Day 6 and 7 Panama
Trip Start
Nov 27, 2008
1
6
7
Trip End
Dec 06, 2008
Boquete,
Panama
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
so to start all over again but I'm sure more abbreviated . . .
We flew to David yesterday and rented a Toyota and proceeded to drive to Boquete. On the way to the Coffee Estate Inn, we stopped in downtown (rather than exageration but as much of a downtown as there is) and had a wonderful simple but yummy lunch at a cafeteria type spot called Nelvis. We shared a plate of fried chicken, rice with legumes and a warm potato salad infused with broccoli. We sat next to a couple that had just moved to Boquete a week ago from Connecticut. They used to be builders of custom homes and decided to leave that all and retire in Boquete. After a day and a half here, Dan and I know that isn't in our future but it has been fun to see who can do it!
Last night, we had our pre-arranged date night dinner where our wonderful hosts at the Coffee Estate Inn, Barry and Jane, showed us their phenominal culinary and "romantico" skills by setting the table in our bungalow with flowers and candles and delivering our dinner of lemon chicken, bbq smoky salmon, orange and onion salad (don't knock it unless you've tried it!) accompanied with their homemade focaccia
Boquete Day 7
. We could barely keep our eyes awake afterward and fell asleep within an hour to sleep soundly with intense dreams as the rain pounded down outside and the tropical wind swept across the porch outside our bedroom. Earlier in the day, we had walked around this exquisite orange, banana and coffee plantation -- discovering flowers I had never seen before and birds eating split fruit left by the gardeners. The birds are brilliantly colored orange, yellow, scarlet and one particularly striking bird that is bright violet with a blue crown and shocking red feet and legs. Very very unusual! We had originally planned on going on a hike this morning with a seasoned bird-watcher but the rain put a damper on that (!!). We did, however, witness a glorious rainbow hovering over the valley outside our bungalow as we breakfasted on fresh ground coffee and homemade cheese scones, banana bread and raisin toast. I'm telling you -- food has been awesome on this trip and each stop shows us a higher level of taste treats.
Our hosts at the Coffee Estate Inn are very precious. As Dan said: They are so nice that he wonders when they are going to come at us with an ax! (Yes, Dan still has his sense of humor)!!
Yesterday I discovered a most alarming mistake (of mine) and had to find a way today to correct it! As I was checking our flights back to Panama City on Friday, I found that our flights back to Denver were also booked for Friday instead of Saturday as I had presumed and thought I had booked
Boquete Day 7
. We checked how much it would cost to move the tickets back to Saturday and it was not friendly ($400) so Barry and Jane helped me rebook our trip back to Panama City for tomorrow instead of Friday and we will now be flying home on Friday. I was really disappointed but Dan was sweet and didn't let me beat myself up too much -- we truly have had an awesome trip. (Also he hadn't caught it either when I e-mailed him our itinerary earlier but it was still nice of him to not make me feel too bad)!Today we went out for a soggy walk, soggy lunch and soggy drive around the volcano. I did buy a nice piece of artwork for the house -- small but colorful -- we had another great meal (lunch) at a Peruvian seafood restaurant. I'm not sure I will ever get my fill of the local ceviche! As I sit here typing, there are hummingbirds hovering outside the window around the coffee bushes and orange trees glistening with the days' rain.
It has been a great trip and although I hate to see it coming to an abbreviated end, we have already talked about another trip somewhere in the future back to Costa Rica and the western islands of Panama. The people are so gracious and our Spanish is remarkably adequate -- this is a good world destination for us.
So everyone -- we will be back in the States late on Friday.
Love to all --
Ann (Mom to some) and Dan (Dad to others)
Comments
WOW! Panama Adventure Just Gets Better!
Hola Ann and Dan
Everyday there seems to just get better and better.
I didn't know you two speak Spanish! The colors of the
flowers are absolutely beautiful. Thanks for all the wonderful pictures. Enjoy your final days of vacation.
You two are having too much fun and eating way too much!
All is AOK at the home front.
Barbara