Last weekend found us lounging on this patio with friends who winter in Playa Coronado, just outside of Panama City. The temperatures are HOT here, so a pool and outside living area (with fans) are appreciated.
On Monday we flew north to David which is just a half hour (by car) from the Costa Rican border and then drove an hour up into the highlands through beautiful, winding roads, ending up at the end of the road in the small village of Guadalupe. This village is in a steep and hilly agricultural area that’s been reclaimed from the jungle and I think almost anything would grow here. Everyone…and I mean everyone…around here grows flowers.
The gardens are overflowing with flowers and most homes have a sign out front saying “Se Venden Plantas” Plants for Sale, as well as having a beautiful, riotous hodgepodge of flowers in their own gardens. There are floral hedges by the roads, flowers hanging in baskets, flowers in pots, flowers growing on vines and flowers in trees with aerial roots.
It’s all very informal and natural. I’m sure you could cut off a piece of a geranium here, throw it out, and come back in a few weeks to find it rooted and blooming! Even the fence posts, which are limbs cut from trees and stuck in the ground, are sprouting and growing into living fences. This area has a beautiful climate and in fact the next valley over is called “the Garden Valley” or “The Valley of Eternal Spring” and has expats settling there in droves.
The Angel Trumpet is highly poisonous and grows everywhere here. This one is hanging over the fence at our lodge.
And these two very business like geese, patrol the property where we’re staying and let me tell you, you don’t want to cross them! They really do mean business.
We’re right on the edge of the jungle where many puma (and snakes??) are living and there’s nothing like a squawking goose to alert you to night intruders!
The local dresses are long and colourful. The woman on the left had a shawl wrapped around her shoulders with an infant wrapped up and asleep in her arms.
And I haven’t even mentioned the birds yet…there are many, many species here and the lodge draws “birders” from all over the world. Most are in search of the famous but illusive Quetzal bird of Central America. Needless to say, we haven’t seen one yet! (but we have seen at least 5 or 6 varieties of hummingbirds while sitting on our deck).
If you made it this far, thank for your patience with my “holiday slideshow”! We’re doing a lot of relaxing here but also venturing out to explore the area on foot which is quite an accomplishment if you look at the hills in the second photo! Today after a massage, I went out for a walk and ended up eating fresh strawberries and cream at a local fruit stand!
Hmmm, I think I’ll be signing up for the early morning birding hike tomorrow, which is another vertical climb!
