Boquete, recently named one of the top five places to retire internationally, was our last spot to visit. We spend three nights at the elegant Boquete Garden Inn, a splurge for us and well worth it!
The gardens were lovingly tended and the each of the ten rooms tastefully decorated. Each evening a social hour was held for the guests to mingle and Shana and I met some interesting people, all from California. Breakfast was served each morning in the garden and we enjoyed watching the brightly colored birds flit about the flowers and the pieces of fruit left out on various Buddha statues and birdbaths. 
Our first full day in Boquete was spent checking out the small town itself, visiting a real estate office to check out properties (just for fun!) and having lunch. A river runs through the town and there are many streams coming from the hills and mountains surrounding Boquete. The afternoon brought dark clouds and a short rainstorm. Keith had an allergy attack of some sort so after finding some Benadryl we headed back to the Inn for an afternoon of reading in the gardens.
The second day we rented a car and drove around three loops just outside of town.
The single lane road took us through many fields of coffee, many of which had huge trumpet vines growing on the tall fences. The flowers bloom year-round in this area and are varied and lush!
We did drive by a couple of properties that we had inquired about the day before, one was a great ¼ acre lot with an ancient rock fence around it, a protected nature reserve behind and a very nice new home in front. We feel Panama is too far away from family and friends for us to retire, even part of the year, although there are many perks for pensioners here including super tax incentives and good health care. Besides there are no deals here anymore, at least in the Boquete area; the prices seem on par with Utah.
Boquete is a gardener’s paradise; everything seems to grow here. There are many gardens to tour including Mi Jardin Es Tu Jardin, an immense private garden open to the public. This garden had many paths leading around fountains, fishponds and painted animals of gigantic sizes, very whimsical indeed.
This morning, Wednesday, we left the Garden Inn, returned the rental car and jumped on the first of three buses which brought us to the shore of the Pacific Ocean southeast of Boquete. In the small fishing village on the water’s edge, we caught a water taxi to the Boca Brava Island where we will spend two nights in this remote jungle resort.
A howler monkey welcomed us, as did more than a few bugs, but the geckos are busily at work now that the sun has set.
Shana still has a bad cough though she says she feels great. We will probably spend tomorrow just resting and reading on the beach rather than any strenuous water sports or even snorkeling.
Just a quick tale about Shana’s good attitude~ This afternoon Shana stayed behind in our room to use the restroom while Keith & I went up to the restaurant for our late lunch/dinner. I told her I had the key and to just lock the door behind her when she came up.
Keith and I were upstairs for what I was beginning to feel was a long time, maybe 15 minutes, but I didn’t want to rush her or give her the impression that I was hovering so we waited patiently to order. Finally up walked Shana with a big grin on her face. Evidentially she didn’t notice on our quick inspection of the room upon arrival that we had our own deck overlooking the waterfront. She had walked out and followed my directions perfectly, securing the door from the inside. She was locked out of the room on the deck above a steep jungle descent to the water. She said she waited a bit and when no one came by decided she would have to climb down, which LUCKILY she did without following down the hill into the ocean. She was a bit winded from the excitement, but we all shared a big laugh!
