*** Update 11-Apr: right, mañana… anyway the pics are up. Uploading took terribly long so couldn´t be bothered too much to do a quality check. Better luck next time! ***

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Rio Dulce + longest bridge in Central America

My speedy kayak (the left one!)

Kayaking shot...

As I said, time to move on! I was shocked to see that my trail through Guatemala is actually making sense; it’s starting to become a (near) perfect loop… not quite in line with the way things have been going so far!

So the next logic step went down to Finca Tatin, a place on the Rio Dulce, between the equally named city and Lívingston - indeed, close to the Caribbean coast again! Somehow that area keeps attracting me but I’ll elaborate more on that in the near future (trust me, it doesn’t all end whenever you think it will ;)). Anyway, what’s to encounter here; sweltering heat and 3 litres of sweat per hour to begin with. Apart from that; kayaking, lots of community-based eco-tourism, great swimming spots (in the river, not the sea this time!), lovely indigenous villages, a devastating jungle-hike, Lívingston (a Garifuna / Caribbean coastal town) and last but not least: a rope-swing in combination with my self-destructive attitude! May I suggest you check the cartoon-like sequence at the end of the picture gallery :) All in all, time to be hyperactive again!

It all started with a 5-hour kayaking trip to a nearby biotope (Chocon Machacas - have fun pronouncing!). Just what my arms, shoulders and abdomen needed after all this sitting still! Besides, kayaking is fun and the trip was beautiful. Next day, next level: 32 degrees Celsius, extreme humidity and an unforgivingly lot of sunshine: time for a jungle-hike! This hike took us to some indigenous villages which gave a great insight in what everyday life really is like in Guatemala. Also, it felt reassuring to see my guide being just as worn as me at the end! The hike ended in Lívingston, so why not check it out straight away; it’s amazing how quickly Q’eqchi’ culture changes to rasta, yah man and reggae in just a few kilometers!

The final day was a chill-out day - after all the old man still needs to watch out for his foot (and lazy bones). Nonetheless, rope-swinging was still fun (and unsafe)!

The following days were mainly marked by transits and a weird border crossing into El Salvador, but I’m saving that one for the next post, in order not to drag on as I usually do :) Come back soon, more is on the way!

-René *no quote this time* Miltenburg

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… or at least, that´s as close as this place gets! Welcome to Boquete - a village up in the mountains (elevation 1060m) where climate is quite different from the other places I´ve been to so far. Instead of the hot, damp, 30C+ climate I´ve come across so far, this place gets a more or less eternal spring, with temperatures varying between 20 and 25C throughout the day. Another great plus is the fact you can actually get a decent cup of coffee here, which seems to be a rarity in both Panama and Colombia, even though this is where this stuff is grown…. makes you wonder….

Don´t believe what these other people might tell you - Boquete is great, and quite something different to all the beaches, palm trees and stuff I´ve come across so far :) The last couple days (as well as the ones to come) have been quite intense;

Wednesday I decided to explore the area and initially took a 10km walk up to an elevation of 1800m. Nothing big really, but I really liked the path I was walking on (easy as a lunch walk - it was a road). At the end, I arrived at the National Park of Valcan Baru / Quetzal´s Trail (Sendero los Quetzales) where a guide at the entrance of the park told me there was still time to walk another 12km along the trail to a town named Cerro Punta. Naive as I was, I decided to take this walk … and this is where things got rough! After 2km I all of a sudden had to leave the trail and take a left, up a huge mountain where the path merely consisted of wooden blocks floating in either mud or something that resembles quicksand. Hardcore as I am ;) I decided to get off the beaten path and this is where things instantly went wrong - 3 seconds later I was stuck in the mud, up to my knees and thanks to my (natural born) insane reflexes I lost a shoe :) Next thing I know I´m hanging on to an all too flexible tree digging up my shoe - lol! Anyway, the trail continued up and Mother Nature was actually nice to me; it rains quite a lot during the afternoon but I only came across a few minor showers - and a little thunderstorm ;) Screw you Rio Calderon, it takes more than a few showers to flush me away! Oh and Lonely Planet… you guys seriously need to get your facts straight on the maps you printed!

Climbing (literally at times) up to dark cloud forests is quite intense, but very beautiful and mysterious. Temperatures dropped to some 15C (who´s laughing now ha!?) and climbing muddy and rocky hills while being in the fog is interesting to say the least, and it´s a relief to reach the end of the trail (elevation 2500m)! Another 5km walk took me into the town of Cerro Punta, from where a 3-hour bus ride (thank you Panamanian infrastructure) eventually took me back home! Not tapping myself on the head for this, but this was quite an experience. Bus ride was private as I was stinking so badly no one wanted to sit next to me ;) 

Yesterday was a similar story - I got the idea of visiting some nearby Hot Springs but was late so it started to rain by the time we got there. A mere 20-minute walk on a rocky dirt path turned into a wedge through a class 3 rafting river thanks to the insane showers! Trust me, that´s fun! (and thanks Krisztina for breaking down the bridge hehehe!) Anyway, the hot springs were rewarding and so was the hike as my shoes have never been cleaner ;) No pics on this part yet as I´m not too keen on losing another camera.

Have fun wedging through the small collection below - and as always, I´ll keep you posted!

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Having a break...

Mi jardin es su jardin

2400m altitude - you seeee ;)

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