On the other side of Volcan Baru from the well-known Boquete lies a group of small towns collectively referred to as “Cerro Punta.” Among them are Volcan, Cerro Punta, Guadalupe, and Bajo Grande; of these, Volcan is the largest but is still much smaller than Boquete. The rest of the towns are often little more than a dozen or so buildings clustered together.
Both the people and the atmosphere give these towns an extremely “small village” feel, one that invites you to experience the magic of a bygone time and a slower way of life. Families adorned in colorful Ngobe dress walk along the roadways, and farmers look up from the fields to tip their hats to passersby. The cool winds coming down off the mountain peaks get lost in the translucent clouds that hover over a landscape dotted with innumerable tiny local farms.
Enjoy this slideshow of pictures taken on a short weekend visit to Cerro Punta, and see if you are as enchanted as we were by the area.
-
1 of 11
Patchwork Fields
With a lot of individually-owned farms, and the huge variety of produce that is farmed in the area, many of the hillsides in Cerro Punta look like patchwork quilts.
-
2 of 11
Local Produce
A local farmer, his truck loaded beyond the bounds of safety with cartons of assorted varieties of lettuce, heads down the mountain to sell his produce.
-
3 of 11
Breads & Candies
Roadside stands are plentiful in these local towns, selling produce (of course), clothing and jewelry, fresh strawberries (a specialty of the area), and more. My eyes were drawn to this mouthwatering stand selling fresh banana and carrot breads, empanadas stuffed with strawberries, coconut balls and guava jellies, tiny meringue cookies, and other candies…
-
4 of 11
Cloudforest Exploration
The Cerro Punta area boasts cloud forests and hiking opportunities to rival Boquete. Emily and I went on a 2-hour trek with a newly-rented macro lens in hand to get some close-up shots of the cloud forest.
-
5 of 11
Fern Fiddlehead
Cloudforests are filled with ferns. This “fiddlehead” (the term for an unfurling new leaf) is typical of the constantly growing and renewing ferns that cover much of the forest floor.
-
6 of 11
Fern "Fiddle-ear"
If the previous picture was a fiddlehead, I suppose this even-closer shot might be of the fern's “fiddle-ears.” The width of curling head in this picture was less than one inch, so you can see how close of a shot one can get with a macro lens.
-
7 of 11
Hummingbird in Flight
The cloud forests of Cerro Punta are also filled with flowers, many of which attract hummingbirds. This little guy, captured as he attempted to land on a feeder near a small cabin we passed, opted instead for man-made food.
-
8 of 11
Bell Flower
This little bell-shaped flower, like most of the plants in the cloud forest, was covered in small droplets of dew.
-
9 of 11
Heliconia Scoop
Heliconia plants, a variety of the “bird of paradise” flower, seemed as common in the cloud forest are they are on Isla Palenque, though the exact species were a little different.
-
10 of 11
Neoregelia Bowl
Also as common in the cloud forest as they are on Isla Palenque, epiphytes of all types abounded in the Cerro Punta area. This close-up of a bowl in the middle of a neoregelia bromeliad shows how the plants collect water to feed themselves, as well as the occasional leaf and small flower. The little black spheres, which look kind of like caviar, are (I think) the seedlings from which a flower will soon spring.
-
11 of 11
Passing Good-Bye
On our way back from the forests to the small town of Guadalupe, we passed by a couple of young locals. It was a Sunday afternoon and I’d like to think they were on a typical Sunday stroll, enjoying their magnificent surroundings.
TAGS: Chiriqui Hiking Must Read Nature Organic Farming Panama Panama Do & See Photos Plant Life Slideshows
Post by Benjamin Loomis
Ben is the Founder and President of Amble Resorts. Meet Ben >>
More posts by Benjamin Loomis
