Caldera Hot Springs

On Monday we visited the hot springs outside of Caldera, a small town south of Boquete.  After parking at the end of a dirt road we set out hiking along a creek.  We came across a monkey eating some of the plants on the ground.  It was sitting right next to the trail and it looked up innocently from its munching just long enough for me to take a picture.  Minutes later we arrived at a little house in the woods. A woman came out, charged us $2 to soak in the pools, and proceeded to tell us to watch out for the monkey who, “es agresivo y no le gustan niños.”  Apparently he has been known to pull kids’ hair and take their hats or sunglasses.  Thankfully our interaction with him was pleasant and I was happy I didn’t know about his aggressive tendencies while we were crossing his path.

el mono agresivo

We were the only ones around and because the day was really warm we started out swimming in the river instead of the springs.  We swam and played along the banks and we marveled at how warm and comfortable the water felt.  Cal and Harper played that the rocks were boats, whales, and kitchen tables.  Danny and I took a dunk and just sat back to take it all in.

Whale Riders

 After playing for a while we walked up from the river to the pools and sat in the hot springs. The water was crystal clear and all four of the pools were empty.  They ranged in temperature and each one was built up naturally with river rocks and logs.  The kids had fun watching the bubbles dance up to the surface of the water and we saw a “jesus lizard” run across the surface.