Santa Fe is a village nestled in the valley up on the mountains that are the continental divides. Two most prominent peaks are Cerro Tutte and Cerro Mariposa. As of yet, there is no paved road to the Caribbean side so it's a quiet and quaint little town that is so green.
We could already smell the flower fragrance in the air when we arrived in the dark yesterday. This morning, we could see why. The village is just filled with various flowering plants in bloom. It seems every plant in town blooms. There are also all kinds of fruit trees like oranges, mandarins, bananas, papayas.
For the first time since we arrived in Panama, we got a very decent night of sleep! Although the roosters still got timing mixed up and croaked whole night, we still managed to sleep well. The temperature was just right - not hot that you need AC/fan and not cold you need heating. I were quite hungry in the morning. We ended up ordering 3 breakfasts, 2 for Eric and 1 for me. First time I tasted yucca and it's tasty similar to taro. We met another guest of the hostel there and decided to go hike together. The trail is called Salto Alto de Piedra. It's a steep 7km climb up a public road first. Then it's muddy trotting down the hill to the river and a series of waterfalls. The weather was nice, neither sunny nor raining, with good breezes.
The waterfall is very beautiful made up of a series of 5-6 cascading falls. Even though we're not prepared to swim, Eric was the first one (is the any surprises here?) to dive in the pool and swam. He's even crazier by climbing up the fall to get to the second fall and pool. I joined in later thinking "what the heck?"
Coming back, we took a different longer route, a 4x4 road, and came across really nice viewpoint of the mountains and the valley. Walking steep down hill is very taxing on your knees and legs. I don't know how the locals do it. They have to hike everyday up and down the hill to go to work or schools!
Eric had lunch in town and I got lots of fruits from the central market. A big bunch of baby bananas and two oranges plus 4 mandarins only costed $1.30! What a steal! I enjoyed it even more when I know I was not taken advantage of because I'm a foreigner.
Right now, Eric and I are relaxing in the hammocks provided. It's a good life!
The hostel looks quite idyllic and a perfect spot to enjoy the hammock. You must be exhausted after the hike and the crazy swim. No wonder you two have been hungry, all the time 😋.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the non-communication the last few days in Santa Fe. The caretaker wants very much for her guests to tune out smart phones and embrace human interactions. Wifi only available for 1h everyday!
ReplyDeleteAs difficulty as it is for not having access to the wifi, it is actually good for you to have an internet diet, especially in such a natural and peaceful setting. I am OK as long as I know that you are doing well.
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