The Hidden Lesson from Nature's Giants

Last fall I did a solo trip to Panama and spent a little over a week in the small mountain town of Boquete. It’s a charming town known for its coffee and is home to the highly revered Geisha Coffee which can cost up to $600/pound depending on the coffee plantation that is selling it. Boquete is also known for its spectacular nature and a large network of trails that take you through the Panamanian jungle. Coffee and hiking? Right up my alley.

One day, I decided to do the Pipeline Trail, a two-hour hike that takes you through a dense cloud forest and up to a stunning waterfall. I fueled up on a delicious cup of josé (not the $600 kind) and headed to the street corner where I could catch a bus to the trailhead. To the newbie, this can be a bit confusing because there aren’t any printed schedules or fares listed for the local buses, which are actually just tiny vans that several strangers squeeze into.

Basically, you look for the van-bus that has the final destination listed on the windshield that is in the general direction you want to go. There is a helper standing out front and you tell him where you’re going, he nods and then you hop in and wait an indefinite amount of time–either until the van-bus fills up, or the driver decides he is tired of waiting. I only had to wait around 15 minutes which wasn’t bad.

The drive to the trail was a beautiful adventure. Salsa music blasting, we drove the winding mountain roads overlooking rivers, coffee plantations, tiny shacks, and enormous luxury homes belonging to the many expats in the area. Along the way, we’d stop and pick up more passengers, some holding giant canvas bags of coffee with both arms that touched the ceiling when they sat down.

After about 25 minutes, the helper shouted my stop name and I gave him 50 cents before heading on my way.

The trail is privately owned, so you walk up a muddy gravel driveway to get to the trailhead. As I noisily crunched along the driveway, two dogs excitedly started barking and a boy no older than the age of 10 showed up with a clipboard for me to write my name and start time. Always a nice addition when you are doing a solo hike. It was still early so I was the first one on the list and I smiled–totally secluded nature all to myself.

The trail is fairly mellow and it felt more like a nature walk than a hike, but I was grateful for its ease even though I typically prefer more strenuous treks. There was so much to look at!! Panamanian jungles are packed full of more than 10,000 species of plants and 1,500 species of animals. If you’re lucky you can see the strikingly beautiful Quetzal, the smiling camouflage sloth, or even the elusive jaguar (although you may not be so lucky if you come across one of those on a solo hike).

After about an hour you approach a rocky riverbed where it seems the hike has reached its end, but you can’t stop there. Just a couple minutes further of twists and turns, scrambling across large boulders, and you will be gifted with the most incredible view–a massive hidden waterfall. It is in the center of a large semi-circle of a sheer rock face that is covered with lush green plants coated in mist from the rushing water. It looked like nature had created an amphitheater out of rocks, trees and plants and the waterfall was at center stage. It was the perfect place to enjoy a snack and take it all in.

The waterfall was absolutely stunning but equally impressive was a 1,000-year-old Cenizo (Mexican Elm) that you pass along the way. It’s huge–easily rivaling the giant California Redwoods I’ve grown up with. It’s about 40-minutes from the trailhead and even though it is absolutely enormous, if you aren't looking out for it, you'll easily miss it. The semi-hidden Cenizo looks like something from the movie Ferngully (this reference ages me), emanating strength, resilience, and beauty and yet blending in perfectly among its surroundings.

That's the thing about trees though. They grow slowly in the background of our busy lives, often without us even realizing it, until they tower above us and provide us shade.

Few things recharge me more than walking among nature's giants. 1,000 years old...I was a blip in time. Trees have a way of giving us perspective on our fast problems and fleeting lives. When we pause long enough to actually notice them, it is impossible not to look at them with awe.

What if we started to appreciate the patience and resilience of the seemingly unmoving around us?

When I returned to my family-run hostel later that day I was talking with the owner about the hike and how amazing the Cenizo was. He said that a lot of people completely miss it because they are going so fast and just trying to get to the waterfall.

I thought of all of the magical moments I’ve probably missed in my life by going too quickly–completely consumed by the end result. When we are too focused on the final destination, we often become blind to the many gifts along the journey. Unassuming opportunities are all around us, patiently waiting for us to just look up and be aware.

Hidden wisdom and undeniable beauty are right in front of us, if only we decide to look for it.

Earth Day, every day.