The journey from Panamá City to Boquete was about 8 hours in total. The first five or so hours were spent getting to David. Unfortunately, the beautiful scenery was completely missed as a uti that I had be trying to prevent with gallons of water hit me. Thanks god for the emergency antibiotics I brought with me.

I was lucky as the kind bus driver let me get my bag out from the hold during a stop off, this isn’t always allowed. Of course, my bag was the first to be put on. I quickly swallowed the antibiotic along with two paracetamols and two ibuprofen. Sometimes being a woman sucks.

Whilst I was dealing with my female issues I mistakenly left Ollie in the canteen queue. This meant I came back to a plate plain rice and chicken. His excuse was that he couldn’t understand the Spanish menu. I sat enviously eyeing up everyone else’s bbq ribs, pork chops, and pasta dishes. I did think to myself “I hope this isn’t the time I get the shits, I don’t think I’d survive the journey”.

By the time we got to David the antibiotics had kicked in and my mood went from 0-100. The bus change was easy. In Panama they line up the stops alphabetically which is something Colombia should consider.

The journey from David to Boquete was only an hour. I whispered to Ollie that it looked like a wealthy area so I did some Googling. Turns out Boquete is where Americans come to retire and we were surrounded by a ridiculous amount of golf courses. This is why I describe it as the mini Texas.

The mini Texas was filled with sports bars, coffee shops, steak houses and crappy tourist shops. Our hostel was right above Boquete Brewing Company. Once you passed the bins and climbed the metal stairs you got to what was one of my favourite hostels so far. The outside area was huge. There were beer taps, a bbq, deck chairs, and hammocks. Then the hostel itself was relatively small with only one private room and a dorm with ten beds. It gave it a homely vibe and you knew you’d make friends with everyone.

Once we unpacked the hunger struck and I remember a canteen we passed on the way from the bus stop. It was heaving with locals which meant it was cheap. You could pick whatever you wanted and so I went for steak, chips, salad, and a avocado. Totally to around $5. Panamá is way more expensive than Colombia so a big meal for a fiver is good here. Ollie went for density with steak, rice, and beans.

As we walked back to our hostel we couldn’t not stop in for one at the brewing company, it was on our door step. Knowing I shouldn’t drink much due to my situ I went for a half pint. Sadly they only did ales but it was decent. All of a sudden out of no where a band came on followed by a crowd of old aged rock n rollers. We bounced to bed when they started doing renditions of Guns n Roses.

The next morning we were awake around 7ish to get some breakfast before we went on the trek to see Las Tres Cascadas (the three waterfalls). If we could have chosen again I would have picked to do the big volcano trek. Boquete is home to Volcan Baru, the tallest mountain in Panama, at 3,474 metres high. However, this was about 15 hours but I believe it would have been worth it. Our breakfast was a couple of pastries, perhaps not the most substantial choice for trekking. Then we bartered with the taxi driver and were dropped off at the entrance.

At the entrance which is a 5-10 minute walk up a hill you had to pay $10 per person. Considering this cost you’d think they do some more maintenance, as the walk up consisted of a very dodgy bridge and lots of loose stepping stones. Whatever, at the top it was beautiful.

The hike itself was 2 hours in total. It takes an hour to walk there and then an hour back. Then there is 3 waterfalls to explore. The terrain was super wet from the constant dewiness of the rainforest. We were very happy with had our walking boots. I think it was a cloud forest but I’m not certain.

The waterfalls were stunning, just as expected. They are nothing like I knew we’d see in Costa Rica but there is still something so peaceful about the sounds and sprays they give off.

At the first waterfall I asked insta boyfriend Ollie to take a photo of me but as he was getting the angle right he slipped. At first like anyone he was mad but it was very quickly very funny. We had to warn a woman who was in her trainers to be careful. I kept singing “he fell over”.

Waterfall number 3 is when people start to turn back. You are greeted with a steep incline that you need the support of ropes to climb up. Initially I was terrified but actually they give you so much more support and feels like you are abseiling.

The real adventure started when we finished the trek. In our heads we imagined there being heaps of taxis waiting to bring us back but there was nothing. No taxis and no buses. We started walking thinking we’d hail down a bus. Nearly 2 hours we were back at the hostel, exhausted and Ollie crippled.

Although the walk was long it was amazing to see the backend of the town and a glimpse of what local life is really like. We passed churches, the school, the gymnasium, the sports field and weirdly tons of ice cream shops.

It was so picturesque and I had never seen flowers so vibrant. Everywhere you looked you saw bushes of Panama Rose and tons of orchids. We also passed a climbing wall which was just the side of a mountain naturally carved out for people to climb.

Once back it was time for the Chelsea game. Ollie had been pleading to watch it and he was allowed as it was his first game the entire trip. He also brought me a yummy bottle of wine that shut me up. This meant I spent the remainder of the sunny afternoon drinking and swinging in the hammock. Ollie watched the game with a Belgium guy, who really reminded me of my friend Hamish. After the game we headed back to the canteen and ate some lasagne.

After our short two night trip we got the bus back to David, after running around panicked trying to find the station. Then at David it was time to find the bus that’s bring us to the Lost & Found hostel.