25 days on Maui

I was under the impression that my honeymoon at two weeks long would probably be the longest vacation I would ever take during my working lifetime. Obviously I was wrong.
25 days in Maui! Crazy, but true.
Of course, this wasn't to be a true vacation. See, my parents live on Maui and have for the past six years. Unfortunately my mom's health has taken a turn for the worse and my husband and I knew it was time to come out and lend a hand. Thankfully, a combination of our presence and medications from the doctors have put mom back on the road to better times, which we hope will last for a long time.
Not to brag or anything, but this is probably my sixth visit to Maui since our honeymoon eight years ago, which entailed a week on Maui and a week on Kauai. When you come to the island so many times, you begin to see things that you normally wouldn't as a one-time tourist.
For instance, in Kihei, where my folks live, it's fun to see the peacocks cross the main road. In fact, you must always be on the lookout for them because they'll walk across whenever the urge strikes and drivers, who are only traveling a modest 30 mph, stop in awe as these cool creatures strut by.
It is worth the drive up-country to visit the Maui School of Therapeutic Massage up in Makawao where students studying massage offer one-hour massages for $30.
On the way over to Kihei and Wailea is the SPCA, a fairly non-descript building where you can visit all the cute dogs and cats that are up for adoption. In fact, on this visit we actually got mom and dad to adopt the cutest cat you've ever seen. It will be good for them to have a cuddly creature around the house to keep them company once we have left.

Airport comfort. An oxymoron?

I'm not sure if I've just been traveling too much this year or if I've just turned into one of those weird people who notices fun and unusual things in airports now.

Then again when you are forced to spend nearly four hours in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, it is hard not to notice all the cool stuff.

For instance, let's say you suddenly have a craving for an iPod Nano. Or maybe you have an iPod but you want better earphones. Or you desperately want a pair of those iTheater glasses. If you are traveling when this desire strikes, don't worry. The Dallas airport has a vending machine for iPod products. How awesome is that?!

All you do is pop in your credit card, punch in your selection, and out pops a new iPod or a new iPod accessory. It's almost better than chocolate except it will put a bigger dent in your wallet.

Thankfully, my iPod is fully equipped so there was no need to splurge. What we did splurge on, though, was first-class seats. No, not first-class seats on the plane. We can't afford those even though flying first class would be on my bucket list, if I had a bucket list. These first-class seats were comfy, leather massage chairs in the terminal that only cost $5 for 15 minutes.

We had three hours to kill so what's 15 minutes and $5? Plus, as you sit there having a massage, you can also put on the headphones and select from a variety of soothing tunes. It's a great place to grab a power nap.

Another great place to stretch out in Dallas is in the terminal chairs themselves at your gate. Believe it or not, they have a selection of chairs around that come with foot rests. What an incredible idea! To my surprise and my luck, not all of these chairs were taken. For the life of me, I couldn't understand why anyone would pass them up. I didn't waste any time snagging two for us while we waited for our group number to be called. My hope is that maybe more airports will add this luxury.

As you can see, I get excited by the little things in life. A little extra bit of comfort goes a long way in my book.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is my husband's favorite day. This year, since there's been talk of trying to sell the house, he is going all out (more than usual) with the decorations.

Since we moved into our development eight years ago, we've become known throughout the neighborhood and the neighboring neighborhoods as the scariest house. He's done everything from chasing screaming kids down the street with a chainsaw, to jumping out of our hurricane debris pile as a mutilated creature, to placing himself in his handmade electric chair (that was the year the kids felt they got some much-deserved vindication).

This year, there's a six-foot devil greeting trick-or-treaters by the mailbox, mechanical creatures that moan and light up and whose heads turn around, and a black tunnel the kids have to wander through to receive the night's greatest reward: candy.

In the past, we've had some kids who won't even venture up the driveway, sending their parents up instead, who are in awe of what he has created, to get their candy. Others have spilled their entire pillowcases of treats on our sidewalk in their haste to get away.

It's always fun to see the reactions and just how scared everyone gets when you blast some spooky music and shine some strobe lights on the yard. Of course our yard is full of tombstones with skeletons and monster hands escaping the earth. That might have something to do with it.

Not only do we have tons of scary do-dads, but we also have a ton of candy in preparation for the Friday night onslaught of greed. Our first year here we had no idea what to expect, but part way through the night as the bowl ran low, Wes was forced to make a candy run. We've since upped our candy count.

This year, since it is on a weekend night, we are expecting a few hundred visitors. Hopefully they make it up the front walk so we can get rid of all the candy!

Sweet escape

I’m one of those people who love to read bumper stickers stuck to other people’s cars, but will never stick one on my own car. Yesterday I saw a great one that said: Escaped from Wisconsin!
Of course the notion is relevant because most people come to Florida to escape the cold and bitter winters of the north. And yesterday, and the rest of this week for that matter, the weather was, and is, supposed to be particularly gorgeous.
The thermometer has finally dipped below the 90 degree mark and, more importantly, the humidity is all but gone. In fact, today we may not even reach 70 for a high and we could wake up in the 40s tomorrow morning. For myself, whose blood like water, this is sweater, boots, and heavy jacket weather.
Despite the chilliness, there’s a palpable energy in the air that comes with the change of weather. It reminds me of that first day up north when the blast of cold, winter air dims to a light breeze and suddenly the sun is shining bright and the warmer temperature allows you to turn off the heat and roll down the car windows.
That’s what yesterday was like here in Southwest Florida. Except instead of the heat, I turned off the air-conditioner that’s been on non-stop since probably April, opened up the windows, and turned up the radio. Everyone else must have felt the same way because drivers were driving crazier than usual.
I, for once, was content to drive behind every slow poke, relishing the sunshine, the bright blue sky, and the wind through my hair. I did everything I could so my day stuck in a windowless cubicle could start later than normal.

Walking the boards in Jersey

New Jersey was another of our destinations this summer, and beings that I am from Jersey, it would be all-out rude not to include it in my blog.

Yes, even from a very young age, I was always eager to leave Jersey, but believe it or not there are many things I do miss about it. Mostly food related, of course.

Many of you reading this might be thinking what is so great about Jersey?!

I'll never forget one of my college boyfriends being literally shocked to see stretches of farmland in a state he thought only consisted of refineries. I was pleased that his visit dispelled that myth.

Where I'm from in Central Jersey, that's really all there is ... farms, farms and more farms. So naturally the only thing to look forward to is food ... oh, and the shore. Yes, I may live in Naples and the beach is just minutes from my home, but that's all it is ... a beach. Sand and warm water. Woo hoo.

In Jersey, there's the boardwalk with skeeball and mini golf and batting cages. More importantly, there's pizza and boardwalk fries and fudge and waffles and ice cream and funnel cake ... now I'm hungry!

Thankfully this time we visited Jersey in early September so the boardwalk was still open before closing up for the winter months. Don't get me wrong ... even when we have come up in the winter, I've made a trip to the boardwalk just to walk the boards even if I couldn't buy fries and fudge and ... well you know the rest!

So our evening at the boardwalk involved lots of noshing and lots of skeeball. And with all our skeeball tickets we got bracelets full of glitter, a tribute to our glory days back in the 80s.

Bellies full Chicago style

Most of our travels don't necessarily revolve around sites to see and things to do but rather what food to eat. Our Chicago agenda was no different. And considering we had already done most of the touristy things on our first visit, food was our motivation this time.

Three restaurants for your Chicago must-do list:

• Giordano's
  
• The Original Pancake House


• Lawry's, The Prime Rib

Even though Naples recently got a Uno Chicago Grill, and it is awesome, there's nothing like having deep dish pizza in its hometown. From the moment I learned that the Creative Freelancer Conference was being held in Chicago, I was dreaming about the layers of melted cheese and sweet sauce. Heck, even thinking about it now gets my mouth watering! On this visit, Giordano's was right behind our hotel, but in our three-and-a-half day visit, we were only able to squeeze in one lunchtime pizza. I'm sure our arteries were thankful that's all we could fit in.

On our last visit to Chicago, we wandered the streets one morning in search of a breakfast place. Breakfast is a meal I can eat 24/7, so it was important to find a great place. Of course, the more we wandered the more our stomachs growled and we were not finding anything except small coffee shops. Then we passed a cop. Now I don't want to admit that I was "profiling," but I thought "hey, a cop with a bit of a belly on him must know a good breakfast place." And what do you know ... he did! We had to walk quite a few blocks to find The Original Pancake House, but when we did it was so worth it. In fact, this time we made a point of going back. Don't be intimidated by the line, even it is out the door as is usually the case. It is worth the wait! You must try the apple pancakes and the Dutch Baby. Yummmm!!

I think we originally saw Lawry's Prime Rib on Food Network and both my husband and I were amazed. A restaurant that revolves around prime rib, my favorite dish ... what a concept! We knew we had to visit it, and we did on our first and our second trip to Chicago. Granted, it is not cheap, but it is worth saving up for. You must make reservations and while it is a fancy place, situated in the 1890s McCormick Mansion, there are many who come in casual attire. When that cart comes around to personally slice your piece of prime rib cooked exactly to your liking, it is a glorious moment. Even better is mixing it with the mashed potatoes and Yorkshire pudding.

Trading in my flip-flops for knee-high, fur-lined boots

Our travels this summer have taken us from the mountains of Panama, to the tourist-filled streets of Chicago, to the quiet farmland of southern New Jersey.

While I expounded a lot about our adventures in Panama, mostly because I had never been to a third-world country, or out of the country at all for that matter, I'll just give you a quick re-cap on Chicago.

If you've never been, I totally recommend it. Chicago is a fantastic city, and this comes from a girl who really isn't a city person. I've been to New York several times and to L.A. and San Francisco, but Chicago just blows me away!

This was our second time traveling there in three years. Usually, the novelty of a new place will wear off on the second visit, but I have to say I was just as in love with the city this time as I was when we first saw it in 2005. Maybe more so.

In fact, I raved about it so much my husband was worried he might find our bags packed, the cats in a carrier, and a For Sale sign in the front yard soon after we got back to Florida. Of course, each visit to Chicago thus far has been in August when the sun is shining, the temperature is 85 degrees, and the lake and the river look equally inviting.

But as everyone keeps reminding me, the winters there would kill me. I'm aware of this, but I try not to think about those long winter months of negative degree temps. I mean, technically, I could hole up inside our home there, drink hot cocoa, and write my stories on my laptop all while watching the blustery winds and snow from my comfortable office chair.

Then I think how painful it would be to go to the grocery store, because of course I would need food. And how I'd have to invest in winter clothes which I haven't had to buy for eight years now.

Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to be content with visiting - in the summer of course.

Final Panama thoughts

Our final day in Panama took us from the white-sand beaches of Santa Clara and the beauty of the Las Sirenas resort, where hammocks swayed in the ocean breeze, to the craziness of Panama City, which unfortunately we had to drive through in order to get to the airport.

Neither one of us looked forward to driving in the city again, but we knew our chances of kissing the U.S. soil were far better if we could successfully navigate the city and come out on the other side.

We decided to waste a few hours at the Albrook Mall, which after a couple of wrong turns we finally found. Albrook was a HUGE mall! I mean talk about sensory overload! It was like Miami on steriods. The energy level was so high for 2p.m. on Friday afternoon, I think it would have benefited from some Ritalin.

In any case, we strolled along its large and bright corridors, scanning store after store, that all had foreign names but whose contents mimiced those found in the U.S., including the insanely high-high heels, tight-fitting and low-cut shirts, and hipster jeans, until we found the food court.

There Wes enjoyed a tasty steak from Lenos y Carbon (a place highly recommended by our Panama friend Jessica) while I had sushi. Then it was off to the arcade, which turned out to be larger than a department store with small carnival rides, loads of pool and air hockey tables, and a whole wall of my favorite - skee ball!

The only thing that ruined it were some kids following us around who kept trying to show us how to play the games by shoving us over and taking the controls, or in my case, the skee balls. Very frustrating, so we quickly left and gave our remaining tickets to a cute family with small children.

We left a few hours before night fell in an effort to find Hotel Riande Aeropuerto, which was only a few short miles from the mall. What should have taken us minutes ended up taking us hours because our wonderful navigation system let us know about 50 feet too late that we had to make a turn.

Instead, we ended up in 5 o'clock Friday traffic. It was a nightmare! And of course, there was some rain thrown in too, just to keep things interesting.

We finally made it to the hotel after dark and as we sipped our drinks at the bar and shared our last Panama club sandwich, a fellow U.S. couple expounded on why they love Panama and were so disappointed that we did not fall in love with it as well.

My feeling is ... if everyone loved the same place, we'd have quite a population problem in some areas of the world.

Some of the things I'll never forget about Panama:

• A guy standing on the side of the road dangling two-foot-long iguanas from each hand evidently trying to sell them for food
  
• Seeing products at The Rey, a grocery store, that I didn't think existed anymore: Tang, Close Up toothpaste, and Shasta soda
  
• Armed guards both inside and out the Albrook Mall
  
• A bidet in the bathroom of Hotel La Hacienda
  
• Purchasing three baked goods and a cup of coffee at The Rey and only paying $1.40
  
• A family's morning catch - a huge red snapper hanging from a rope on the side of the road

The search continues for our dream location. After this experience, my thought is it has to be predominantly English-speaking and probably within the U.S. I hate to limit ourselves, but ...

Mountainous highway and torrential rain – a scary combo

On our way out of Boquete, we decided to stop by Las Olas, a beach resort the family from Kissimmee (our fellow white-water rafting and canopy-flying friends) was calling home for two weeks. The kids had raved about the black sand beach so much that we had to see it for ourselves. Lots of signs pointed the way to Las Olas, which was good because the road out there is fairly non-descript with large, open fields of green flanking it. Beautiful countryside, no doubt, but still desolate.
Las Olas was interesting with a three-story resort resting right on the beach, a gated community off to the right, and some huge homes under construction directly to its left. It was obvious that this beach locale is going to be a popular destination someday.
Unfortunately our Kissimmee friends had not yet returned from their adventures, but their sister gladly welcomed us in, showing us the three-bedroom condo and all of its amenities. We strolled down to the black sand beach where some were soaking up the rays and others were jumping in the waves. We couldn’t get over just how huge the beach and the waves were!
After a short visit, we got back on the road in an effort to make it to our halfway point – Santiago.
Word of caution: Do not attempt to drive the Panamericana Highway at night during rainy season. It becomes a death trap!
Stupid tourists that we were, we left Las Olas around 4 p.m. and we could see the dark clouds developing in the distance. We did happen to drive a good portion of the road in no rain or just a light drizzle, but when the torrential downpours really hit, it was pitch black out and big tractor-trailers were coming at us from around the curves blinding us as they passed.
Also, the headlights on our rental must have been set too high because everyone we passed flashed their high beams at us even though we did not have our high beams on. This resulted in a string of non-stop cursing from my husband as he fought to stay on the road.
Since we were up in the mountains, we knew there wasn’t much of a shoulder, if any at all, and we couldn’t take the chance of stopping to wait for the rain to subside. That was too dangerous of a prospect.
Instead, we just had to keep driving knowing that with each curve we rounded Santiago got a bit closer. We were both leaning forward as far as our seatbelts would allow, straining to see the road’s yellow and white lines through the rain. Every once in a while, when I caught a glimpse of the white line along the shoulder I would tell my husband he was over too far to the left or too far to the right.
Finally, Santiago came into sight as did the obnoxious colors of the Hotel la Hacienda. We were relieved but the huge margarita we ordered at the bar also helped take the edge off.

Flying through the Panama mountainside

Yes, I am afraid of heights. Not deathly afraid, just moderately so. So the thought of flying through the tree tops in Panama excited me, accompanied by just a touch of nerves.
We met our guides in a shopping center on Boquete’s main street at 7:45 a.m. and they loaded us up in an old truck whose bed had been converted into a canopy-covered people mover. It looked comfortable enough with its cushioned bench seats, and it was while we were on the town’s paved roads. However, once we turned onto the rock-filled trail that led up the mountainside, I knew either a massage therapist or a chiropractor would be needed to help reset my neck and back again. In fact, I think my kidneys might still be on that Panama road.
At the top of the three-mile rock road stands the Boquete Tree Trek headquarters where someday guests will be able to stay in cute cottages. Our guides strapped us into our gear, gave a quick safety demonstration, and we were all loaded back into the truck.
This time the road literally went straight up leaving us to hold on to every available bar. I still don’t know how we made it to the top without flipping over.
We made our way down on foot to the first tree stand with 13-year-old Julio Jr. eager to go first. None of us adults put up a fight.
As Julio flew across to the second tree stand, we all just watched in horror and amazement secretly wondering if we were insane. When my turn arrived, I knew I was shaky but I put on a brave face. The first cable went past in a blur as I kept my eyes focused on the second tree stand just hoping that the cable held.

There were 13 cables in all, the longest being 400-plus km long. By that time I was used to flying through the trees, and wanting that long one to last, I tried to slow myself down halfway through to have a look around. Volcan Baru was in the distance and it was gorgeous.
We made it back down to the main cabin, stripped off our gear, and enjoyed a margarita from the bar. Since it is difficult to be Tarzan and snap photos at the same time, Boquete Tree Trek sends a photographer on each tour and you can buy a CD of the photos for $10. Pretty good for memories that will last forever!

I wish we had had more time

After our adventurous white-water rafting excursion, I was more than ready to take off my wet clothes and get cozy in a warm bed.
We had made arrangements to stay at Villa Marita that night, a family-owned and operated lodge set atop a Boquete hilltop a couple of miles from downtown. I knew from its website that the grounds were beautiful, but unfortunately we didn’t get to appreciate them much upon check-in since the afternoon rains had set in.
Ana, the daughter, showed us to our room, which turned out to be her family’s original home, whose first floor was converted into an apartment. We had a huge bedroom and bath, a sitting area, and a covered porch for $66.
The only concern was that the house was all wood, meaning greater potential for creepy, crawly critters. I was almost too tired to care about what bedmates I might have that night, although the memory of Reggie was still fresh.
After a day spent battling the Chiriqui River, we were starved, so we drove back into town and ate at Pizzeria La Volcánica. We chowed down on an extra large pizza with mushrooms and a side order of patacones for $13.75. The price was right, the pizza was edible, and the patacones were delicious.
For dessert, we strolled over to Choko Chettas, whose sign kept catching our eye each time we drove up and down main street. Its modern décor and feel made me feel like I had just stepped into a Miami restaurant. We ordered two skewers of strawberries and brownies covered in milk chocolate, which cost us $6.00.
The girls kindly wrapped them so we could take them back to Villa Marita.
We awoke early the next morning to guess what? No creepy crawlies! Yay! We dressed and packed because we had to meet at 7:45 a.m. downtown for our next adventure – gliding through the tree tops on a canopy tour!
But before we left we headed down to the registration building to have some free coffee and hot chocolate, check email, and savor the surrounding sights. The morning sun highlighted the lodge’s beautiful gardens, which were in full bloom and we tried to capture a photo of two doves that came to rest on the porch awning, but t that exact second our camera wouldn’t corporate.
Villa Marita offers a buffet breakfast for a small fee, but we weren’t able to take advantage of it since we had a schedule to keep.
As Wes went off to start the car, I snapped a few last photos of the property’s caged toucans when Ana’s father introduced himself to me and explained that one particular toucan usually rests on his shoulder as he walks the grounds. He also has many greenhouses on the property, that Ana said he would certainly give us a tour of, but we just didn’t have the time.
That is one place I would go back to if to do nothing more than to sit on the big porch and take in the mountainous panorama.

Alcohol: the Panama cure-all

The one thing my husband wanted to do on our Panama trip was white-water raft. And while I certainly wasn’t against it (I mean I do want to white-water raft), I wasn’t totally ecstatic about it either.
I’m not a huge water person. I do know how to swim, but the prospect of rough water and the potential of going overboard made me nervous. But I wasn’t going to chicken out!
So the Chiriqui River Rafting guys picked us up at our hostel at 7 a.m. for our hour-long trek across Panama to get to our starting point. Along the way, we picked up some others – a couple from Dallas, another couple from Chicago, and a family from Kissimmee. All of us were first-timers except the couple from Dallas who has rafted all over the world.
With helmets and lifejackets on, we made our way down to the river’s edge and hopped into our boats – the Kissimmee family in one; the rest of us in the other.
The river’s water was chilly but after the hike down the rocky road to get to it, it felt refreshing. I had read in the brochure that this particular part of the river had a lot of good rapid action, which did nothing to calm my nerves.
Plus, Dave from Dallas left me on the shore with these words: If you fall out, don’t put your feet down. If your foot gets caught in a rock, you are sure as dead.

Whaaatttt???!!!
So off we went, with our little paddles, listening as our guide yelled instructions and told us what class of rapids were coming up. We were told this would be rapids 2 and 3, but every once in a while our guide would yell, “OK guys, rapids 4 coming up!” And I wanted to yell back, “Rapids 4? I didn’t sign up for rapids 4!”
I’m pretty sure it was in the midst of a rapids 4 section that we lost it. All I remember is hitting a solid wall of water and the raft going straight up and tipping over, leaving all of us in the current.

I, the water lover, ended up completely submerged. I flailed my arms for a couple of seconds before realizing I wasn’t doing any good. I just had to relax and let the water do its thing. I knew it had to spit me out sooner or later.
Thankfully I felt no rocks.
When I finally did surface, I saw Wes a few feet from me hanging on to our overturned boat. I, however, couldn’t breathe which made me panic as Wes told me to reach for him.
Now as I held on to Wes and finally was able to cough, our guide stood on top of the raft and told us to let go so he could turn it right side up.
I was finally starting to calm down, when the guide in the kayak yelled for us to hurry up and get into the boat as the next set of rapids were quickly approaching. So, what do I do? I turn around and see the impending rapids. Again, panic!
Our guide threw a rope to us and we heaved ourselves back into raft. Unfortunately we had no paddles and only a portion of our group. The Chicago couple ended up being rescued by the Kissimmee family and were regrouping on the other shore.
Soon after that excitement, it was time to stop for lunch. The guides put out a pretty nice spread of lunchmeats, chips, cookies and juice. Food, however, was the last thing on my agenda. First, was coming up with a plan so I didn’t have to get back in the raft and do the second leg of the trip. That was not an option.
After about a half hour or so, we hopped back into the raft and made our way down the river. This time the rapids were much calmer, but the water felt freezing now and my teeth kept chattering. We hit a few shallow spots where we got stuck on the rocks, and those of us who still had shoes (me not being one of them as my underwater struggle left me one shoe down) had to hop out and push. Otherwise, the second half was uneventful, which I was grateful for.
The experience ended at a cow pasture where we had to keep our eyes peeled for steaming piles as we made our way back to the van. The kayak guide was kind enough to give me his flip-flop to get me back up the ant-infested dirt road that also took us through a small, muddy pond. We tried not to think what might be living in it as we sunk in up to our knees.
Capping off the trip, was a flat tire that we got along the highway on our way back to Boquete. Thankfully, the Kissimmee family, who we had already dropped off, saw us and came back with beer. Yet another day in Panama ending with much-needed alcohol.

Where the Ex-Pats reside

We attempted to go for a hike after leaving the Boquete Garden Inn, but either the directions we were given were not accurate or we just don’t know how to locate a trail. Either way, the weather was beautiful for the short walking we did do.
Bowing to our lazy genes, we hopped in the car, rolled down the windows, and drove up and around the surrounding mountains instead. What amazing views! You could see the whole valley from up there.
We wound our way back into town and stopped for lunch at a place on main street. Yet again, the menu was huge, but we were getting used to the routine of ordering what we really wanted only to be told no and having to settle for our third or fourth choice off the menu.
I ended up with a fried chicken platter that came with one piece of chicken, rice and black beans, vegetables, and sliced bananas. Wes got his usual, a club sandwich and a beer. Funny thing was, the entire meal only cost us $7!

We stopped next door at the Chiriqui River Rafting office and made arrangements to go rafting the next day. Then we were off to check out Valle Escondido, a housing development that we had seen on HGTV’s “House Hunters International.” Believe it or not, the sales guy turned out to be the same person from the show. In it, he and his wife were looking for a condo in Boquete’s Valle Escondido. Can we say marketing ploy?

No doubt, the community was gorgeous. The salesman took us on a tour of two attached condos, which started in the high $200s for a two bedroom. The floor plans were similar to what you’d find in the States with lots of tile and outdoor porches overlooking the golf course. In fact, Wes and I felt like we were in a typical Florida community except for the barbed wire that lined the surrounding fences.

Something to note: Barbed wire is everywhere in Panama, which was a bit disconcerting to me.
Valle Escondido has a wonderful clubhouse with an indoor pool, fitness center, and spa. There was even this cool outdoor amphitheater and some little shops, plus a hotel. The surrounding single-family homes and estates were beautiful.
We stayed for a bit to see how the other half lives until the afternoon rains came and then we left for our $22 a night hostel.

Finally, beauty and peace found!

You know how sometimes you can physically feel the stress leave your shoulders? That’s how it was just looking at the Boquete Garden Inn.
What an adorable place! Flowers were blossoming everywhere, a winding stone path stretched out before us, and beautiful, two-story cottages dotted the landscape. If there would have been a for sale sign, I would have quickly signed on the dotted line.

And then, from the three gentlemen in the registration office, we heard the words we so longed for: Yes, we have a room available for the night.
Yay! Of course, these cute octagonal-shaped cottages and perfect garden setting didn’t come cheap, but after a long drive from Santiago and a crazy but quick run through David, spending a few extra bucks didn’t even register on our how-much radar.

We eagerly forked over the $80 for our night’s stay ($88 if you have to pay with plastic) and were escorted to our cottage, a second floor unit called Margarita. How appropriate since we had sucked down more than a few of these during our travels already.
Like the rest of the place, the room itself was cute with a king-size bed, a small breakfast nook, a cozy kitchen, and a separate bath. We said a few ohhs and ahhs, threw our bags down, and headed down to the bar for our complementary glass of wine or beer that was only available for another 20 minutes or so.

Located down by the river, the bar is a fantastic place to rest and listen to the gently rushing water. Plus, we met some great people from Canada who, like us, were considering relocating to Boquete. We spent a while drinking and chatting before they headed off to town for a late dinner and we headed back to our room to collapse.
The great thing about Boquete Garden Inn is the fact that you can sleep with the windows open because there’s an awesome, cool breeze (we are in the mountains) and you can sleep to the sound of the river. The best!

We awoke the next morning well rested and ready to explore this town that has Americas raving. But first we headed back down to the bar for our complementary breakfast, which consisted of yogurt and granola, homemade bread with nuts and raisins, fresh fruit, a few different cold cereals, and coffee and juice.
Reluctantly, we headed back to our room to pack up and leave this amazing place, but not before realizing that a crawly critter wanted to accompany us. The picture doesn’t do justice to just how large he was since I was only going to get so close and the zoom on our camera only goes so far! We named him Reggie.

Apparently Reggie liked Wes’ backpack and found refuge underneath of it until we so rudely took it away. Reggie didn’t move though, which made me question his life status. But, not willing to take any chances, I found a pot in the kitchen and placed that over Reggie. Hopefully the cleaning crew didn’t scream too loudly.

Escaping to the quiet of Boquete

With the craziness of David behind us, yet still fresh in our minds, we were all too happy to see the mountains of Boquete looming before us. Having heard and read so many good reviews of Boquete, we were excited to finally be on our way to our final destination—a place that could potentially be our future home.
There were many signs along the two-lane roadway advertising the many new developments that are continuously popping up in this growing town, as well as places to stay and places to eat.
It was pretty countryside with lots of open land interspersed by small clusters of homes. It only took us a couple of minutes to drive the entire length of Boquete’s main street, which is lined with restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, and a number of real estate offices. Pretty much your typical small town main street, except for the hoards of Panamanians waiting at the bus stop at the town’s center, a sight we had become accustomed to.
Since we were starving, we quickly took it all in, made a u-turn, and headed back to the Mexican restaurant we saw at the beginning of town. The food was excellent and the price was fair, but the service was slow to non-existent. I felt like we could have slipped out the door without paying and no one would have been the wiser. We didn’t, of course.
Now our mission was to find a place to stay. Wes was enamored by the Boquete Garden Inn signs that we passed on the way into town, so we decided to try to find it.
Although Boquete isn’t big, just a few streets north and south of the main drag and a couple of streets heading up into the mountains, it took us a bit to locate the Inn. Unfortunately our navigation system was no help. But when we did finally find it, we knew we wanted to stay and could only hope a room was available for the night.

No Bucket List for me ... at least not yet

I’m going to stray from my Panama stories for today to share a milestone in my life that happened yesterday—my 35th birthday.
Among other things, this blog is about my life’s journeys and adventures, and turning 35 got me thinking about what I’ve accomplished and, more importantly, what I hope to accomplish.
I know some people actually make lists of what they want to do by the time they are 40 or 50 or whatever. Hence the famous “Bucket List.” But I’m not really a list kind of person.
My lists are more about what I need to accomplish on a daily basis like don’t forget to pay the credit card bill, or do I have something to take for lunch today, or stop by the grocery store and get hamburger rolls so we can actually eat the Manwich I had planned for tonight. I suppose I’m not one to look too far ahead.
At one point in my life I thought, maybe I want to write a novel by the time I’m 40. But I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that a book does not live in me. Or at least a character that I like hasn’t presented himself or herself yet.
Like anybody else I have things that I’d like to do pop into my head, like see the Grand Canyon in person, or have a permanently flat stomach, or sit in the front row of a Bon Jovi concert. But these certainly aren’t things I have to do before I kick the bucket.
So 35 came and went yesterday and my husband did an amazing job of surprising me with a wonderful mini-staycation, and my life list still consists of mundane things like can I stretch my half-tank of gas till the weekend?
What about you? Do you have a life list?

Move over Panama City, get a load of crazy and crowded David

We thought we wanted to spend a night in David (pronounced Da-veed), the third largest city in Panama, just 30 minutes from our final destination of Boquete. I had even gone so far as to email Hotel Alcala, a hotel located near the town square, about room reservations for Monday night.
Little did we know that David was Little China on Panamanian steriods.
The outskirts of the city looked relatively harmless with large department stores, some nice homes, and even a fairly large baseball field. As we got closer to the action, however, the city streets turned into pure mayhem.
Maybe it's because we arrived around early afternoon and that's when this agricultural town is hopping, but it was absolute craziness!
We drove in off a side street hoping to get closer to the town square, but the traffic was bumper to bumper and people on foot were everywhere. There are few, if any, traffic lights in town so we had to contend with stop signs and long streams of traffic. Basically, it was every person for themself as you desperately tried to snake through the traffic.
Believe it or not, I almost thought it was worse than Panama City.
We never did locate Hotel Alcala and I finally just said let's head on to Boquete. My husband needed no convincing and, without running anyone over or slamming into anyone's bumper, we escaped the madness and fled to the peacefulness of the hills.

Searching for rest in Santiago

We arrived in Santiago, our halfway point in our drive across Panama, while there was still thankfully some light left in the evening sky. This was the part in the trip where I wanted to fly by the seat of our pants, which basically translates into no hotel reservations.
There isn’t much in Santiago, but I knew from our guidebook that there were a couple of hotels. And, even better, there was civilization, meaning there was a McDonald’s and a KFC.
Turns out, one of the hotels, Hotel Plaza Gran David, was no longer in business with huge weeds growing through cracks in the sidewalks; and the second hotel looked fairly unsavory. By now, night was coming on fast so we had to make a decision if we wanted a decent night’s rest.
We drove on a bit further through town (granted the main strip through town isn’t too long) in the hope that we wouldn’t have to resort to sleeping in the car. And then our mecca appeared: Hotel La Hacienda.
It was a huge stucco building in bright colors of orange, yellow, and red at the north side of town. It looked inviting enough, with wagon wheel accents and cute horse posts in the parking lot. Its prices were a little on the high side starting at $57 for a double bed. Knowing we’d never be comfortable in a double, and the queen didn’t look much larger, we opted for the king-size bed for $71.
On the way to our room, we snuck a peek at the pool, which has an adjacent children’s playground. We then dropped our bags on the Mexican blanketed bed and headed down to the restaurant to enjoy a glass of sangria.

The beauty of El Valle

There are simply no words that will adequately describe the beauty of El Valle. It was breathtaking and the climate was perfect.
Here are some photos from our short few hours we spent there.

Incredible views!

This is Los Capitanes, a gorgeous resort just off the main road, where we had lunch outdoors surrounded by beautiful gardens. It was a little overcast and we could hear thunder in the distance, but El Valle stayed dry and we stayed cool.

A great market that I did read about in my Lonely Planet guidebook is open every day in El Valle's town center. There's everything here from fresh fruits and veggies to sculptures of the elusive golden frog and Panama hats!

We followed the main road just a bit further north to the famed El Macho waterfall. There are plenty of signs leading the way.

It costs $3.50 per person to see the waterfall and Oscar here was our guide. We even got our own walking sticks. Not for keeps, though.

At one point we had to cross a little waterway. It was touch and go, but I made it!

There are a few of these rope bridges that need crossing before you get to El Macho. As you can see, these are in much better shape than the one in "Romancing the Stone."

Bus stops and stray dogs

Using our somewhat trusty navigation system, who we so lovingly refer to as "Bambi," we made our exit from the Panama Canal and found our way onto what I thought was called the Interamericana. Turns out, that’s what the road is called in my Lonely Planet guidebook. However, when actually in the country, all signs say Panamericana.
This is the highway that in six or seven hours time will take us from Panama City to David. We weren’t going to make the ride straight through; we had decided to stop at the halfway city—Santiago.
The highway was decent, with two lanes going in each direction. However, beware of the looming potholes ... there are many and some are quite huge. A lot of them just laughed at our little rental car and tried their best to rip our tires off.
The roadside scenery wasn’t much to write home about. We passed through several small towns that each offered similar amenities: a gas station, a convenience store, and bus stops. The good thing was there was no reason to worry about finding a gas station along the way because there were plenty.
The amazing thing was the amount of bus stops and stray dogs. Bus stops are literally everywhere. I began to wonder how far these people traveled and for what, work? I know friends of ours who have hours-long commutes into the city to work, but I'm thinking these Panamanians might have to travel even further!
And if you are a dog lover, the sight of all the stray dogs will depress you. They are thin to the point where you can see their ribs and they are just walking the highway. It made me want to pick them all up and bring them home.
A friend of ours told us about El Valle, about a half hour off the Panamericana. With our stomachs growling for food, we decided El Valle would be good place to stretch our legs and eat.

Morning at the Panama Canal

Before exploring Panama’s countryside, we decided to visit MiraFlores Locks—the Panama Canal.
Like most things, you see it on the Discovery or History channel but there really is nothing like seeing it in person. It was impressive!
Not really knowing exactly when it opened, we arrived a little before 9 a.m. only for the guard to turn us away saying they didn’t officially open until 9 a.m. So we parked on the side of the road scanning the radio for an English music station for the 10-minute wait and then made our entrance.
The four-story-tall Visitors Center rests on a hilltop and offers fantastic exhibits on each floor as well as a movie telling of the history and future of the Canal that is shown in both English and Spanish.
On the fourth level, there is a huge outdoor deck where you can watch the ships carefully maneuver through the narrow waterway as a guide announces over the speaker system the specifics of each ship. We saw two tankers that morning, plus a luxury personal watercraft.
To do everything, it cost $16 total for the two of us. We ended up spending just over two hours there. Unfortunately, the Visitors Center's restaurant did not open until noon so we weren’t able to do the whole meal-overlooking-the-Canal thing.
If you are considering not seeing the Canal during a trip to Panama, I would reconsider. It’s one of those man-made wonders that really is amazing, especially considering the era in which it was built.