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Mark Moxon's Travel Writing

Panama: Boquete

Boquete as seen from the west
Boquete as seen from the west

Boquete is a pretty little mountain town in northwest Panama that used to be famous for coffee-growing and vegetable farms, but in 2001 the American Association of Retired Persons named it as the fourth best place in the world to spend your retirement, and since then it's seen a notable influx of American retirees and a blossoming of gated communities, golf courses and retirement bungalows. As you dodder around town, you can see the effect – there are, indeed, lots of old white people here – though there are still plenty of locals around, so it still feels pretty Panamaian.

A train carriage from the railway that used to link Boquete to David
A train carriage from the railway that used to link Boquete to David
The pretty River Caldera to the north of Boquete
The pretty River Caldera to the north of Boquete
A basalt rock formation north of Boquete that is used for rock climbing
A basalt rock formation north of Boquete that is used for rock climbing
The Jeep in which we toured the area around Boquete
The Jeep in which we toured the area around Boquete