Boquete Blogger

If you live in a foreign land, one stirring way to get a better understanding of your host country and its culture is by visiting the local cemetery.  While with a friend recently, I got my first, quick look at Boquete’s “Cementerio” from outside its gates and was intrigued by the brightly colored monuments showcased there.  At that time, I wasn’t able to stay and explore but the place had certainly claimed my attention.  I decided to return, wander ‘round the plots and survey the grounds and edifices at a later time.

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During my recent midmorning revisit, the sun was hot and made me thankful for the slightly cooler temperature under the shade of my giant hat.  Flip-flopping (so wished I’d had my rubber boots) my way among the various graves and vaults, I discovered quite an impressive collection of final resting places erected for the former villagers of our fine town of Boquete, Panama.

All varieties were there to behold.  From the rustic…

…to the grand…

…and some engaging, unusual choices in which to encase the remains of those gone before….

After taking in an eye full of plots and monuments donned with plastic flowers while traipsing around the grounds, I wandered down a set of stairs and discovered another entrance to the Cementerio.  

It appeared that this was perhaps the main entry with its quaint little white gate and adornment of bold red and orange cannas standing at welcoming attention nearby.

Passing back through the cemetery on the way to the truck, I realized that my tarry had revealed new insight into the way and culture of Boquete simply through a stroll about the shelters townsfolk from our pueblito constructed to house the lifeless remains of their departed.

As I was exiting, I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this striking monument that clearly memorializes a man who in life wore tiny shoes, tiny mittens and drove a huge Suburban.

Boquete, Panama’s coffee harvesting season is in full swing.  In Boquete, coffee is measured by the “lata” which, when translated into English, basically means “tin can.”  18 pounds of freshly picked coffee berries equal approximately one lata. When processed, a lata yields about 5 pounds of green coffee beans.

In years past, one could expect to receive $4-$6 for one lata of coffee.  This year, one lata is paying $9-$11. Excessive rains across Central America in 2010 hurt coffee production in many areas and thus, the demand and price for quality Boquete coffee has skyrocketed.

Fortunately, Mañana Madera Coffee Estate has been graced with an abundance of healthy coffee trees and recently, the deep, red coffee berries were begging for a plucking.  Experienced hands of the indigenous Panamanian Ngobe indians picked the ready reds, carefully selecting only the ripest for Mañana Madera Coffee Estate’s 2011 product.  Enjoy the ambient sounds of our Boquete, coffee farm, punctuated with intermittent authentic, Panamanian radio as the Ngobe skillfully reap the harvest…

Boquete, Panama produces the world’s finest coffee.  The freshly roasted beans of Boquete‘s Mañana Madera Coffee Estate continue to win acclaim, both in Boquete and around the globe.  ”Chubbs” the dog is canine guardian of the famed coffee trees of Mañana Madera Estate.  Here is a picture of Chubbs lapping up a delightful cup of Mañana Madera coffee on a beautiful Boquete morning:

See more here: http://www.mananamadera.com/Speciality_Coffee.html

While savoring our morning cups of Mañana Madera 2010 Special Reserve coffee, my man and I discussed the recent influx in the number of grapes available in Romeros, one of Boquete, Panama’s local grocery stores.  In fact, people all over the place were pushing sales of the juicy, purple fruits at the very end of December, but why?  When we inquired, we learned about an unusual Panamanian New Year’s Day tradition.  In Boquete, locals eat 12 grapes, one for each month of the year, spitting out the seeds as they go.  Then, they use the number of discarded seeds to help determine the lottery numbers they play.  Que rico!  This year, maybe a Boquete villager will strike it rich thanks to the grape seeds they spit.

Boquete is world famous for unparalleled, high quality coffee.  Much to our delight, orders for  Boquete grown, Mañana Madera 2010 Special Reserve coffee have been pouring in as enthusiasts across the globe order up for themselves, their friends, clients and loved ones as the holiday season approaches.   Mañana Madera is a “boutique” coffee estate and our 2010 Special Reserve has been extremely well received.  However our supply is dwindling quickly and once it’s gone, it’s gone (2011′s harvest won’t be ready until August).  Get your bag of 2010 Special Reserve Mañana Madera coffee while the gettin’ is good!  Read some of the raves about it here.

A large part of Mañana Madera’s clean, delightfully smooth taste depends on precision roasting.  The coffee experts of Boquete have helped us pinpoint the optimum “roasting profile” for our particular blend of high-altitude coffee.  We were recently invited to duplicate that profile at the facility that produces Panama Joe coffee.  There, we had the privilege of roasting with our friend, Tracey, the always lovely and very talented Canadian roasting expert.  Here is a picture of Tracey and me with some of the finished Mañana Madera product.

Let’s look at the process involved in going from green Mañana Madera coffee beans to fresh, perfectly roasted Mañana Madera coffee beans.  Here are two of the very important parts in the procedure: the coffee roaster and the coffee cooling table.

Mañana Madera green beans ready to be roasted.

Randy, the Mañana Madera coffee baron, funnels the green beans into the roaster once it has hit the exact, right temperature.

We track the roasting time and oven temperature carefully.  Mañana Madera coffee always gets its “first crack” at 250 degrees.

When the perfect roast has been achieved, the beans are poured out…

….and transferred to the cooling table.

The delightful aroma of freshly roasted Mañana Madera coffee fills the room.  It is absolutely beyond compare!  We rake the coffee over the cooling table to help its temperature decrease and give it a final, visual inspection to discard the odd discolored or poorly shaped bean – this ensures that only the finest coffee beans are selected for 2010′s Special Reserve!  Finally, we tip the coffee into a container and use a fan to blow off any chaff left from the roasting.

Ah, fresh Mañana Madera coffee….PERFECTION ready to be packaged up and shipped out from our farm in Boquete to anxious coffee connoisseurs around the world.  Order yours NOW while the 2010 Special Reserve supply (and discounted holiday pricing) lasts: http://mananamadera.com/Speciality_Coffee.html Holiday pricing ENDS January 15th, 2011!

Mañana Madera coffee bags:

Get yours here: http://www.mananamadera.com/Speciality_Coffee.html

Mañana Madera coffee bags packaged and ready to ship from Panama to YOU…

In Boquete, during the rainy season, something in the air signals an amassing of small, black (we’ve seen other colors, but black are the only ones we see at Mañana Madera Coffee Estate) crawly, worm-like troves.  They pile to form a slithering conglomeration, all milling along harmoniously and at the exact same time…

And then, when disturbed, the whole team curls up and plays dead.

Here’s a clip of their simultaneous advancement to give you the creeps, just in time for Halloween.

Randy and I are eager to master Spanish and thus take Spanish lessons in downtown in Boquete for 2 hours each Wednesday.  Why would you move to another country without an earnest zeal for learning a new language?  Our Spanish teacher is a sweet, authentic gem in her 70′s with three teeth. Her kin were some of the original founders of Boquete.  Each week we hear a fascinating history lesson about the charming town we now call home.  She told us a tale about her father that is definitely noteworthy and certainly strange enough to where I had to ask her to reiterate several times just to make sure I actually understood what she was saying.  I did.  Here are the details…..

Her Dad was a soft hearted, social gent.  At the arrival of each holiday, he would invite friends and neighbors to a 2 day celebration at his farm.  Since his family lived off the land, they possessed an abundance of livestock and fowl. Thus, her father would pre-determine the turkey or two who would grace the feast as the meal on the second day of the fiesta.  An environmentalist and animal lover, he gifted a fowl happy ending to the birds upon which he and his family and guests would sup upon by making sure the chosen turkeys died smiling (if there is such a thing).  The first day of the celebration was called “Dia del Pavo Borracho” translation, “Day of the drunk turkey.”

Whether they liked it or not, the chosen turkeys got sincerely spiked with a tummy full of numbing vino.  The party host would open the turkey’s beaks and pour the wine down their submissive throats until they were blissfully, stumbling drunk.  Apparently, this  sailor-without-his-sea-legs-turkey-stammering-scene was hilarious and THE entertainment for day one of the holiday fiesta.  Our Spanish teacher said this spectacle was “for the kids” and that all the little ones (including her, at the time) loved seeing the floundering turkeys fall down and squirm hopelessly in the dirt.

The death blow was dealt with a fat jigger of Rum.  As if these poor turkeys hadn’t had enough of the imposed high life, a powerful shot of rum was poured down their qiuvering chops.  After a forced session of imbibing like that, no human would know whether they were living or dying, much less a bird brained turkey.  Then, it would happen.  Life would conclude for the drunk turkeys, but perhaps humanely enough to where they had absolutely no fear of the impending end.

Apparently, the family and guests were signaled about the right time to remove the bird from the grill when turkey gut juices started squirting up into the air.  Some folk use timers, others use juice spurtings to pin point “ready.”  Our Spanish teacher said that turkey meat is bland and without the wine and rum, not worth eating.

She, Randy and I laughed about what the title of this blog post should be.  I suggested “Dia del Pavo Borracho.”  She suggested “Die Happy.”  Indeed.

‘Twas a pleasant Boquete, Panama afternoon on Mañana Madera Coffee Estate and we took a stroll around the farm before the rains made their impending afternoon entrance. I walked up to one of our African Tulip trees that I’d noticed had started looking scrawny as of late.  I grabbed its trunk and shook it as if to say, “what’s wrong with you?’ and then thought to myself, “Not a good idea to shake a tree…never know what could drop out of it into your HAIR!” Quickly, I looked up to make sure nothing was falling from the branches above and immediately noticed the reason for the African Tulip’s sad state.

This guy, along with a large gathering of his chums were congregating in the tree’s branches, contentedly chewing leaves! Destructive little rascals, but also quite stunning, eh? We did a bit of internet research and found out they are a type of Saturniid Caterpillar, one of Panama’s several varities of “electric caterpillars” a nickname earned because at night…they emit a neon glow.

Also, Randy can attest to the fact these crawlers have spines that carry an OUCH for any curious finger that takes a poke at them.

CREEPY!

Boquete’s well known, unique and eccentric pizza peddler, Papa Ricco, has relocated.  He has now moved thrice.  It seems that the third time might be the charm.

Over the years, it has been a game of musical chairs, or in Papa’s case, locations….where is Ricco?  Count with me, (in Italian of course)….”UNO”, Papa Ricco originally opened a pizza place in downtown Boquete but closed it and moved out of country. “DUE”, clearly unable to stay away from the magic that is Boquete, he returned a year or so later proclaiming “Ricco is BACK!” and again served up his pies and Italian eats, this time a bit out of town across from Brisas Boqueteños (the current home of Mario’s Pizza).  ”TRE”, his new spot is a quaint, whimsically decorated little joint, conveniently located next to the Terpel gas station in Alto Boquete. Ricco now offers Pizza By The Slice for just 99 cents, a smart business move – this is the kind of meal the whole town can afford.

During our 30 minute visit to his Little Italy Pizzeria, the place definitely was busy and Papa quipped confidently about the quality of his fare with all the usual Ricco zest.  He explained that his pizza is the best around, “Because it’s made with “Grandma’s sauce.”

Wisely, Ricco designed the place so that his kitchen and piping hot pizza oven are in a room separate from the eating area, keeping the heat down for guests who wish to dine-in.  (Our only constructive suggestion for Ricco was to replace the two rectangle dining tables currently breaking up the space in the seating area with a few, round, two or three top tables, similar to the ones at Cafe Ruiz, perhaps to give more of a “trattoria” feel and to be a smarter use of his wee eat-in space.

Ricco is open Wednesdays – Sundays from 12-8pm.  In addition to the by the slice offering, you can also order a full pizza for $8.  The location already seems destined to be a Boquete classic, just like its owner….eh, fuhgeddaboutit!

Boquete was trounced by a 50 year flood in November of 2008. The rivers running through our town thundered and swelled, churning dark brown while effortlessly cutting new and unpredictable paths for themselves. Sadly, the Rio Caldera unleashed its power straight through the brand new Hotel Ladera. The hotel’s owners, the gentlemen of the Carbelleda family, watched with sick hearts as the Caldera River raged through the structure they’d long and painstakingly collaborated to create over the last several years of their lives. When the flood waters subsided, Boquete wondered what would become of the severely battered hotel.

Not prepared to accept defeat, a determined David Carballeda made up his mind to salvage the Ladera and as anyone who has visited the hotel lately knows, it is a bet that has paid off in spades!

Even before entering the establishment, bright, colorful landscaping gets your attention, impressively contrasting the hotel’s white exterior. Once indoors, the decor is modern, comfortable and classy. The service-focused attitude of the hotel is orchestrated by full time manager, Alvaro González and the customer friendly vibe is mirrored by all hotel staff members. This is refreshing and makes you feel both welcome and special. It’s plain to see that excellent customer service was top of mind for David when building this team.

The final ace up Carballeda’s sleeve was the addition of Spanish chef, Felip Andreu who cooks up Castillian deliciousness for Ladera’s Toca Madera restaurant. Not only is Felip a true artist in the kitchen who brings a fresh flair to Boquete’s food scene, he is also an absolute prince of a guy who goes the extra mile to ensure each guest’s dining experience is unforgettable.

David Carballeda’s Hotel Ladera has emerged triumphant, a phoenix from the floods.