There are only two rivers in the County of Palmira the Rio Colgá and Rio Cochea. Palmira's altitude is from 800 to 3,475 meters. In the many hikes, I have lead in the past in this area, we have only hiked up to about 8,000 feet high but today's hike was much lower.
In all three sections there are many old back country roads I led; Abajo has the most and one the trails leading into Potrerillos a small town northwest of Boquete.
Some of Palmira's eldest residents talk about when this area was called Palos Bobos or The Bobos Erythrina Glauca. The name Los Bobos has a story. This supposedly was a resting place of the first people, an indigenous tribe who first came to settle in this area and in Dolega, they are the Doraces. There is not much written about them but what I have read is an interesting tale. They would travel from the mountain range to the Pacific coast to obtain salt and use Polos Bobos as a resting place near a Jobo tree. The Jobo fruit-bearing tree. In Costa Rica and here, they are considered to be part of the native of the isthmus. The Doraces were a kind of group comprised of many tribes spread from the slopes of the Baru Volcano to the northwest, to the coast of Burica, in the southwest; and from the slopes of the Baru to the plains of the Pacific coast, south, and east to the banks of the River Chiriqui.
There are several places in Boquete where the Common Blue Morpho enjoys fluttering about and this area of Palmira is one of them. The Morpho are tropical butterflies this species has a wingspan reaching 7.5 to 20-cm (3.0 to 7.9-in). It's underside has eyespots to deceive potential predator or prey; to draw a predator's attention away from the most vulnerable body parts; or to appear as an inedible or even dangerous animal. Morpho peleides drinks the juices from rotting fruits for food. Along the trail there many Guava trees along the trail. On Wednesday's hike they were in abundance showing off their beautiful metallic shimmering shades of blue and green. The females are partially iridescent and less blue than the males.
They entertained us throughout our walk, standing still very few times to be able to take photos of them. In our excitement of having a group of newcomers to Boquete, this walk the time was spent getting to know one another as, we walk along this country lane "off the beaten path". Our Common Blue Morpho friends many times would flutter past us and our eyes would follow as they drift away. Finally, we did manage to capture one with it's wings closed and another resting long enough to capture a photo with it's wings open.
I organized Easy Wednesday walks to get in touch with nature. To learn about it's diversity by exploring and discovering the area, we live in. Getting to know Boquete, whether it is in the cloud forests, drier land, or in the highlands is the best way to be in touch with nature, to understand the lifestyle of the locals and the culture. This part of Panama provides us the opportunity to just that.
Enjoy the photos from this nature walk.
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