Neither Here Nor There: David And Boquete, Panama
Panama is a country of a few large cities interspersed between small towns glistening with puddles following a rain or a coating of dust in the dry season, wide spots on winding highways often with magnificent, breathtaking scenery. And, at the end of yet another long bus ride, we found ourselves in David on our way to other places.
Our battered Lonely Planet Guidebook, a 2010 edition given to us by a friend in Nicaragua, advised us of to think of David (pronounced Dah Veed) as a major agro-business and commercial center rather than a cultural hub. Further digging informed us that it was a popular tourist destination and the second or third largest city in Panama, depending on the source, with a population of roughly 150,000 souls.
As the capital of the Chiriqui Provence, the city of David and the surrounding area is rumored to be attracting ever more foreigners interested in relocation and might even be poised on the brink of major growth in both its economy and population.
Although David was founded in 1602 there is very little sense of historical importance or any impressive architecture. Indeed, the present was much more in keeping with a city devoted to the reality of commerce minus the frills of the arts and letters.
The center of the city, which radiates outward from Parque Cervantes, is a utilitarian affair which quickly turns drab or run-down in a couple of blocks if you head in the wrong direction. And Cervantes Park, while neat and stylistic, is not particularly appealing to the eye or the seat of pants for the foot weary pedestrian or the casual people watcher.
Our guidebook, under the heading “Sights” had listed a single entry: the Museo de Historia y de Arte Jose’ Obaldia. We hoofed it over to the museum twice, both times during the posted hours, with consistent results. It was closed, padlocked shut; so much for the cultural part of our stay…
We took a bus out of David and headed up into the mountains, less than an hour to the north. Here we encountered Boquete, a quiet mountain town of roughly 5,000 people and prized by Panamanians for its refreshing climate and pristine natural setting.
This is the same locale selected a dozen years ago as one of the top four overseas destinations for retirement by Modern Maturity, the magazine of the AARP. So, aside from the gated communities which dot the hillsides, and are currently spilling onto the crowded valley floor, and disregarding the astronomical real estate prices which to seem to start at around a quarter of a million dollars, Boquete is an attractive place.
Due to the fertile soil, flowers, coffee and citrus all do well in this beautiful mountain town and the surrounding valleys. The city provides a picturesque central square which is clean, compact and welcoming for relaxed chats or simply watching the folks flow by. The presence of sweaters and light jackets might be what confirms the fact that one is in the mountains rather than at a beach resort judging by the relaxed and convivial atmosphere of the people.
Returning to David from the crisp and invigorating climate of Boquete we couldn’t help but compare the two cities. Perhaps the geography best sums up our apathetic response to David. One city nestled in the mountains and the other, situated below a dormant volcano, sweltering in a basin with reputedly one of the hottest climates in the Central American region. It was definitely time to blow this burg and head for points more interesting and, hopefully, a little cooler!
Transportation to anywhere else…
By Richard and Anita, Panama, July 2014
No Particular Place To Go 
Sounds like we should avoid David, thanks for sharing your experience.
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David seems to be on the way to several places so you may end up there briefly. A good place to say “Been there, done that!”
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Thanks for the insight into Panama as I know nothing about it except the famous canal. Based on your article we should stick to that region when we have a chance to visit. Not everywhere can be wonderful!
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Don’t let our less than positive opinions of these areas deter you from trying the many other beautiful regions that we have yet to write about including Bocas del Toro and the Azuero Peninsula. Although, if you only have time to visit one area, Panama City and the canal are definitely some of our favorite places.
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Thx for the look at Panama. We’d been on a cruiseship that went thru the Panama canal, but that has been my only visit there and all we could see was palm trees. I have eaten chocolate from Panama and it was very good, so perhaps a visit will be in my future. Thx for the pics!
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We missed the chocolate (darn!) but we sure enjoyed many meals of fresh fish right out of the Pacific! The canal has been a high point of our visit to Pacific and we hope to see it from the passenger’s point of view at some time in the future, too.
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I believe we spent no time at all in David, as we didn’t like it at all. Did some shopping and out we were. Boquette was way to infiltrated by Gringos for our liking. Overall I found that Panama didn’t offer any interesting towns or cities. We liked some beaches though, since they were much quieter than in Costa Rica. Enjoy the rest of your trip!
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We liked Panama much more than Costa Rica which has become way too expensive and influenced by North America. Panama City has the Canal, of course, as well as two Unesco sites, Casco Viejo and Panama Viejo which are very interesting and well worth the time. Another favorite area of ours has been the Azuero Peninsula.
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This is all I need to know to not bother to visit either place. Both sound pretty bleak. Maybe, when we get back to that part of the world we’ll just check out the canal and then move on.
Alison
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As long as you’re planning to see the canal make sure to check out Casco Viejo and Panama Viejo, both Unesco sites in Panama City that are absolutely beautiful! Anita
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Okay. Thanks for the tip.
A.
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Based on your descriptions (confirmed by other commenters), I’m pretty sure neither David nor Boquete will be making it to my “must visit” list. I’ve only been to east coast towns in Panama and “hot and humid” are certainly accurate descriptors.
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That’s a good decision in my opinion. And, in July, extremely hot and humid pretty well summed up every place we went to in Panama except for Boquete!
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I don’t know that Panama is high on my list…however I was really excited to read (and see photos) about your trip. Your descriptions were so vivid, I felt like I was there. Thank you!
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That’s what’s so terrific about travel blogs – they expose you to new places and give an account of personal impressions or experiences so that you can decide to add or omit locations on your must see list. For me, I find that I’m continually adding more and more places to the list!
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Every city can’t be wonderful. However, I would have visited David for sure, just because of the name–the name I gave my firstborn. 🙂
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As good a reason to visit a city as any. Too bad there aren’t any bumper stickers!
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I’d love to see the Panama Canal (it’s just one of those ‘must see’s’ I think) and your photos gave me lots of ideas for other things to do if we ever do get to Panama. I found you on Boomer Travel Bloggers and thanks for commenting earlier on my travel blog ZigaZag 🙂
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The canal was one of our must sees and I was really surprised at how excited I was to go there and how awesome it was to see it (many things are so hyped that they can fall far short of our expectations). Panama is an amazing country with many completely different areas to see and we’ll be writing more in the next few weeks.
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I’ve always wanted to go through the Panama Canal and visit these areas. I really enjoyed your beautiful photos that gave me a pre-tour of when we finally do visit these places too.
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Thanks for your comment, Neva. The beauty about travel blogs is that we get to experience so many amazing places through other’s pictures and stories plus we can learn so much or get ideas for future travel.
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I really enjoyed following along your adventure as if you were telling it just to me. I really enjoyed your post and your photos!
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So glad you like our posts. We’re big travel blog readers since we get to experience various locations vicariously, read interesting and fun experiences and learn a lot about so many places in the world.
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Your comment about spending Christmas Eve watching people buy potatoes sounds so sad… but I imagine in reality it was hugely entertaining and sounds like something we’d do! David was so hot and uninspiring I could never imagine living there and Boquete, while beautiful just seems to be too much of everything – too gringo, too exclusive, too expensive! I think you found an awesome and special place on Ometepe.
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I must admit Panama is not high on my list of places to go – but I would like to cruise through the canal – the engineering of it fascinates me.
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The canal is definitely one of the highpoints of a visit to Panama. We’d love to cruise through the canal, too, at some point in the future. Seeing the whole transit process of a ship through the canal from the passenger’s viewpoint versus the bystander’s viewpoint would be interesting.
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I’ve never visited Panama. I’m surprised at how developed it looks. I know of a few friends who are building houses and plan to retire there. It does look like a nice and pretty place to live.
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Panama is a country of so many unique areas including some large cities with American style grocery stores and sophisticated malls as well as remote areas accessible only by boat or narrow roads. It’s lovely and we found a few places that we would put on our list if and when we decide to plant roots again.
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Thanks for a candid look at these two locations, confirming suspicions I couldn’t really articulate, looking from the outside in and not having been there. While we’re not really hi-falutin’, the cultural vibe we resonate with is art-y. It looks like David survives without this. And Boquete. Well, it’s good to know. A parallel universe comes with certain attributes no matter where its placed.
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Your description of David surviving without the cultural vibe is great. It’s a utilitarian place of business without a lot of personality or beauty and to live there would not be something we would want to do. Boquete, on the other hand is beautiful and the scenery is spectacular but the vibe there also seems to be more high end and “hi-falutin'” and doesn’t appeal to us either!
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Thanks for the fun tour of the area, enjoyed the visit
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The great thing about travel blogs is the places you can tour and visit vicariously!
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You have shown why first-hand experience is so invaluable—even after the research~
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There’s so much written about Panama that is aimed at boomers who are looking at retiring in a cheaper or more exotic location that it’s been interesting to visit these places (with ourselves in mind at some future date) and see how they measure up. Many of these cities fall into the charmless or “charming and beautiful but we couldn’t live there” categories.
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There are lots of cities in Guatemala that are like David ..sweltering commercial centres without much reason to visit unless you’re a local who has business to conduct. Thanks for the heads up!
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The city of Escuintla, Guatemala just popped into my mind as I read your comment! Heat that is withering and not a speck of charm… But, as in life, sometimes it’s just as interesting to find what you don’t like as well as what you do!
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When I was in Panama, Boquette was one of my “almost” destinations. Thanks for the trip! I am saving all your posts in my computer. If you promise a book, I will be the first buyer and then I can lighten up!
Keep well and cool.
Maida
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Aw Maida, you always make us feel so good! Boquete is one of the places that is really popular with many expats as a retirement destination but the aggressive salesmanship and high prices left us rather unimpressed!
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When we were exploring the David area to live, we stayed at Hotel Occidental (in your first picture). We had a huge frumpy suite on the top floor overlooking the park. On Christmas eve our entertainment was sitting on the balcony watching people buy potatoes from the potato truck parked below. We wanted to explore more of the area because David was sweltering hot, so we got on a bus and rode it all day through the mountains.
Your impression of Boquete was the same as ours. Entering the valley, we were bombarded with real estate signs. Along the road, the bus stops were sprayed with graffiti, which said, ” Go home.” and other derogatory remarks in Spanish.
Nope! David and the surrounding area were not for us. Although, the mountains were lush and cool, everything was too “normal” for us. We like quirky! Thanks for the tour.
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