Panama Hats

Panama Hats have been famous around the world for a very long time.  Remember the movie, The Tailor of Panama?  Well you may be interested to know that the Panama Hats of that movie were not actually made in Panama, but in Ecuador.  So why in heavens name are hats made in Ecuador called Panama Hats?

These hats made in Ecuador are of exceptional quality.  Today it is not unknown to pay more than $100 for a high end hat with beautiful colors, but the weave is so tight that the hat is waterproof and so soft you can fold it.  The reason it became known as a Panama Hat was that these hats were shipped form Panama to locations all around the world.  Remember Panama has long been a world shipping hub.

But Panama also made hats by weaving straw and adding black into some of the straw allowing them to make intricate patterns in the hat, usually just above the brim.  The highest quality “made in Panama” Panama hats are made in a little village above Penonome in Cocle province, called Pintada and in the surrounding area.  People love to take the trip up to Pontada to see the hats being made, and some people even order one especially for themselves.  Do you have a neat design yo would love to see in a hat?

So now you know why there are two very different “Panama” hats.

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February – It’s Carnival!!

Our 2009 Carnival! issue of Panama Today Magazine is now online for your reading pleasure. Please click on the cover to open your February Panama Today Magazine. Enjoy!

If you would like to have a copy on your computer, you can download a PDF version of the magazine. To download your copy CLICK HERE

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New Bed and Breakfast

In the hills above Penonome, capital city of Cocle province, in a little town called Pintada, famous for the “made in Panama” Panama hats, a brand new Bed and Breakfast has sprung into being.  They have a great web site, check it out below.

I love receiving emails like this one.

HI Mary

We have an 8 room B&B with at least one queen sized bed in every private
room, and of course a private bath. We also have a hostel type shared accommodation room with bunk beds.

The private rooms, with private bath, are $50 a night and include breakfast. The shared room
is $15 per person with access to the kitchen. Our website is www.NaturesInnPanama.com If you, or your friends want to come up and spend some time please feel free to give us a call and come. Phone from North America: 1- 647-476-5253; in Panama call 6539-6118 English or 983-0005 Spanish

We currently have weekly horseback trail rides coordinated with the Royal Decameron Hotel
and everyone has just loved our location and the lunch we arranged at our local Steak House Restaurant.

We are starting a wildlife and rehabilitation sanctuary which people will likely find really interesting!

Kindest Regards,
Jenny and Allen Madore (your hosts)

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El Valle de Anton Recycles

I was absolutely thrilled to hear that El Valle as a community has taken on recycling. They have also taken on making sure there are more garbage cans around the streets and to teach people not to throw garbage wherever they want. “Community beautification” is what they are calling it.

It seems strange to me that anyone would throw garbage in the streets and worse into streams, or along rivers, but then I look back to my youth. we dd the same thing. We tossed cans out of windows of cars and dropped candy wrappers wherever we were. It is all about education.

Panama City in particular has a wonderful garbage pick-up program so that even in a very crowded city it is not really dirty. But the attitude that we just toss our garbage anywhere and expect someone else to pick it up is a terrible one, and one that takes considerable education to change. But that attitude results in polluted streams as people do not think of where they are when they toss their garbage. It is time for education.

Once a community moves to beautify and really clean up their streets and ensure the beauty of the locale shines through, everything changes. They have done the same thing on Taboga island and it is wonderfully clean.

I am thrilled El Valle has become a clean community. How can we get this idea to spread?

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Walking in a Panama Rain Forest

It is December 26th and a few of us think we will go for a walk to help wear off Christmas dinner.  We are in El Valle de Anton which is in the interior of Panama, about 90 minutes drive from Panama.  We drive through town , up past the zip line and the water falls and find Cerro Gaital.

Becky often comes here with Marco, the young Smithsonian scientist i who has been overseeing a project to try and restore the frogs of Panama after they were nearly all destroyed by a fungus.  Our path leads from the roadside up into the hills or crater sides.  As El Valle is the floor of a long extinct volcano, what we call the hills are really the sides of the crater.  Anyway off we go on the trail but we are really interested in enjoying the flora and fauna.

We stop to examine the banana trees that are growing all alongside this creek.  Tree is really a misnomer as the banana “tree” stock is really a tightly woven circle of leaves.  As we can see from observing those that have broken is they are full of water and they actually feel like a cardboard carton impregnated with water.  Did you know that pods of bananas grow up, with a long red tail.  It s the tail that the natives use to determine when the bananas are ready to pick and then they just carry off the entire pod, to allow it to ripen on their deck protected from insects.

As we walk, our presence is graced by various brightly colored butterflies, orange, black and yellow and everyone’s favorite, the huge electric blue morphs.  They are the size of dinner plates and that iridescent coloring is exquisite.

The birds start kicking up a big fuss so we know there must be babies somewhere but trying to find these little birds in the jungle is incredibly difficult.

We stop to examine the ferns.  You can get a patch of five differnet ferns all starting life from the same 6 inches of ground and each leaf is totaly dstinctive.  I wonder how many different ferns we saw that day in total.  Then we found some nurse trees covered with their orchid children.  The orchids are succulents which means they rely on other organic matter for support and live or dead trees are often their favorite “nurse”.  The teeny tiny orchids hiding under their own leaves were the smallest orchids we saw and none of the real showy orchids were in bloom.

We continue to enjoy our butterfly show and realize that all around us are citrus trees.  Oranges, limons, mandarins, no wonder the birds like it here, what a natural feast.  They are unfortuntaely all out of our reach.  Continuing our walk we find some of the ground cover that closes up when touched.  It is always fun to watch it shrink to your touch.  What a spectacular day, the sky is blue and even beneath the canopy of the rain forest it is hot.  We can see a small stream meandering through the woods from time to time and Becky tells us that when she comes here with Marco they walk the creek bed, or very near, lookng for frogs.

Finally we encounter a gate and sign that says the environmental agency has closed this area for protection of some work they are doing.  So it is time to turn around and head for home.  Still the forest is so full of new sights.  We have missed so much on the way up.  There are long tendrils that look like angel hair spagetti hanging from some tree branches and other white tendrils that are so tightly twisted they look like dread locks.  We find a green leaf which is like a netting that has covered a couple of trees entirely so every inch of branch or trunk is covered with rows of tiny green leaves.  It is endlessly fascinating to see Mother nature at work.

We even find a wild coffee tree that is just covered with green pods and has a few red ones showing it is starting to ripen.  No doubt the original seed came from some nearby coffee plantation but it was nature that planted this tree and is nurturing it to ripeness.

At last we return to the truck and it is time to return to reality but what a wonderfully peaceful interlude.  The forest is really alive and you can feel it when you are there.  It is a shame to leave, like leaving an old friend.

Next time you get a chance, get away into nature somewhere and slow down, look way down on the ground and just open your eyes.  You will be amazed at all the plants and little creatures that you will see busily scurrying about living their daily lives.  Enjoy!

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Boquete

Some of you may have heard about the terribly destructive rain storms that ravaged Boquete.

Remember, disaster and horror sells news. Fortunately the entire town of Boquete was not affected. The Caldera river did overflow its banks and it did cause destruction where it encountered buildings that had been built very close to the edge of the river. But this is really not news. As rainy season ends in Panama the rains increase as the opposing winds collide bringing lots and lots of rain, meaning that these small rivers overflow. This year was worse than normal. People on the scene describe it as the worst in 30 years.

But people should know when dealing with the forces of nature, if it happened once than it can happen again. Rivers can overflow their banks. If you know this you can build sensibly so when this happens your dwellings, your business or your hotel are not affected. But people ignore nature, forget the past and build where they should not build and when nature destroys there is weeping and wailing. Truly it is sad for the people who lost their businesses, their homes or their hotels but they should have known they were taking a risk. One that did not pay off. Hopefully they had insurance and they can rebuild. Please don’t rebuild right on the edge of the river.
For Immediate Release from the Boquete Business Association
November 30, 2008
What’s Up in Boquete?
Boquete is back on track and the town wants to put the spotlight
where it belongs: on its beauty and its people.

BOQUETE, PANAMA: Boquete was in the spotlight this past week, not for its natural beauty, award-winning coffee and friendly people, but because of the damage caused by the Caldera River. The dramatic footage and photos don’t tell the whole story: Boquete didn’t experience long-term flooding. The river grew quickly during a short period of time and affected some structures in its immediate vicinity. The fact is, the majority of Boquete, including the downtown, roads, tours and activity businesses and most restaurants and hotels, were untouched. The people of Boquete and the business community have come together to invite the public to experience Boquete today.
“Boquete is back on track,” says Charlie Collins, Owner and Executive Chef, Panamonte Inn and Spa. “Of course, it has been a difficult week for the people of Boquete and our hearts go out to the families affected. My family has been in Boquete for three generations and some things never change: the things that Boquete has always been known for—its natural beauty, relaxing environment, fresh air, friendly people and welcoming spirit—were 100% unaffected.”
Earlier in the week, media, websites and blogs were reporting on the situation in Boquete. But the photos and footage was limited to a very small section of Boquete, the rest of the town was untouched.
“Everybody saw the photos and footage, but it’s important to remember: the story didn’t stop there,” continues Chef Collins. “The Boquete community rallied together to help the people in the areas affected by the river. The speed at which those vulnerable points were fixed was truly amazing. It speaks volumes about the character and spirit of the people in Boquete.”
‘What’s up in Boquete?’
o Airport service to David and the main road connecting David to Boquete was unaffected
o All the main roads and the downtown were untouched
o Traditional Boquete activities Panamanians have always enjoyed—visiting gardens like Mi Jardin es Su Jardin and El Explorador, stopping for strawberry drinks, enjoying coffee, sharing the beauty with family and loved ones—never stopped
o Great restaurants and hotels are open for business
o All the exciting outdoor activities Boquete is known for are still available: hiking, rafting, ziplining, rock-climbing, horseback riding, bird-watching, hot springs and coffee tours
“All of the traditional activities that Panamanian families have enjoyed over the years never stopped,” says Lissette Ameglio, Fresas Café. “The gardens of Mi Jardin es Su Jardin and El Explorador. stopping for a delicious strawberry batido. enjoying a fresh brewed cup of coffee. relaxing with your family. Boquete is the perfect place to do this. Now the sun is out and we want people to experience the beauty of our special town today.”

So get your plans in place to come and visit. The Coffee and Flower Festival starts officially on January 8th 2009.

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Waterfall in El Valle de Anton

This is one of the many magnificent sights that await you when you visit beautiful El Valle in Panama. This waterfall is close to the town center and is a very easy and safe hike for the entire family.

Take a look at the rocks as you climb The petrogliphs are hiding here in the rocks. Magical drawings from yesteryear. What could they mean?

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