To get to Boquete (pronounced Bo-ket-e) we took an eight hour public bus from Panama City to the city of David. From David we caught an old yellow American school bus for an hour up into the mountains. We stayed in a hostel here so have enjoyed cooking our own food and eating some vegetables that weren’t potatoes or corn.

On our second day we did two, two hour hikes. One called the three waterfalls, which is exactly what it sounds like. Three waterfalls separated by lots of native jungle. The second Trail was called the pipeline Trail which followed a pipeline all the way to a small waterfall. Both walks were really nice and very green. We saw an 1000 year old tree, lots of insects and a dead snake. As we are here during the rainy season we got absolutely drenched at the end of the pipeline walk.

The following day we booked a tour of a local coffee farm called Finca Dos Jefes. In the late nineties a fall in global coffee prices resulted in lots of farms in Panama being abandoned. The farm we visited had been rescued by a retired American man with a mission to make it a fair and safe place for the workers. The workers are paid a living wage and have comfortable accomodation on the property. We learned about how the plants are grown from seedlings, how the cherries are harvested, sorted, processed and finally the bean being roasted and blended. The farm uses an ancient Luna method of agriculture which made the tour even more interesting to learn about.

The company only sells to one other cafe outside of Panama in Düsseldorf, Germany. The cafe it supplies has direct trade relationships with all of its farms and will only buy the coffee if the conditions for the workers are fair and ethical as well a the coffee being excellent. This German cafe pays over double the market price for the farms it supports meaning better pay and conditions for all involved.

We were able to taste two house blends, one medium and one dark roast with some yummy ginger biscuits. It was delicious of course so we bought a bag to travel with. It was a really special experience having an afternoon coffee overlooking the plants it was grown from. It also confirmed what I already believe in about transparent supply chains in the goods we purchase. Supporting smaller companies who respect and take care of the workers who are the most vulnerable as well as the most valuable is so important. Direct trade and fair trade is something we have so much access to in New Zealand now!

After three delightful days in Boquete today we travelled by shuttle and water taxi out to the Caribbean coast of Panama to stay on the island of Colón for four nights 🏝.