Hola Ola!
Hola Ola!
One of Panama’s best-kept secrets has to be the hundreds, maybe thousands, of really cool waterfalls (“cascada’s” in Spanish). Waterfall hunting has become a great weekend activity as it seems that virtually all of the dozens and dozens of rivers here in the Cocle province have hidden waterfalls and swimming holes somewhere, often known only to the locals. In fact, the first question I now ask when exploring Cocle’s dusty back roads and small pueblos is “Donde esta la cascada?” – where is the waterfall. Inevitably a local will break into a smile and explain exactly how to get to his or her favorite waterfall and swimming hole.
On Monday I set out on another waterfall hunting expedition. I took the afternoon off and drove about 25 minutes past Penonome – the capital of the Cocle province, past the “Tu y Yo” pushbutton on the edge of town (click here for a description of Panama’s world famous pushbuttons) in search of a massive waterfall that we’d seen from the Panama America Highway previously.
I took the third right past the Rio Grande river in a little pueblo called Chula Ve, and then drove about 10 km on improved dirt roads right to the base of one of the most spectacular waterfalls I’ve seen in Panama yet, The falls themselves are two-tiered, with a lower tiered fall that cascades into a perfect, deep-blue swimming hole.
I hiked up past the first waterfall (very strenuous) to the river above and then hiked (actually it was more like bouldering) for another hour or so past hundreds of massive boulders, aqua-blue swimming holes and smaller falls. The reward was an enormous upper-waterfall that I estimated was probably 100 yards high with a great swimming hole below. There were no signs of humans anywhere, and it was more than a little eerie swimming in the pools below the falls absolutely alone.
I was told by a couple of locals I ran across when I was driving out that the land had recently been purchased by a gringo or “paisano” (Italian maybe?). One thing; the hike to the upper falls is not for the faint of heart… It’s definitely a strenuous hike and navigating between the pools and over the top of some fairly massive boulders definitely carries its share of risk. Probably not a good trip for kids unless they are older.
On the way out as the sun was setting, I drove up to the small pueblo of Ola which is nestled in a gorgeous valley between spectacular green mountains. I stopped and asked an old woman in my broken Spanish “where am I exactly?” Her response: “Ola…El lugar mas lindo en la mundo” Indeed!
Here’s a few pics, but they don’t begin to do it justice.
