Stop number two in Panama was all about the hostel rather than the place itself. But when the hostel is in the middle of the cloud forest on the side of a mountain, you can understand the appeal. Touted as Panama’s only hike-in jungle hostel, Lost and Found hostel is the experience in and of itself. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty to do in the area if you want to, as you’ll see, but it’s also a great place to do nothing. I discovered Lost and Found on Instagram somehow before Hannah and I really started planning the trip and worked the rest of our Panama itinerary around it. It was also conveniently on the road from Bocas del Toro to Boquete, which would be our next stop.

The boat tour that we did in Bocas came with a deal on a shuttle from the ferry that would drop us off at the bottom of the hill to Lost and Found. This was very helpful because it’s pretty much just a random spot on the side of the highway. If you are visiting and not getting a shuttle, there are in depth directions on their website from all the destinations you might be coming from and most of the bus drivers will know where it is anyway! The trek up from the road isn’t too bad, only about 15 minutes but pretty steep. I would say just take your time, I definitely did because I had sprained my ankle a few weeks before the trip, and I would recommend arriving during the day because I wouldn’t want to do the hike up at night. The main area of the hostel is built around the dining area with some hammocks and big tables perfect for meeting people and making friends. There’s also a comfortable living area and a fairly big kitchen that I used once but it’s not that great. Group meals are available each day though. All of the meals are vegetarian, if not vegan, and cost between $5-6. The pancakes for breakfast were delicious but so huge that I couldn’t finish them by myself! I ended up sharing with other people most mornings. For one lunch I had bean burritos with plantain chips and chickpea coconut curry one evening for dinner.

We were welcomed by a beautiful sunset on our first night, a recurring theme throughout our stay. The common area looks out over the trees and you can actually see Volcan Baru in the distance, which Hannah would be climbing a few days later! There was lots of wildlife around including lots of hummingbirds coming to the feeders that were hung everywhere. There were also a lot of bugs, moths, caterpillars, spiders and unfortunately mosquitoes. Definitely make sure you have bug spray. There was also a really cute cat! The rooms are in a smattering of buildings a little further down the slope from the main communal area. We were in a dorm but were the only people in there to start with!

That evening, Hannah wasn’t feeling great so she went down to bed to chill but I hung out with the other people that were around. We were lucky that even though the hostel was quiet, we met a few great groups of people. I think it’s easy to make friends with other travellers who are often doing the same thing as you with a similar mindset, although you’ll still meet people that you just don’t vibe with. However I also think that the environment can make that easier or harder and this was an easy place to get talking to others. In fact, almost everyone we became friends with here, we had either crossed paths with before or met up with afterwards! There was an American girl, Makenzie, who arrived on the same shuttle as us who we saw a week or so later in Panama City and then right at the end of our trip when we were all in Bogota before flying home. We met a pair of Spanish cousins who had been on the same dive boat with us a few days before in Bocas del Toro. On our second day we spent the evening with a German couple that I almost literally bumped into on the streets of Boquete a few days later. We also became good friends with a Dutch trio who we saw again in Panama City with Makenzie, one of whom, Tomas, we met up with again in Salento in Colombia and travelled with for a week.

For our first full day, we were met with heavy rain and strong winds which we took as a sign to get cosy and slow down for a few hours. It did eventually start to brighten up so Hannah and I went to explore some of the trails around the hostel with another girl. I wasn’t out for that long before I decided to turn around. The paths were very steep and after the rain, very slippery and I was worried about injuring my ankle again. The rest of the afternoon was spent planning the Colombian portion of our trip, enjoying the hot showers in the cool climate and just generally chilling. There is a little bar on site that they open if there are at least five people who are interested. It doesn’t sound like a lot and it wouldn’t be in the high season but as we were there in the low season which is also the rainy season, it was pretty quiet. We managed to gather the troops that evening though and played some giant dare jenga with $1.50 beers that were cheaper than the fizzy drinks!

The rain continued the next day but we didn’t let it stop us! We headed down the mountain with a group of girls, hoping that there would be better weather. And we got it! We got the bus down to Gualaca, thirty minutes down the road in the direction of David, which is known for its canyon. It’s a ten minute walk from the main road that goes through Gualaca and was a beautiful spot filled with locals enjoying their Sunday. The canyon really looks like the ground has been cracked in half, running narrowly for 40m or so before it opens up. If you jump in at one end, the current will float you down to the pool at the other end. After swimming a bit and lying on the rocks in the sun, our wee group split up a bit with some people heading to their next destination, others wanting to hit up some nearby waterfalls while Hannah and I wanted to relax some more.

I was a bit tired that evening and wasn’t feeling in the mood for socialising and meeting new people. Sometimes those kind of evenings are very necessary, especially as there’s usually quite a high turnover among the people you meet which can be quite draining. Thankfully I shook myself out of it that night and went up to the bar with Hannah and a new group of guests. This is when we got to know the German couple, Jennifer and Vincent, and the Dutch trio, Tomas, Liv and Youri, who we would see again elsewhere. I really enjoyed their company, they were the kind of people that I find it really easy to get along with and have that almost immediate sense of familiarity with.

We were checking out of the Lost and Found the next day but Boquete, our next stop, was only a couple of hours away so we decided to go on one more adventure before leaving. We went with the German couple and Dutch trio to discover the Cuatro Cascadas (Four Waterfalls). We got a bus ten minutes down the road to Los Planes where we paid the $1 entry fee for access to the waterfall hike. We walked along to the last waterfall and worked our way back. Each waterfall had a little trek down and then back up to the main trail to get to it. The first two were nice but nothing too special, although they had nice big pools for swimming in. The third waterfall had a longer trek down and the fourth was the hardest but the most spectacular. On the way down to this one there was supposed to be a hot spring as well. Maybe this was on me but I was thinking about the ones in Gracias in Honduras so I was expecting a little pool that we could have a dip in (the waterfalls were very cold!) but it was really more of a trickle, much more suitable for dipping your toes into.

We hiked back up to the road and again it was time to part ways. This time it was Hannah and I heading back to the hostel to get our bags while the rest of the group headed down to Gualaca to the canyon. The hike up to the hostel was still tough, despite having done it a few times at this point. We actually ended up having a really nice travel day, not just because we had time to actually do something fun before spending several hours on a bus. We first had to head to David and from there change to a bus to Boquete. To get a bus anywhere from Lost and Found (that isn’t a private shuttle), you head down to the main road and just wait for one to drive past and hope it has space and stops! In this case, one came along almost immediately and once we arrived in David we were able to get straight on a bus to Boquete. It was probably the easiest travel day of the whole trip!