The only place they supposedly exist is here in the mountain village of El Valle behind Hotel Campestre. Or so guidebooks claim. Out of curiosity I had to see for myself, and took a short taxi ride to the outlying hotel.

Relying on gestures and limited Spanish I inquired about the trail at the front desk. A young man pointed across the grassy yard back toward the entrance's long driveway. Donna and I took off with a Canadian couple at our heels. They'd just arrived in Panama the previous night on their honeymoon. They'd not encountered anyone thus far who spoke English, and were happy to join us.

We shared our recommendations in Panama and told them of our adventures while we walked to the trailhead. Soon we were at the red shed at the edge of the woods (right of the drive when you enter). A large painted map illustrated the trail, which followed and crossed a river before looping back. The arboles quadrados (square trees) were identified near the creek crossing and other species such as eucalipta and zamia were also marked.

Pink impatiens and thick ferns bordered the rocky path as we strolled through the woods. To be honest I've never seen impatiens growing wild in the woods, and they seemed out of place somehow in this forest. They added a nice punch of color, as did the bright red blossoms dangling over a creek strewn with mossy boulders beside us. It was a pretty walk, and in ten minutes we crossed the little bridge and were on the look out for the so-called square trees.

A gigantic tree stood near the path. Seven of us could've stood side by side in it's width. It's buttressed trunk was not exactly square, but not round either. More like a dinosaur's webbed foot, with roots extending ten feet or more from it's base. We took turns posing in front it and clicking photos of each other.

Then a few feet away we saw it. Had it not been for a sign identifying it as such, we would've missed it altogether: the square tree. It looked round, rather standard. But closer inspection did reveal a squarish base, sort of. Four ingrown roots extended outward ever so slightly.

The Canadians shrugged their shoulders and continued on their walk. And Donna wandered back to the strange buttressed tree to click one more shot. "Why don't they have a sign on this one? It's far more intriguing!" I had to agree.