So, we drove the car to David today to turn it back in. :-(
Before turning it in, we checked out the one mall in David (which wasn't that great but it DOES have a real bookstore!) and then got some lunch at a restaurant close to the airport. It was very hot in David!
The people at the rental car place drove us back to where we could catch a bus to Boquete. The bus was SO slow today, not sure why, but it seemed to take forever to get back. We got off the bus at the plaza, picked up a papaya at the fruit stand, picked up some orange juice from the store, and then walked back to our house. Fortunately by that time the sky was totally cloudy and the weather was much cooler. So it was a nice walk home.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Once again in Boquete
This morning we had our last breakfast together at the Balboa Inn, then packed up the car and drove Fernando and Eva to the airport. While they were checking in, Guillermo decided to run to the grocery store that SEEMED to be nearby. It took him a lot longer than we thought it would, but fortunately, he got back before Fernando and Eva had to go through security. When Guillermo got back, he said that he started OUT walking, but when we saw that the store was a lot farther than it at first glance looks, he decided to get the car and drive there instead. He got to the store just fine, and when he was leaving, he said he does not know how a van that was pulling out of a parking spot didn't hit him. He was just waiting for the crunch of metal, that's how close he came to getting hit. The van fortunately saw Guillermo at the very last second and slammed on its brakes. Well, after going through that, he saw there was no way to make a left turn out of the parking lot back to the airport, so he had to make a right and go for quite a distance before he could turn around. Meanwhile, we at the airport were becoming concerned that Guillermo wouldn't get back before Fernando and Eva had to go through security. We even walked outside to see if we could see him coming and happily for all of us, almost right as we walked outside, that's when Guillermo came up the steps to the airport entrance. Whew!!!
We saw Eva and Fernando through security, waved one final goodbye wave to them and then got back in our car and started the drive back to Boquete. We stopped one time in Santiago to get an ice cream at McDonalds and continued driving. The weather was good again, and the roads were clear.
In David, we stopped at the big supermarket and picked up several things that aren't available in Boquete. Right after getting back on the road, we could see in the distance that it was dark in the direction of Boquete and sure enough, pretty soon we were in some heavy rain. It rained almost all the way to Boquete, but in Boquete the rain had already gone through so the roads were already dry there.
Yes, it was a great visit with Fernando and Eva in Panama City. We of course were sad to see them go, but are so grateful that we were able to spend a little time with them.
We saw Eva and Fernando through security, waved one final goodbye wave to them and then got back in our car and started the drive back to Boquete. We stopped one time in Santiago to get an ice cream at McDonalds and continued driving. The weather was good again, and the roads were clear.
In David, we stopped at the big supermarket and picked up several things that aren't available in Boquete. Right after getting back on the road, we could see in the distance that it was dark in the direction of Boquete and sure enough, pretty soon we were in some heavy rain. It rained almost all the way to Boquete, but in Boquete the rain had already gone through so the roads were already dry there.
Yes, it was a great visit with Fernando and Eva in Panama City. We of course were sad to see them go, but are so grateful that we were able to spend a little time with them.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Pipeline Road, last dinner in Casco Viejo
We got up early today, but really, not early enough for what we were going to do. Our plan today was to go out to the Pipeline Road near Gamboa to do a little bird watching. We had read that everything happens (bird-wise) on that road in the first hour, meaning from 6-7am. Well, we had heard how good the birding was on this road so, not wanting to get up THAT early and thinking that if the birding is so good on this road then it should still be decent around 9am, we got UP at 6:30am and got to the park around 8:15am. The drive out to Gamboa was nice enough in itself with beautiful countryside and many lakes.
When we got to the entrance to the pipeline road we paid our fee, parked the car and started walking. We walked a little while before we decided it'd be better to drive on up to the Rainforest Discovery Center and maybe leave the car there. Fernando and Eva decided to keep on walking, so Guillermo and I decided that driving the car on up would avoid us having to walk all the way back to it. So, after looking in on the Rainforest Discovery Center (and not liking their entrance fee) we drove back out to the road, parked the car there and walked back down the pipeline road to meet up with Fernando and Eva.
Well, the birding was fine enough on the road but everyone is right that the major bird action happens a lot earlier. By the time we were walking the road, even by 8:15, the forest was mostly quiet. But we did get to see some interesting birds and several even that we had never seen before, so that was exciting! We walked back to the car after meeting up with Fernando and Eva and stopped there to have some drinks and snacks.
No one really wanted to go on to the Rainforest Discovery Center (mainly because of the entrance fee). Instead, it was decided that it'd be preferable to continue walking the pipeline road from where we were parked, since it seemed like fewer cars went on from that point. So, I told everyone that I'd go back to the Rainforest Center to buy some water and then I'd drive down in the car to wherever they were along the road and meet them there. They continued on and after getting the water, I drove back down the road and was surprised that after going just a very short distance, I saw the three of them just sitting on the side of the road. Then I saw why. There was a gate across the road at that point.
So, we parked the car there at the gate and continued walking. We hadn't gotten very far when we heard some loud screeching, which turned out to be the alarm call of an agouti. Fernando peered through the trees hoping to see whatever predator it was that was terrifying the agouti but the only thing he saw was the agouti sitting on a log. We waited a little while to see if the action would continue, but it didn't so we ventured on.
The pipeline road is a WONDERFUL road to walk along and look for birds. Although it was quite hot and humid, at times the sun went behind clouds and that made it more pleasant. There were a couple of times that we thought it was going to rain even, but it never did. The pipeline road is 24 kilometers long, so we could have walked all day and not seen it all. But around lunch time, we decided to turn around and head back. We planned on going to the nearby resort for lunch, but at $24 per person for the buffet, we thought it was too much so we decided to drive back to the causeway and eat at one of our favorite restaurants there. By the time we got to the restaurant it was close to 2pm and then by the time we were seated and waited on, it was probably close to 3:00. But we had a good, if not WAY too big meal there!!! Lots of meat and potatoes, for sure! We got a table outside with the view of the harbor so that was also very nice.
So, now we're stuffed and tired and ready to go back to the hotel and just rest for a while. After a good rest, we were in a quandry about what to do about getting something to eat for dinner, since really, none of us were much hungry at all. But we figured we should eat SOMEthing or we'd be hungry when it'd be too late to do something about it. It took us quite a while to figure out where we were going to go eat (we decided we'd like to go back to Casco Viejo to eat), and then it took some more time for the taxi to arrive, so we probably headed out close to 7:30. The taxi drove us to our first choice in where to eat, but when we got there, we saw that the place was closed. Which was ok with us, because that gave us an unexpected opportunity to walk around in Casco Viejo a little bit again, since we decided we should just walk on over to the place where we had drinks the day before.
So, we got our table there outside around the plaza, and we all tried to find dishes that weren't going to be a ton of food. It worked out - the dishes were good and not too much food - and just as good was the atmosphere of just sitting at an outside table in the nice balmy weather.
When we got to the entrance to the pipeline road we paid our fee, parked the car and started walking. We walked a little while before we decided it'd be better to drive on up to the Rainforest Discovery Center and maybe leave the car there. Fernando and Eva decided to keep on walking, so Guillermo and I decided that driving the car on up would avoid us having to walk all the way back to it. So, after looking in on the Rainforest Discovery Center (and not liking their entrance fee) we drove back out to the road, parked the car there and walked back down the pipeline road to meet up with Fernando and Eva.
Well, the birding was fine enough on the road but everyone is right that the major bird action happens a lot earlier. By the time we were walking the road, even by 8:15, the forest was mostly quiet. But we did get to see some interesting birds and several even that we had never seen before, so that was exciting! We walked back to the car after meeting up with Fernando and Eva and stopped there to have some drinks and snacks.
No one really wanted to go on to the Rainforest Discovery Center (mainly because of the entrance fee). Instead, it was decided that it'd be preferable to continue walking the pipeline road from where we were parked, since it seemed like fewer cars went on from that point. So, I told everyone that I'd go back to the Rainforest Center to buy some water and then I'd drive down in the car to wherever they were along the road and meet them there. They continued on and after getting the water, I drove back down the road and was surprised that after going just a very short distance, I saw the three of them just sitting on the side of the road. Then I saw why. There was a gate across the road at that point.
So, we parked the car there at the gate and continued walking. We hadn't gotten very far when we heard some loud screeching, which turned out to be the alarm call of an agouti. Fernando peered through the trees hoping to see whatever predator it was that was terrifying the agouti but the only thing he saw was the agouti sitting on a log. We waited a little while to see if the action would continue, but it didn't so we ventured on.
The pipeline road is a WONDERFUL road to walk along and look for birds. Although it was quite hot and humid, at times the sun went behind clouds and that made it more pleasant. There were a couple of times that we thought it was going to rain even, but it never did. The pipeline road is 24 kilometers long, so we could have walked all day and not seen it all. But around lunch time, we decided to turn around and head back. We planned on going to the nearby resort for lunch, but at $24 per person for the buffet, we thought it was too much so we decided to drive back to the causeway and eat at one of our favorite restaurants there. By the time we got to the restaurant it was close to 2pm and then by the time we were seated and waited on, it was probably close to 3:00. But we had a good, if not WAY too big meal there!!! Lots of meat and potatoes, for sure! We got a table outside with the view of the harbor so that was also very nice.
So, now we're stuffed and tired and ready to go back to the hotel and just rest for a while. After a good rest, we were in a quandry about what to do about getting something to eat for dinner, since really, none of us were much hungry at all. But we figured we should eat SOMEthing or we'd be hungry when it'd be too late to do something about it. It took us quite a while to figure out where we were going to go eat (we decided we'd like to go back to Casco Viejo to eat), and then it took some more time for the taxi to arrive, so we probably headed out close to 7:30. The taxi drove us to our first choice in where to eat, but when we got there, we saw that the place was closed. Which was ok with us, because that gave us an unexpected opportunity to walk around in Casco Viejo a little bit again, since we decided we should just walk on over to the place where we had drinks the day before.
So, we got our table there outside around the plaza, and we all tried to find dishes that weren't going to be a ton of food. It worked out - the dishes were good and not too much food - and just as good was the atmosphere of just sitting at an outside table in the nice balmy weather.
It's kind of sad that the above is the only picture we have of the whole day, especially since it was so nice on the Pipeline road. Sometimes it's just easier to not bring out the camera, but later, we regret it.....
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Locks, attempt on Cerro Ancon, taxi to El Cangrejo, Dinner Casco Viejo
Well, here we are again, having breakfast at the Balboa Inn, this time with Fernando and Eva!!!
After breakfast, we drove out to the Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal. Every time we drive out to the locks, we always hope that there's at LEAST one ship passing through. The first time we ever went to the locks, we saw several ships going through, the time before today we saw two ships going through and today there was one ship already in the first lock. But that's all you need, really. Because although it is very fascinating to watch the whole process, it IS very hot out there on that observation deck. And those ships don't just race through those locks. It is a very slow process, and when the sun is bearing down on you, the process seems to take a LONG time. It's all very interesting, though, and worth the wait out in the sun.
It was sooo crowded on the deck, but we managed to get in a picture of Fernando and Eva out there.
This is a shot of the ship that was going through while we were there.
After the locks, we drove back to our hotel so that we could hire a taxi to take us to a nearby lookout hill so that we could have a panoramic view of the city. We couldn't even get to the top of the hill because they had a restriction on how many cars could be up at the top, so they were making the rest of us wait in a line along the road for our turn to go up. After several minutes of waiting, and seeing how it was getting later for lunch, we had the taxi driver take us to a restaurant in the middle of Panama City. The streets in downtown Panama City are something we don't care to mess with but we wanted to eat at a restaurant downtown, something we've never done before. Well, even the taxi driver had a hard time finding the restaurant we wanted to go to, because it turns out the restaurant wasn't even there anymore!!! So, we just had him drop us off and we walked to a Japanese restaurant we had seen right before that. There is this really neat building downtown that looks like the sides are going up around in a circle. I tried to get a picture of it as the taxi zipped by but with the rain coming down hard and the taxi going so fast, this was all I could get of it. Right when the billboard got in front of it.....
But you can kind of see it there behind the billboard.....
After lunch, we caught a taxi back to our hotel and rested up a bit. Later that evening, we got a taxi again to take us to a section of Panama City called Casco Viejo. We asked the taxi driver to take us out to Casco Viejo and drop us off at a grocery store called El Machetazo. Guillermo and I had been to El Machetazo a few times before about 2 years ago, so we knew that this store was just on the edge of Casco Viejo. But what we didn't know was that this store backed up to one of the worst sections of Panama City. The taxi driver was not able to drive to the front of the store (and we remembered later that yes, the front of the store is on a pedestrian walk) so he kept telling us he was going to drop us off at the back of the store but that we should go out the FRONT of the store. Well, when we got there, we knew exactly why he kept saying that. It looked PRETTY rough on the back side of that store, although that was one of the entrances to the store. We kept thinking that this has to be a different store than the one we remembered, but when we walked inside, we recognized it right away as the store we had been to before. So, we felt quite uneasy getting out of the taxi and then walking through the store and down the pedestrian walk, which also looked a little shadier than we remembered.
But finally we got to the section known as Casco Viejo and we felt a little more comfortable, although this area also has its rough spots. The neat thing about Casco Viejo is that it is being revitalized - so as you walk down the streets in this section, you can see many old and delapidated buildings and then right next to those old buildings or just around the corner from them, you'll find a gem. A fancy restaurant or a part of a building that has been totally renovated and is now a very beautiful structure. That is what makes this place so appealing - you never know what you're going to discover.
We walked to Plaza Francia and admired the view from the sea wall there. This time, the tide was WAY out.
While walking around on this side of the plaza, it started to rain a little so we slipped inside the restaurant we thought we might have dinner at later on in the evening. We made a reservation there for 7pm and by the time we got back outside, the rain had more or less quit. We continued walking around the sea wall and
these pictures are taken on the side of the Plaza that faces the Panama City skyline.
It was hard getting a picture here, with all the people walking by or skateboarding around. But we managed, and in this picture it's a little easier to see that building that looks like it's spiraling upwards.
A very pretty covered walkway as we were leaving the plaza.
By the time we walked all around the plaza, we were pretty thirsty so we went to one of our favorite outdoor restaurants and got a few drinks.
Then it was time to head back to the restaurant where we had made reservations. Very interesting building that houses this restaurant. The building used to be a jail!!
This picture the waiter took came out a little blurry, but still, you can see all four of us!
We weren't sure if it'd be easy to get a taxi after dinner, and thought we'd get to walk around Casco Viejo a little more, but we caught a taxi right away. It was a wonderful relaxing evening.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Back again in Panama City!
We got up EARLY today, packed up the car in 30 minutes and were out the door and on the road by 6:10am. We are driving today to Panama City to meet Fernando and Eva at the airport there!!!
Good drive the whole way. No roads were shut down, traffic flowed smoothly and the weather was good. We got to Panama City a lot earlier than we thought we would so we had plenty of time to stop by our hotel first before heading to the airport. Of course, we got to the airport with tons of time to spare, but we'd rather be early than late. How good it was to see Fernando and Eva coming through the door! We just love that part!!
First thing we did after picking them up was get in the traffic that was just CRAWLING along and finally got to the causeway where we planned on having lunch. It was raining a little as we left the airport, and by the time we got to the causeway, the rain was coming down hard!!! Fortunately, the restaurant we were going to had covered parking (what are the chances....) and ALSO had covered access to the restaurant. So, we were protected totally from the elements. We got a seat on the patio with a wonderful view out to the sea and the rain was still coming down. We had a great meal there - Fernando had octopus!! - and by the time we were finished with our meal the rain had quit and we were able to walk along the causeway a little bit.
From there we went to the hotel, and rested up a bit before going back out in the evening - to EAT again! We went back out on the causeway to a Lebanese restaurant. Good food and good music - although a little too loud. But we enjoyed our dinner very much and that's how we ended this wonderful day! :-)
Good drive the whole way. No roads were shut down, traffic flowed smoothly and the weather was good. We got to Panama City a lot earlier than we thought we would so we had plenty of time to stop by our hotel first before heading to the airport. Of course, we got to the airport with tons of time to spare, but we'd rather be early than late. How good it was to see Fernando and Eva coming through the door! We just love that part!!
First thing we did after picking them up was get in the traffic that was just CRAWLING along and finally got to the causeway where we planned on having lunch. It was raining a little as we left the airport, and by the time we got to the causeway, the rain was coming down hard!!! Fortunately, the restaurant we were going to had covered parking (what are the chances....) and ALSO had covered access to the restaurant. So, we were protected totally from the elements. We got a seat on the patio with a wonderful view out to the sea and the rain was still coming down. We had a great meal there - Fernando had octopus!! - and by the time we were finished with our meal the rain had quit and we were able to walk along the causeway a little bit.
From there we went to the hotel, and rested up a bit before going back out in the evening - to EAT again! We went back out on the causeway to a Lebanese restaurant. Good food and good music - although a little too loud. But we enjoyed our dinner very much and that's how we ended this wonderful day! :-)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Getting ready for April 15th
Whyyyyyyyy are a lot of these posts one day behind??? Guess I just don't think to post on the actual day most of the time!
Anyway, yesterday Guillermo and I didn't go anywhere. Instead we stayed in and looked at everything we're going to need to file an extension for doing our taxes and tried to figure out what we're going to do about that.
Mom and Linda TRIED to mail us all of our paperwork (1099s, W-2s, etc.) - some of it 2 months ago!! It has yet to arrive anywhere so the stuff is out there somewhere and if we're lucky it's just languishing in some post office and not opened and in the wrong hands.
So, yesterday we sent out emails and called various departments connected to the information we need. It was all very productive and everyone was very helpful - getting our information to us quite quickly. So, maybe it will all work out and we can get that extension filed so that when we get back home in May, we can file the real thing at that time.
With all of that information gathered now, we're going to put it on the back burner until next week because we've got better things to think about in these next fews days. We're going to Panama City to meet Fernando and Eva on Friday!!! It's time for them to do their visa exit from Costa Rica (something they have to do every 3 months) and we are just so excited about going back to Panama City and spending about 3 days with them. Yes!!!
Anyway, yesterday Guillermo and I didn't go anywhere. Instead we stayed in and looked at everything we're going to need to file an extension for doing our taxes and tried to figure out what we're going to do about that.
Mom and Linda TRIED to mail us all of our paperwork (1099s, W-2s, etc.) - some of it 2 months ago!! It has yet to arrive anywhere so the stuff is out there somewhere and if we're lucky it's just languishing in some post office and not opened and in the wrong hands.
So, yesterday we sent out emails and called various departments connected to the information we need. It was all very productive and everyone was very helpful - getting our information to us quite quickly. So, maybe it will all work out and we can get that extension filed so that when we get back home in May, we can file the real thing at that time.
With all of that information gathered now, we're going to put it on the back burner until next week because we've got better things to think about in these next fews days. We're going to Panama City to meet Fernando and Eva on Friday!!! It's time for them to do their visa exit from Costa Rica (something they have to do every 3 months) and we are just so excited about going back to Panama City and spending about 3 days with them. Yes!!!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Power yesterday, water today
It was a beautiful day today, except for the fact that our water was off during lunch time for about 3 hours. Thankfully we had washed all the breakfast dishes and had just finished washing a load of clothes. The water went off around 11:30am and when it wasn't on yet at 1pm, we decided to go down to the restaurant here in the valley to have lunch. My goodness, the food is so delicious in that little riverside cafe. By the time we got back to our house, the water was back on - something that we were really grateful for. The sound of running water is priceless.
John and Angie leave Boquete
Yesterday we drove John and Angie to David so that they could catch a plane to Panama City. It's the first leg of their trip back home.
We left the house early (the water was off anyway, so we might as well just leave) and drove to a book store that is half way between Boquete and David. We spent a few minutes there and then headed on to the airport. John and Angie checked in and since we had over an hour until they had to get in line for processing, we decided to go back into David for lunch. We found a nice "typical" restaurant and got a bite to eat. Then we drove back, saw them through the line and said goodbye. We really had a nice time with them this past week.
Once back in our car, we drove to the car rental place, turned in the car and asked them to drive us to the supermarket. We wanted to take advantage of being near a big supermarket and also, the bus we needed to catch back to Boquete was by this store. So, they drove us there, we picked up a few things, came out and had to only wait like 2 minutes for the bus and then we were on our way back to Boquete. Our walk back up to the house was in full sun, but with the wind it didn't feel too bad. Shortly after we got home, the mist started again!
We had about 2 good hours back home and then our electricity went off. Ok, that's fine. It was only 5pm and even though we wished we could have watched the evening news, we figured it'd be back on soon. Well, time went on and it started getting dark, so we rounded up all the candles in the house, lit them and put one in every room. We went outside on the balcony and saw that the whole valley was dark so we were reassured that it wasn't just our house. By 7:45, we figured we better eat SOMEthing so we made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and ate them and watermelon by candlelight. After eating, since there was nothing else to do anyway, we decided to just go to bed. At 8:30pm. At 9:30pm we were jolted with the lights coming on and the TV blaring at full volume! It was one of those things - hitting the power button on the remote while the power's off. So, did that turn OFF the TV or did I just turn it back on?? Only when the power comes back on do we know for sure! Anyway, so happy to have power again we got back up and stayed up again until midnight!
We left the house early (the water was off anyway, so we might as well just leave) and drove to a book store that is half way between Boquete and David. We spent a few minutes there and then headed on to the airport. John and Angie checked in and since we had over an hour until they had to get in line for processing, we decided to go back into David for lunch. We found a nice "typical" restaurant and got a bite to eat. Then we drove back, saw them through the line and said goodbye. We really had a nice time with them this past week.
Once back in our car, we drove to the car rental place, turned in the car and asked them to drive us to the supermarket. We wanted to take advantage of being near a big supermarket and also, the bus we needed to catch back to Boquete was by this store. So, they drove us there, we picked up a few things, came out and had to only wait like 2 minutes for the bus and then we were on our way back to Boquete. Our walk back up to the house was in full sun, but with the wind it didn't feel too bad. Shortly after we got home, the mist started again!
We had about 2 good hours back home and then our electricity went off. Ok, that's fine. It was only 5pm and even though we wished we could have watched the evening news, we figured it'd be back on soon. Well, time went on and it started getting dark, so we rounded up all the candles in the house, lit them and put one in every room. We went outside on the balcony and saw that the whole valley was dark so we were reassured that it wasn't just our house. By 7:45, we figured we better eat SOMEthing so we made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and ate them and watermelon by candlelight. After eating, since there was nothing else to do anyway, we decided to just go to bed. At 8:30pm. At 9:30pm we were jolted with the lights coming on and the TV blaring at full volume! It was one of those things - hitting the power button on the remote while the power's off. So, did that turn OFF the TV or did I just turn it back on?? Only when the power comes back on do we know for sure! Anyway, so happy to have power again we got back up and stayed up again until midnight!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Driving to the "end of the road"
This was the last day in town for John and Angie. We spent it driving around in the mountains surrounding Boquete. First we drove in the direction of a little town called Bajo Mono. On the road we passed this cliff with amazing formations of rock, and just had to get out and take some pictures. It was interesting watching a guy try to climb the rock while we took pictures. We wondered how far he got, since it was kind of seeming like his hands were hurting him.
Well, we just kept driving, taking roads that we hadn't taken before. Guillermo was driving and it was so easy to say, hmmm, where does this road go, and he would go in that direction. Then once, we thought we had come to the end of the road - there were some guys cutting pine trees right by the road and their debris was kind of on the road and since the road was practically one lane anyway it looked like we couldn't go any further. So, Guillermo stopped to ask them if the road continued on further and the guy he talked to said it ended right around there. So, Guillermo drove on a little bit to find a place to turn around. We then realized that another one of the guys was approaching our car and he told Guillermo that if we continue on driving, we'll come to a nice look-out and that we should keep going. So we did!!
We're so glad we did because the scenery was just amazing. We kept wondering how far the road would go but we just enjoyed continuing on to who knows where. But then sure enough, all of a sudden the road became dirt and rocky. So, we had to stop there. We parked along the edge and sure enough, there was a nice view towards the volcano and the surrounding hillsides which were planted with vegetables. We walked around that spot for a little while, admiring the view and taking a few steps into a coffee field. Angie and John decided they'd like to walk back down to another pull-out we had stopped at, so we told them we'd pick them up down there.
As Guillermo and I were getting ready to get back into the car, we saw an elderly lady with a yellow umbrella walking up the road, where the incline was quite steep. And actually the drive to that very spot was pretty much uphill all the way so to walk it's a very tough climb. We decided to wait till she approached and when she got to us, she happily stopped to chat with us. Guillermo and I talked with her quite a while! Keep in mind that we are very far far away from town on a one lane road where there are no stores or ANYthing anywhere around. We asked her if she lived around there and she said she lived even FURTHER up the rocky road!! She said she loves living where she lives - the air is clean and fresh, there's no traffic noise or noise from other people. She has everything she needs there - chickens, vegetable garden, etc. and walks into town every couple of weeks for the rest of her necessities. We were just amazed. She is 71 years old. She does that long walk in sandals. And the day we were there, it was nice and sunny. We can't imagine what kind of a walk she has to go through during the rainy season. Our big regret is that we didn't get a picture of that inspirational lady.
We said goodbye to her, got back in our car and drove down to where we said we'd meet John and Angie. We parked the car there and walked around a little. A guy drove up on a motorcycle and he asked if we knew the area and since we didn't we just chatted a little while and then he went on his way. When John and Angie got back, we were getting ready to get in the car when Angie noticed these four kids walking up the road. She got an excellent picture of them. Only the oldest child would talk to us. The others, when we'd ask them something, they'd just look at us with big eyes. We must have looked like aliens to them!!
Then it was time to drive to our destination for the day, Finca Lerida. We always enjoy going to this coffee farm and having lunch.
Some of the MANY beautiful impatiens around where we ate.
After a really good lunch, we walked around the grounds a little bit and enjoyed the beautiful weather and being among the coffee plants.
Here is a picture of the surrounding mountains as we were driving back to Boquete.
When we got back to Boquete, there was a heavy mist going on and it was making beautiful rainbows. This is a rainbow seen from the valley where we live.
Angie took lots of pictures with her camera, and I "borrowed" a few of them for this blog. Thanks, Angie!
Visited Volcan - March 16th
We took the long winding road to Volcan today. The weather was really nice. It was amazing to us how when we took off, there wasn't a cloud in the sky anywhere. Even the Baru volcano was clearly visible. So, it was a beautiful morning to be heading towards Volcan. When we got to Volcan, we just drove on through to the town of Guadalupe where we had lunch. After lunch, we decided to take our little rental car as far as possible up the road to get as close as we could to the Finca Dracula, which is a lovely orchid farm. When the pavement ended, we turned the little Hyundai Elantra down the rocky dirt road, and didn't get all that far before we just had to pull over, park, and walk the rest of the way. Hmm, clouds starting to show up.
The Finca Dracula was a lot closer to that turn off than I thought!!! So, soon we were walking around the grounds and admiring the orchids there.
And some pictures of other flowers around the grounds.
Seen along the road in the Orchard Farm
Angie by one of the ponds
Angie and I walking along a narrow trail
Guillermo kept trying to hide behind John, but I caught him out in the open here! Can't say he looks all that excited about that. Or maybe it's just all that equipment he is carrying around.
There was a light rain falling by the time we left Finca Dracula and as we drove back to Boquete we could see that back in Guadalupe, it was probably raining a lot heavier. So, our day was a good one!!!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Back in Boquete
Whew! The drive back from Panama City (or really, from El Valle) seemed to take a lot longer than when we drove TO Panama City. We stopped once in Santiago to have lunch, but other than that we just drove straight through. It took us about 7 hours to get to David, where we stopped to pick up a few things from the grocery store. As we got closer to Boquete, we could see that it was kind of sprinkling there. So, we got into a little rain, but at least we have a covered carport to unload luggage and stuff. That evening, we drove back into town and ate at a new restaurant that opened while we were in Costa Rica. The pizza and drinks were excellent!! :-)
So, in Boquete we took John and Angie to Mi Jardin es su Jardin (My garden is your garden) and they thought the grounds and all the flowers were very lovely. And it DID seem like there was more in bloom than when Guillermo and I went in December.
So, in Boquete we took John and Angie to Mi Jardin es su Jardin (My garden is your garden) and they thought the grounds and all the flowers were very lovely. And it DID seem like there was more in bloom than when Guillermo and I went in December.
Then driving around afterwards, we came across this precious little girl walking down this pine-needle strewn road.
Later that day, we took a walk around the valley here.
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