- When I was reading about what to do in Boquete, I soon saw the option to hike up Barú Volcano. I immediately knew that that would be my main goal, and started reading into it. It turned out to be easily doable without a guide, and the best way was to climb at night to see sunrise from the top. The other thing to take into account: it can be bitterly cold at the top. Just before I leave my room in Panama City, I decide to take my winter coat for just in case. Even though it is tropical outside, freezing at the top of a mountain is not pleasant. I take the first flight, then bus from David to Boquete, and after an afternoon hike to the Lost Waterfalls, I have early dinner and some rest before my alarm clock wakes me up at 23:30. The lady in the hostel has told me to leave before, but I have read several reports mentioning people arrive too early and have to endure fierce winds at subzero temperatures. I have found an English traveler and an American couple to share the 4WD, and he drops us off at the trailhead in fifteen minutes. He tells us we can catch a minivan at the same spot when we come back, turns around, and leaves us in the dark.
- We switch on our headlamps, meet another group of a Swiss and a Dutch couple, and start making our way up. There are some markers on the way, giving us a good idea of our progress. Otherwise, there is not much we can see. There is one viewpoint where we see the lights of Boquete far below us, but otherwise we only see some branches next to the road. We have to focus on the track, because it is full of rocks and dust. We pass another Dutch couple on the way. Quite soon, I realize that we are going too fast, even though we left later than advised. We are hiking up at around 3k per hour, and the total distance is 13.5. So we start taking breaks. Drinking is anyway good, if only to get rid of some weight of my heavy backpack. I am still climbing in just a T-shirt, and even start to sweat. There are switchbacks, there are rocks, there are very few things to see along the way, and then I climb along for a long stretch. At some random stretches, I feel a very cold air, but then it gets warm again. I regularly look at my altitude meter, and see that I am climbing fast. At one point, I see two lights ahead of me, and I hear vomiting. When I get closer, they turn out to be Panamanian, one of the guys apparently suffering altitude sickness. We are over 2800 metres here. Poor guy, it is still quite a way. I end up in a group of six, and we hike up the last bit together. When we reach a point where we can see the lights of the antennas, we make another stop. We are really much too early. At the same time, we still don't feel any wind, and we cannot imagine that there could be a storm at the top. Still, it doesn't seem to make sense to arrive too early.
- We reach an open point, and just ahead of us see a multitude of antennas rising above us. It is a weird sight. Then, after climbing in the dark for hours on end, we pass a camping spot full of tents. It is very quiet. We pass a parked 4WD, and then reach the forest of antennas. It is still pitch dark. As soon as we stop climbing, the cold starts creeping in. I finally take out some of my layers, and within minutes, already put on the winter coat I had taken. We end up sitting inside a small police office, and it is interesting to see how the guys live here. Then, people start coming in - clearly, they have not climbed. It turns out there are five 4WDs full of tourists. When we go out for the sunrise, we suddenly find ourselves surrounded by a crowd of people. None of them walked up. I make sure to climb the last bit as fast as I can in the dark (this requires some scrambling on rocks). When I arrive at the summit of Barú Volcano at 3475 metres, marked by a white cross, I turn around. Far, far away, I see a stripe of dark blue piercing through the black. It is magical to watch the sunrise in slowmotion. Bit by small bit, more light is being added to our surroundings. I start to see contours of mountains, I start to see clouds, and I also start to see deep red light. It takes another half hour before we finally see that fierce orange disk appear above the clouds. Then, things go fast. We finally see our surroudings, the sun makes the colours come out, projects a silhouette of Barú Volcano on the landscape below. Strangely enough, there still is hardly any wind - we are very lucky. I walk a little lower for other viewpoints, and come back to the summit again. Others leave, and in the end, I am left with one of the Dutch couples. Finally, we have the summit to ourselves. We share some food, drink, enjoy the views and marvel at the spectacle of clouds moving up against the mountain. They seem to move over the mountain like a waterfall of fluffy cotton. Then, it is time to hike back to Boquete. We finally see the marvelous landscape of lush trees and flowers which we haven't seen on our way up. We now also hear a multitude of birds, but can't spot the elusive quetzal which supposedly also lives here. Once we are down, a minivan appears within ten minutes, and in Boquete, we enjoy a well-deserved lunch. I then take a bus back to David, wait for the flight while having visions of a long shower and a deep sleep, get bumped, and end up on a night bus back to Panama City where I arrive in the middle of the night. Tired, but very satisfied.
