Enjoying a pretty low-key week in the town of Bocas ♥️ achieved mainly by staying in the same lovely hostel for eight nights. And some long walks.
View from the deck of my hostel on a very rainy morning.Bocas town hallWonderful walk/bicycle path.An old home Crocodile on my afternoon walk!!’A village of hope for locals.Caribbean vibes.Had a great pork and rice lunch at a roadside stand.
A professional herpetologist gave us a night tour in the tropical rain forest, looking for reptiles, frogs, snakes, spiders. I lasted an hour, but others came back at 2 am. They were thrilled to have seen 18 different species of frogs. I was quite happy to be snug in my bed.OrchidsBromeliads Bamboo cabin for three nightsMy son, DamonOur morning walk to a waterfall.Damon dunks in the river.
Flowers from my son and his wife, greeting me at the airport in Quito, Ecuador.
My first day in Ecuador my son and I accompanied his wife to the dentist. In the waiting room we wore shoe covers and were offered coffee, tea, red or white wine, Bailey’s or whiskey. Since it was 8 am, I chose tea. I want to come here for my next dental appointment!
Since I stayed in the central Historic District on a pedestrian-only street, it was very quiet and remarkably clean. Despite being in an area of 22 million people or so, it was easy to walk to museums and parks. I took a walking tour of public murals, all depicting the horrific acts of violence against the indigenous people by not only the Spanish colonists but each other as well. No happy stories here. And near the presidential Palace was a demonstration demanding the new president find out what has happened to all the people currently missing. The sadness continues today. But the food was delicious and people seemed welcoming and friendly. I enjoyed an Australian couple on the tour and we went to lunch together. They told me about the best bakery nearby, too. So it was a very pleasant day.
Traveling solo, every night I found a place to stay with a clean, comfortable bed, hot shower, good food and good company. But it took planning a day or two ahead, calling to make a reservation with a tourist office, or even a home offering hospitality to pilgrims. Twice I resorted to AirBnB. The entire 1,300 miles was on foot, no vehicles or trains. What I really enjoyed was not having a goal to get anywhere at all. Since I have walked to Santiago de Compestello five times, and beyond to the coast at Finisterre and Muxia, I didn’t feel I needed to go there again.
Walk With Me, Tyler E. Burgess
