Up, Up and Away

We drove and drove today and got up to 9,000 ft on the local volcano. Last day of our tour and we explored the mountain town of Volcan and the surrounding countryside. The hills were terraced with bountiful crops like lettuces, potatoes, mushrooms, carrots and more. Workers were in the fields picking. Beautiful flowering shrubs lined the roadway making it a beautiful ride. We passed many dairy farms with cattle grazing and came upon a magnificent property that is a horse farm. They raise champion thoroughbreds there as the horses develop strong lungs and large hearts due to the altitude.

Along many of the roads are " living fences." The fence is made of stumps from trees which look dead, but many come to life and sprout leaves and start growing into trees.

We had lunch at a Mexican cantina with good and not spicy food. On the way back to Boquete we stopped at a Price Mart. This store is owned by Costco and carries Kirkland brand products.

Back in Boquete we lounged at the hotel and enjoyed the beautiful gardens. Some birds were flying around and the flowers looked grand after the torrential rains yesterday. Earlier this week we had our laundry done here. They give you a garbage bag for your dirty clothes and charge $5 to wash and fold the items.

Most of us walked a few blocks to the Black and White restaurant for dinner. It is the last meal for our group as this is the last day. I had a fish filet in a garlic sauce with rice and vegetables. Jeff opted for chicken smothered in a mushroom gravy. The third choice was linguini in a salmon sauce. Everything was delicious. We walked back to the hotel and sat outside for a while checking messages and Facebook. The frogs were serenading us and a large frog hopped out of a pond and posed. The water features in the garden are so beautiful and all the flowers and shrubs. It is a lovely place.