Full Circle – Back to El Valle de Anton

Ten years ago, I helped start Butterfly Haven with an American couple. They wanted to create a butterfly flight house and a cafe for visitors to the area. It’s still going strong with new owners, but more on that later. El Valle’s unique position is best described by the Smithsonian:

El Valle volcano, 80 km SW of Panama City, is a broad stratovolcano cut by a large compound Pleistocene caldera. The 6-km-wide El Valle de Antón caldera was formed about 56,000 years ago in association with eruption of the dacitic El Hato pyroclastic flows. The caldera has steep, 200-300 m high walls overlooking a flat floor underlain by deposits of a former caldera lake and currently occupied by the town of El Valle. Elevation 3888 ft.

–Smithsonian Institution

Shown below, it’s like the belly button of Panama. A little bowl that you’d think would flood like crazy (but somehow it doesn’t!).

Oh, it’s also the beginning of rainy season. Fantastic.

I was presented with a last minute opportunity to go back to El Valle, Panama for a few weeks, living next door to my dear friend Jackie. I met her when I first came here and we hit it off right away. Her bubbly personality and beautiful smile was a delight to be around. She’d lived here when she was younger. Her father worked for the Panama Canal and Jackie came back later in life, so she knows a LOT about Panama. It was great seeing her at the airport when she picked me up and our new adventures were about to begin! (*You can click on a gallery image to see the full size.*)

The humidity hit me right in the face when the airport doors opened and I was reminded that I used to live in this stuff somehow. New Zealand softened me up with its relatively dry climate and crisp mornings. It’ll take some getting used to.

Since we were spending the night in Panama City, we shopped! Pricesmart, where I got a few bags of coffee and cheap…errr…inexpensive wine. Seriously, the prices were really good there. I got a queen size sheet set for $10. Lunch overlooking the water and yachts, included my long awaited shrimp ceviche and a big glass of sangria.

Jackie drove us around, dodging parked cars, weaving traffic and one way streets like a pro. This would make any foreign driver stressed to the max! We stayed at the Raddison which sits near the end of the Panama Canal, complete with gigantic cargo ships! Tropical birds flew past; a stray cat with a kitten relaxed on the sidewalk below; palms swayed in the breeze and mango trees were heavy with fruit. The humidity was thick as fish chowder…yes…I’m BACK!

In the morning we headed out for some coffee and breakfast. The pastry cabinet was impressive and I really wanted one of everything in it. Then the sign caught my eye.

The traffic going into the city around 9:30 went on for miles. Jackie said people get up at 4:30am to deal with it. Every. Single. Day. Thankfully, the drive to El Valle eventually became views of rolling green hills and lush forests. I started to recognize the town but it had definitely grown.

Her rental house was amazing, recently renovated on a large quarter acre lot overlooking the walls of the crater on both sides. Colorful flowers, trees and bushes were lovingly tended to by her gardener. This was gonna be fun! The homes in this town are very impressive, mostly weekend getaways for the locals, all are typically on large, lush lots with great views.

The Matador Bug

I could not believe my eyes when I went out to spy on the passionfruit vine. There are so many creatures that live and rely on this, but never have I seen a Matador bug before. Something caught my eye that I couldn’t quite make out and of course, it disappeared. I went out later only to find it sitting right in front of me on a freshly opened passion flower.

I was captivated for hours, to say the least. They’re destructive to the flowers and fruit. They’re called Matador bugs because they wave their legs around in the air. Scientists think it’s not entirely for mating, either. I made a video of it, too!

Some critters that came my way…a small unidentified snake that got really flat. A small turtle who got covered in dog hair from being on the porch. A sloth rescue lady who went by Jackie’s when her cab didn’t return to the zoo to get her. A spider with what looks like a sloth face and lots of caterpillars on the passionfruit vine. Weird how they all stuck together instead of going out on their own.

The Spay and Neuter Clinic was going on over the weekend so we made a day of it and there was a good turnout! After a few days of relaxing, we headed to Jackie’s friend’s house she’s known since high school. We had a tour of her gorgeous home and extensive grounds before heading to the beach for a stroll.

We pulled over to get a cluster of guinep fresh off the tree from a roadside vendor. The cluster was about $3. Just peel it open and pop it in your mouth! Initially, it had the consistency of an eyeball. You had to eat around the center seed, like a lychee or rambutan. So basically a naked grape is what I like to call it.

The beach was pretty empty except for a small shack that served drinks and food. The storm was rolling in so it was a quick walk up and down, but there were very interesting rocks and birds along the way. The pelicans seem to cruise effortlessly over open water in various types of formation.

Butterfly Haven was on my list so I paid a visit and hardly recognized the place it had expanded so much. I saw a lot of our original work and there were lots of butterflies around, of course!

We headed out on my birthday for another adventure – get a view of El Valle from above (the photo at the top of the blog) then on to see a waterfall (that we didn’t have to walk to!) and finally a late lunch at a gorgeous restaurant overlooking the cloud forest.

On our way home she wanted to drive by this place that was throwing a big party that night. People had started to arrive and then we saw this. Whoops! Beware, don’t park on the side of the road in El Valle…the ditches are big! They got out from the back as the hatch was open. Not a good way to start the party.

Jackie knows of an organic farm run by a young couple, so we headed up there one morning. They did well buying that piece of land, with some set aside for natural regeneration resulting in a troop of titi monkeys that pass through it.

There’s an interesting story about this bush she had. Another local had used it to treat their dog who had a tumour on its face. You boil the leaves in water and when the water turns a bright pink color, it’s ready. They gave the dog some of this with its food and after a few months, the tumour had disappeared.

We met the horses, sheep, chickens, pigs and dogs! They want to expand sections of their land into community friendly spaces and are already growing different kinds of fruit trees. The starfruit was HUGE and they had many large, old avocado trees as well.

She packed up some leafy greens, herbs, tomatoes and the crunchiest cucumbers I’ve had along with 3 dozen fresh eggs and fruit (water apple, mango, passion fruit & starfruit).

I guess I waited too long to finish up the water apple. Thankfully I broke it open and had a look inside (but not before popping a piece in my mouth). Yep, squirmy worms in it. Reminded me of my wild guava eating days in Costa Rica that time. I always like to quote Camille on this one, “What would you rather have, pesticides or worms?” Worms, I guess.

Our friend Terry, whom I met in El Valle 10 years ago was making a trip back here from Colombia! So we all went out to the beaches and re-visited our old haunt at Playa Blanca. It’s grown! More apartments and of course the huge salt water pool was still there (2nd largest in Central & South America) and I finally saw some iguanas.

We gave Terry a hard time because he actually ordered coffee at the beach. It was like a thousand degrees out and he ordered COFFEE. I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of that.

Casco Viejo

The three and a half weeks flew by and before I knew it, Terry and I were off to Casco Viejo for two nights before heading back to our respective homes. Jackie was working but would join us the last night and so kindly take us to the airport in the morning.

I hadn’t taken the bus from El Valle to Albrook mall before and that was an adventure. The price for both of us, with Terry’s Jubilado discount came to about $7 (2 1/2 hour drive). We caught it early because Jackie said she got diverted in the city by protests. We managed to find a white minivan bus going to Albrook with hardly anyone on board. Great! Not great. We drove around El Valle for 45 minutes as they tried to collect more people and we finally left at 10am. The driver literally crept down the mountain and Terry commented he’d never been in one so slow before. I bet him $5 that once we got to the bottom, he’d drive like a maniac. I won that bet. If the driving didn’t make you nuts, the music surely would. I just became numb to it after an hour or so.

The taxi from Albrook mall to our apartment was only $6! WHAT? It was a 15 minute drive (and he got stopped by a cop to check his license).

I managed to find an incredible apartment that would fit all of us (although I took the couch the last night) that was so affordable and modern, I barely believed it was going to be there when we showed up. I sleuthed around though and was pretty certain it wasn’t a scam (and it wasn’t!). For $90 a night per person for two nights, we went with Wynwood House and would highly recommend it. They have multiple units all around Central and South America. Their communication was flawless and easy through WhatsApp (in English, nonetheless). Without having to see a single human being, we managed to find, enter, stay, arrange a door that needed to be fixed and feel like we were living the life of the rich and famous for a few days! Being on the edge of town was a bit of a bonus, but the package of earplugs next to the beds was a hint that it still won’t be quiet here at night. And it wasn’t. At least not til about 3am.

Boy, there’s a lot to cover in this area. I wanted to come back here because of a photo I took 10 years ago that is one of my favorites of all time. Because I got the name of the street in the photo, I was able to google it before I went to figure out where it was. Turned out it wasn’t necessary because Casco really isn’t that big, so I would’ve come across it eventually. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the exact position right and Jackie had thought that the doorway the woman is in had probably been renovated by now (she was correct!).

It appears the doorway she’s sitting in front of is still the door of today, just stripped of all those years of paint. I think what I liked about the original photo was the contrast between old and well, older. That pretty much describes this entire area of old town. There are buildings being held up by steel supports with trees and plants growing inside the shell of their former glory. I assume one cannot remove and replace, only renovate.

There are very poor parts next to very ritzy parts. There were people living inside of an old school. A cat rested near piles of junk inside an abandoned building. Children played in the streets at midnight. Music blasted until the small hours of the morning and people yelled, laughed and cavorted around every corner. Meanwhile, the Presidential palace sat only a few blocks north of us so the area is heavily guarded by police.

One morning, a couple of guys took a sledgehammer to the cinderblocks across the street from us and went in with machetes to cut down some trees that were growing inside. They patched the blocks back up and left. Somehow, trees and bushes can be found growing along the very tops of walls all over. Camille again: “Life will find a way.”

I was moved by this image of the vultures. There were a lot that would gather on rooftops which we could see from OUR rooftop. I saw this pair together and they proceeded to ‘cuddle’ one another back and forth. Just when you think vultures couldn’t possibly need love, this happens.

Our first day, we wandered the streets and came across this park in Santa Ana so we sat down for a while. I noticed a lot of people walking in a wide street and wanted to see what was going on. Turns out we were the only tourists there. It was more of a local shopping area which spanned a couple of long blocks with shops on both sides and fruit/veg vendors in the street. We didn’t feel unsafe but when it started getting darker and there were less people out, we couldn’t quite find our way back home! I saw a dozen cops all standing around together so in my bad Spanish, I asked if he could direct us, figuring they know these streets pretty well. I guess Google maps sort of threw him, too but he persevered with us and wouldn’t give up until he could lead us back to where we started. I thanked him very much and we were on our way!

The last morning, we headed to the airport and said our goodbyes. Huge thanks to Jackie for putting up with me for over 3 weeks and to Terry, whom I’m so glad I got to see again (I’ll be coming to Colombia eventually!). It was such a great reunion and makes me happy that we’ve stayed friends this long.

Panama has its draws and drawbacks. The Balboa is pegged to the dollar and American currency is used. It makes it easy to stay on your budget vs. having a fluctuating exchange rate each day. Food seemed to be cheaper than the States and you have many conveniences of ‘home’. The downside is that there are trash issues, too many stray animals, high rental prices, unpredictable protests, maddening traffic and drivers and local customs that tend to make expats a little crazy. Make no mistake, this is still a third world country with a lot of first class amenities, so it’s no wonder retirees and digital nomads flock here. The natural beauty is hard to beat but the weather at any time of the year can be a challenge. No place is perfect, but it’s still a good choice for people looking for an alternative lifestyle with a slower pace.