Keith's Panamanian Travel Ramble

Hi Fellow Travelers,

Today or friend Octav leaves for Boquete by bus.  He takes a bus from here to Santiago where he changes to a bus to David and then from there to Boquete.  We will next meet up with him on 12 February.

As today is our first day alone here, we decided to catch up on a few things like the blog.  Internet here is from a place in town called the Information Center which is about two kilometers or so from Mariposa.  We will go in tomorrow and update the blog as well as prowl the small town of Santa Fé.  How long can it take with only a population of around 3,000?  Also, I meant to tell you that although we are in the hills, the elevation is only 461M, according to my GPS.

If you like fresh juices, this is a good place to come.  Each unit is equipped with a juicer and the property is full of orange trees.  You can drink as much as you can make!  We can almost reach a couple of the trees right from our kitchen patio.  The units here are well equipped with all the gear you need.  The owners supplied things here based on their experience of what was missing from kitchens when you travel.

The posts that hold the front of the decks up are unusual.  If you remember, one of the things to do in El Valle was to go and see the square trees.  Well the deck supports are square trees.  They are now endangered and you cannot cut them any more but you can still buy them from a few people who have a permit to sell a previous inventory.    They are really quite decorative!

There are two people here that also play a key part in making this place special.  Graham and Rachel who come from California.  Because of them, a restaurant complex is under construction.  Graham is a horticulturist and a chef with lots of restaurant experience.  His creations so far have been sumptuous!  Rachel provides Shiatsu therapy here and is the server.  We can attest to her serving capabilities and intend to check out her Shiatsu skills before we leave.  They make a great team to fill out those necessary extra services here at Mariposa.

Tomorrow I will show you a bit of Santa Fé.