What's been happening in Boquete?

We are now in the midst of Tourist Season..... and all I can think of  is the bumper sticker that was common in Colorado. "If it tourist season, why can't we shoot them?"
Ok, that was a bit negative......
The town of Boquete has increased by at least 1/3.  And by the end of the dry season, if this one follows the usual pattern, the town will increase by at least 1/2 or 3/4.
This is really good for the economy, and it makes for good street witnessing, and we also get a larger number of visitors coming to the hall from all over the world (last night we had at least 3 from Bermuda).
We have the Messer couple- from Tennessee
The Probasco's, from Vermont
And there will be many many more coming and going.  As the months progress I will try to compile a list of all our visitors. Currently we have 42 people with publisher cards here as part of the congregation.  Last night we had 57 in attendance (Dec 27th)
The picture below is one of our service groups for midweek.

. In all truthfulness we do not have groups like this everyday. This was exceptional, and I don't even remember the ocassion......

 But when you have 20 pioneers in a group of 42 publishers you do get some large groups for service.

No Blog would be complete without reporting on our climb up Volcan Baru, the highest peak in Panama.
12 of us started out, 8 made it all the way to the top.....
The best part is those of us that did not make it on this trip will go again.  It is a 19 km hike UP HILL ALL THE WAY.  At some points it was a gradual climb about as steep as a wheelchair ramp, and at these points it felt so good not to be doing a 10% gradient that it felt nearly like flat ground.  Those sections I nearly ran across !!

It was sunny and warm for at least the first 12 km.  At about 6 km from the top, as night was falling, it got quite chilly.  But as I was still climbing hard, all I needed was a hoody and some gloves for my hands.
Lawson, at about 4 km from the top said that a cloud went overhead..... or more accurately, the cloud surrounded him.... the temp dropped to 34*F with freezing sleet.
The sun sets between 6:30 and 7 pm every night, and this night it set at 6:45.
We opted to turn around and go back down the mountain, collect the 2 people left behind, and return home.
The mountain will be there another day.
We got a late start-- will not do THAT again-- and with all the difficulties of the climb the rest of the group ended up doing 11 hours of straight hiking.
I was quite happy to say that I made it 3/4 of the way up the mountain.  And yes, I will try again.
The pictures below are some of the gorgeous views seen by the 8 at the top.  And, Oh yes...... why would any sane person do this?  Well, this is one of the few places in the world where you can see BOTH oceans at the same time.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE !!! If you come to Boquete and plan to do this bring your equipment with you or make sure that you have supplies that you can buy or rent THE DAY BEFORE YOU LEAVE !!  Renting supplies is NOT always possible.
Our plan was to stay overnight.  We got a late start.
If you start together as a group, STAY TOGETHER AS A GROUP.  NO MATTER WHAT.
There was a serious accident on the mountain that day (not in our group, thank goodness) (more on that later)
For the average person I have created a list of the things that you will need for an overnight trip.  And unless you are superman or superwoman and can do 15 hours of hiking in one day......(7 to 11 up and 2 to 5 down)....... plan to stay the night.
The walking trail is also a four wheeler trail to the top.  It is really meant only for 4-wheelers, and we were told that in places even the riders of the 4-wheelers must get off and guide their carts over the rough ground because it is too rough to ride it out, the ruts to deep, and the road too bad.  The truck that helped us (high truck with 4 wheel drive) was forced to stop because the rocks were simply too big to go over.


Supplies:
tent
sleeping bag
extra coat and or sweater
extra socks
extra shirt
warm ups under your pants
a knife and hand-axe
10 bottles of water 20 oz. or larger per person. (you WILL want all that water)
energy bars (about 10)
food for 3 days (never assume that things will go without trouble- more on the accident that day)
energy drink (we took red bull)
walking sticks (I had 2 and appreciated their help up the steep parts)
hat and /or scarf (2 layers)
gloves
GOOD hiking boots
first aid kit that includes duct tape (the best band-aid for blisters ever invented)
cell phone that can be used if there are any emergencies. (there is not always phone reception on the mountain, but if you are traveling and something bad happens you will have the means to send someone to a reception area and call for help)
we also brought 100 feet of rope
toilet paper and clean-up bag for taking it with all out with you.

So why take all this stuff?
Our back pack weighed close to 40+ pounds......
On our way up the mountain there was a severe accident involving four 4-wheelers and a jeep.  Apparently the 4 wheelers were going UP the mountain at HIGH SPEED AND DEFINITELY NOT SAFETY CONSCIENCE..........and came to a sharp corner..... the jeep was coming down at a speed that we don't know.  The jeep swerved so that he wouldn't collide with one of the 4-wheelers and he lost control.  The jeep rolled over at least 4 times and landed upright with the 2 people in it, with at least 1 badly hurt.  They had to send in a helicopter to airlift the badly hurt one to the hospital.  Several hours later the four 4-wheelers and the jeep came past me on the trail carrying extra people, and I am assuming that at least one of them was also injured.
So, not to be morbid or anything....but just imagine if instead of a jeep and 4-wheelers in that accident it had been instead 4-wheelers and a person on foot?  The trail is very narrow in spots with nowhere to get off if a 4 wheeler or a jeep were to come down that trail.......

Always be prepared.