoyed our dinner and chatting with the owner, Cinia.
We would definitely recommend this restaurant as a good addition to Puerto Armuelles’ still rather limited list of dining out options.
Thanks for the tip Victor!
Victor is an ex-pat who lives in the Corazon de Jesus neighborhood.
If you decide to give El Pulpo a try, please let us know what you think.
We’d like to know if it is consistently good, how the service is, etc….
Thanks!
Betsy will be adding this to our site's list of Puerto Armuelles dining options.
He had overheard my most recent session with Rocket Language, Spanish.
I wasn't sure what to expect from Rocket Language. My biggest surprise was that it records your attempts at speaking Spanish.
This is huge for me.
I am terrible at pronunciation.
Often, I think I am saying a Spanish word correctly, but my family assures me that I am not!
Rocket Language encourages me to speak Spanish out loud. And it's feedback system helps me to improve my spoken Spanish.
With Rocket Language, I feel comfortable saying a hard word over and over until I am saying it correctly. It is radically different from my past study techniques.
In a class, your teacher usually won't keep after you for too long. It can be discouraging for both of you. Or they are happy with, good enough. In a book, or even with CDs or videos, you have no way of knowing if you are saying the words correctly or not.
Rocket language has a microphone that records your attempts at speaking Spanish. (Check out the image of how that looks.)
The recording system (Rocket Record) records, rates, and transcribes what you say (in green).
The rating and transcription system does not always work well. But really the most useful feature is the recording. That is, the ability to hear yourself speak, and to immediately hear the "teacher" say it correctly.
With those 2 tools you can immediately discover how well you are speaking, and what you need to do to correctly say the Spanish words.
I have found the recording system invaluable.
One of my biggest stumbling blocks to surging toward fluency, is consistency. It is difficult to even remember to study every day.
Here in Panama, I do speak Spanish everyday. But that doesn't mean I speak Spanish better each day.
If I don't actively try to improve my Spanish, I simply repeat the same poor Spanish every day. In this way, Rocket Language does try to help you. It keeps track of how often and how long you use the course. (See the image above for the tracking system.)
I am finding it so useful that I actually bought the program. If you know me, you know that is a big deal. I don't purchase things lightly.
I had been using the free trial version of Rocket Language. The free trial allows you to delve into a few lessons at each of its 3 levels. I particulary like that even with the free trial you get lifetime access. It took me a week after I signed up, to start taking one of the classes.
In the free trial, you only have access to a few classes in each level of Spanish classes. But it is enough to get you started and to find out if you like Rocket Language.
It was enough for me to decide to buy into Rocket Language.
Of course, for someone like me, it is also reassuring to know that I have 60 days to ask for a full refund. So if I find that I don't actually use it, I will ask for a refund. But I hope that I do use it - and consistently. I really want to improve my Spanish.
My Spanish is improving by my actively using Rocket Language. I recommend you check it out and see if it works for you too. Read over this Rocket Language review and see if you agree.
You can get the free trial here.
If you want to jump right in and become a full-fledged member, you can join Rocket Language here.
There are a number of membership options depending upon your goals and current level of Spanish. Right now there is a discount on membership. If it is over when you click, there is likely to be another discount again in a few months.
Remember you have 60 days to cancel and get a full refund. I'll update this review if I decide to get a refund. Right now it seems highly unlikely.
If you are looking for tips on how to learn any language, you should download the free pdf. You can do it here, or click on the image at the top of this page.
I will also be testing out other online Spanish classes and programs in the future. I want to know what is out there and how they compare to Rocket Language. So stayed tuned for future reviews.
In the meantime, I created a short summary of the online Spanish classes or programs. Programs that use technology to make it more fun & easier to learn Spanish. If you are interested in exploring other options, you may want to start with those online Spanish programs.
I also highly recommend you check out Rocket Language. At least their free trial.
Watch this interview with the organizer, Irma Guerra, and the volunteer veterinarian, Dr. Roberto Crespo.
[leadplayer_vid id="56A76207C6ECD"]
At first, an organization in David, Voz de las Animales, had conducted a monthly animal clinic in Puerto Armuelles. But after a year they stopped.
Then Dr. Crespo asked Irma if she was willing to organize the monthly clinic in Puerto Armuelles. If she was, he would continue to come down from David for the clinic. Irma was willing and Voluntarios Por Los Animales - Puerto Armuelles was born.
One of the volunteers owns Coco's place, a hotel in Puerto Armuelles, and that is where the clinic is held.
Voluntarios Por Los Animales - Puerto Armuelles has a facebook page.
Please like it. Upload any photos you have from the clinic, and let people know about this organization.
I am sure the page will expand and provide more information on how you can help as the organization grows.
Help with any of the items below would be tremendously appreciated.
You can also collect money for them. To make it look official and consistent, they have a wrapper for you to cover your collection jar.
If you would like a collection jar wrapper, please contact Irma. I had a downloadable version on this page but was asked to remove it. The organization would like more control over who is collecting money using official-looking collection jars.
One woman taxi driver in Puerto Armuelles collects donations from her riders. You can also donate at the clinic itself. They have a collection jar at each clinic, ready for your generous contribution.
Important
If you station a collection cup in a location, you are responsible for collecting the money and getting it to Irma. You can always bring it to one of the monthly clinics.
Do not feed your pet for at least 12 hours before the procedure.
If possible, you should call to say you are bringing your animal to the next clinic. Animals are seen on a first come, first serve basis.
Call Irma to make a reservation or to volunteer - 6230-3623
I went during the January 23rd clinic. I had planned to bring our dog, Ziggy, to be neutered in the morning. Unfortunately, my daughter forgot and fed our dog that morning. I went by the clinic simply to say, sorry I didn't bring my dog, I will next month.
Both Dr. Crespo and Irma were wonderful to talk with. I had planned on interviewing them sometimes, but not that day. But there was a lull in their patients, they were willing, and it just felt right. That is why the video is a little shaky and rough. I didn't bring a tripod or microphone. But hopefully, it is enjoyable anyway.
I happily accepted when Irma asked if I would publish photos of animals ready for adoption.
She will send them to me every month.
For instance, the photo here of a cat that is available to be to adopt now.
In the video, she stated she has 2 cats to adopt. But I think one was adopted already. This cat is only 3 months old and very adorable.
The 6 puppies Irma mentions in the video will not be ready to adopt until February 20th. That is the day of the next clinic. They will be spayed at that time.
So check back next month for photos of those 6 puppies for adoption.
The statue is what initially attracted me to the hotel. But once I entered the lobby, I realized there were many more architectural novelties yet to come.
Even before I reached the front desk I was immediately struck by the chaos of the interior design.
The lobby looked as if 100 different interior designers, all with an affinity for patterns, had decided that they would, individually, decorate the hotel as they saw fit, without any regard for consistency or order.
The end result is very "unique" and "interesting". For example, the bar looks like a Victorian sitting room. The only difference is that, in the hotel bar, all the beautifully carved "Victorian" wooden furniture had been painted varying shades of blues and cotton candy pinks.
Though the atmosphere was chaotic it did serve some purpose; it was a great conversation starter. Even though I could go on and on about the lobby, for hours on end, I won't because it is now time to move on to the most important part of any hotel: the rooms.
The rooms vary in price and size. The largest and most expensive rooms being the Executive suite and the most inexpensive being the Standard room (no breakfast included). By far the best value room package is the Standard double, with breakfast included. It is well worth it to have breakfast included.
To me, the best perk of this hotel is its amazing air conditioning. Unlike many other Panama hotels, the air conditioning at the Granada really works. It can actually feel cold in the room.
The standard rooms are a bit bland, especially compared with the colorful decor in the lobby. Also they lack some basic essentials such as a coffee maker, ironing board, and the usual generic watercolor prints on the walls.
Rianda Granada is conveniently located in the El Congrejo neighborhood. The receptionists are attentive and speak English well. The breakfast is excellent. It also has both a gym and a pool. You can easily walk to a number of good restaurants, shopping centers, and various Panama City landmarks from the hotel.
Other than the helter-skelter aesthetic of the interior, this is a great place to stay.
You can see the tripadvisor reviews of hotel Riande Granada, here.
This article was written by my 14 year old daughter, Skylar Vayda. Over the next 3 months, Skylar will be writing a Panama-related article each week. She will pick the topic. We hope you enjoy them.
People carefully consider how to greet the new year here.
My guess is that many Panamanians, and others around the world, will greet the Year on the dance floor with a glass in hand. Not a bad way start to 2016.
I love to travel. Luckily for me, my family and I will be in an airport at midnight on New Year's Eve.
Read about the many New Year customs and traditions in Panama here. Many are quite unusual, like the one in the photo above.
New Year’s Eve is an big event in Panama.
Everyone is in great spirits and ready to party!
If you will be in Panama for New Year's Eve, you also need to plan ahead.
Often for big holidays you can not buy alcohol in grocery stores for a specific period of time. I'm not sure that will happen on New Year's eve, but it is worth asking about before New Year's Eve. But you can always go to a bar, of course.
View from San Vicente towards downtown Puerto Armuelles
That's all. Only wanted to announce the new page, photos of Puerto Armuelles, Panama.
It has you going into Costa Rica to get from David to Puerto.
Do not do that.
1. Drive to Paso Canoas (It's on the Costa Rica border)
2. Turn left (south) at border
3. Arrive in Puerto Armuelles (The road ends in Puerto & at Pacific Ocean)
I wrote a page with detailed instructions on how to get to Puerto Armuelles.
It includes what to expect at the police check points along the way.
There is a bit on buses and taxis as well.
Please comment below.
Learn about Puerto Armuelles here.
But that doesn't mean we don't like the mountains too. We do.
It works the other way too.
We are running into more and more ex-pats who live in the highlands of Boquete or Volcan who “love the mountains”, but who also like the beach.
Some of the hype you hear about Panama, says that these beach and mountain lovers can quickly go back and forth.
For example, the hype says that in one leisurely Panamanian day, you take a dip in the ocean, a hike in the mountains and eat dinner back at the beach.
I decided to test that out.
Recently, while my family was away in the states, I decided to see if I could use the mountains as a quick get away from Puerto Armuelles.
I was particularly enthusiastic since it was the dry (hot) season, and there were no waves for surfing.
What I found was that all the hype is true.
I took off my flip flops, drove to Volcan, put on my hiking shoes, and went for a brisk hike. I was back in my car before dark and driving home - all in the same day.
Specifically, I did the following.
- Left Puerto Armuelles after lunch
- Drove up to Volcan (1-1/2 hrs)
- Enjoyed a 3-hour hike
- Returned to Puerto in time for dinner.
When I left the beach it was pretty hot (high 80’s). I was up in the cool mountains (low 60’s to 70’s) of Volcan in a matter of an hour and a half. It would have taken 2 hours to go to Boquete.
I continued this experiment and visited Cerro Punta, which is ~2 hours from Puerto Armuelles.
I drove to Cerro Punta, took a nice afternoon hike, then spent the night at the wonderful Hotel Los Quetzales.
I woke up, had a lazy breakfast, then went for a real jungle hike. I kept a look out for the beautiful and elusive Quetzal, but never saw it.
I could have returned to my hotel, checked out, and been back in Puerto Armuelles for a swim in the Ocean before dusk, but I didn't. I stayed another night.
Obviously, I have always known that this was possible. But we had never tested it.
Our getaways to the highlands and other places in Panama, tend to be for 4 or more days. We haven't done many quick trips. More often then not we stay contendedly at home in Puerto Armuelles. I think that now that our children are getting older, and more adventuresome, we may start to take more quick trips to the highlands. Or maybe just Betsy and I will just take off more often for a night or 2 and stay at one of the many great mountain hotels
It seems that I'm not the only one doing more quick visits.
With increasing frequency, we run into expats from Volcan & Boquete here our beach town of Puerto Armuelles. They are indulging in a weekend getaway from their mountain homes and staying at Heavenly’s Hotel or the Tsunami Inn.
It was chatting with these expats that inspired me to try a quick getaway myself.
They told me it was easy. They were right.
But I did wonder why they didn't go to the beaches somewhat closer to them such as Las Lajas, Boca Chica, and La Barqueta. They told me that Puerto Armuelles is just a “whole lot more real” than those more resort-type beach areas. In Puerto, you get the beach, but you also get a real beach town, with 20k residents, and all the services and community that this entails.
