Other Travelers' Visits to El Valle

In this photo you can see the former incarnation of the Hotel Campestre, the grand old dame of El Valle, before it was torn down. Laura used to say that it looked like the hotel from "The Shining." The golden frogs are gone, perhaps sheltered at the new amphibian facility in El Nispero. The square-trunked trees are not so square, but the grounds are still beautiful and it looks like they are re-building from the ground up. Nothing remains of the former structure except the central fireplace.

I'll try to drive by there today and take a few photos of the construction.

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I have encountered several stories on the web of other traveler's visits to El Valle. Here are a few:

Stefnflo's visit to El Valle: It's interesting and nostalgic. They travelled all through Central Ameria and I read most of their journals.

From the description I'd guess that they stayed at the Hotel Campestre. I drove by to check it out a few days ago and it has been torn down, all except the brick fireplace in the middle. It looks like they are going to build a new structure, and they do have a side building with some rooms for rent in the meantime.

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Another couple's daytrip to El Valle from Panama City. Their description of the bus ride is very familiar:

Bus Ride Panama City to El Valle

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Martin is a German who was working in Panama and has now returned to Germany. He's got some nice photos of El Valle on his website: Martin's last visit to El Valle.

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Mark and Emma's brief trip to El Valle. They did a quick jaunt from Chiriqui to Panama City.