We wanted to do something special for Christmas, so we did an overnight hike on Volcán Barú. With an elevation of 3,474 meters, it’s the tallest mountain in Panama.

Our guide David of Boquete Mountain Safari picked us up at noon on December 23rd, together with co-hiker Nadine. The first few hundred meters we went by jeep, and then we hiked for around four hours. You could go the whole way up by jeep, but that would feel too much like cheating, and you would probably get sea-sick on that bumpy “road”.

We were expecting a rather uncomfortable, cold night in a tent, but thanks to a really friendly policeman (watching the transmitter station up there), we could stay with him in his warm cabin. In return, we cooked a nice dinner for the five of us.

Before sunset, despite quite a few clouds, we were lucky to get a glimpse of both the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean at the same time. That’s what makes this place unique! The tiger duck was happy, too.

On the next morning, we saw a few other hikers coming up who had walked through the night (and some taking the cheating option). Many of them left again too early to see the fog clear up. Don’t do that if you get the chance!

After making our way back down, it was time to skype with our families who had already started their Christmas celebrations. We missed them! Our Christmas dinner with our hosts Olaf and Hanni (two “downshifters” from Germany) wasn’t bad, either, but nothing compared to home, of course.

Breakfast on the 25th actually had a touch of home, thanks to the town’s German butcher and his Leberkäsesemmeln. This guy would make for great material for a Tarantino movie!