Today is Thanksgiving. Stan and I are so very thankful. We give thanks for our girls, for each other, our greater family and friends. We are grateful for this vast and incredible world. We know we are blessed to be able to see just parts of it only a very few others get to or even yearn to see. We thank God for our health and our desire to serve, to make people happy and to live in a way that pleases God. We miss our family today; we talked about the wonderful old times when we had our mamas and our entire family used to gather on this day. They are our hearts’ memories. But today we are in Panama. We chose this life.
Yes, we are in Panama, the highlands of Panama. We may very well have just found Shangri la. Recalling our previous travels, Boquete is a little bit Bali and a little bit Southeast Asia. It nestles on the Caldera River in a valley at the top Chiriquí Mountains and is beautiful. Its higher altitude lends low humidity and perfectly pleasant temperatures. No wonder so many people visit this place and many never leave.
We fly standby whenever we can – grateful thanks to our hard-working flight attendant, daughter, Shea!!! While non-Southwest Airlines flights are not free, the price is highly discounted. Keep in mind though it is stand-by. Apps for registering for these stand-by flights are so advanced, we never leave home without a good idea about the level of risk in getting on our intended flight. Last week our flight was green, go, all is easy! Last night however when we checked, the status was red, no-go! Take your chances, but they look bad!
We got up at 4:45 am anyway and UBER’d to the airport at 5:45 to give it a try. Stan reserved a rental car as a precaution. Security in the domestic terminal practiced the strictest inspections we have ever encountered in all our travels. I have a small pink plastic zippered bag containing a spare set of contacts, a tiny tube of Neosporin, nail clippers, eye drops, cuticle nippers, a very manual and basic wine opener, a small pair of moustache scissors and a diamond-grain nail file – it’s the best you can buy. It stays sharp and lasts a lifetime. This little pink bag has been in our in-flight carry-ons all over the world. The inspectors took my nail file, Stan’s moustache scissors and a wine opener. I was so bummed. I wanted to go back and ask if they’d save all our stuff until we return on November 30. Stan in his rarely cool temperament advised, let it go. I said ok but only if we make it on this flight. If not, I’m going back to get our stuff.
Our names were called. We got seats. Halleluiah!!
Jill and Gary met us at the David airport. How sweet! How considerate! How completely lovely. Even though they are currently living in David they picked us up at the airport and drove us to their Airbnb home for a little rest. Their house overlooks a small marshy lake that attracts abundant waterfowl. Some birds tamely venture to their porch to pick-up crumbs Gary leaves for them. Jill home-cooked us a brunch of toast and omelets of eggs, onion, mushroom and cheese. OMG, I thought I might need a nap. But no, Gary and Jill drove us to the market for grocery essentials then to our little mountain guest-house home for the next three nights.
Our Airbnb booking in Boquete is called Villa Cascada. It’s name is perfect. There were many oohs and ahs as we all toured our little stone cottage and its lovely koi pond fountain on the terrace. We were amazed at the home’s metal roof, stone floors, stucco walls and air, fresh air that flows in and out and feels like heaven. The stream and koi pond just outside the bedroom door provides soothing and restful sounds. One could settle-in and merely live life here in this very serene place.
With the afternoon in front of us we all headed to the Pipeline Hike only a 20-minute drive away into the mountains. It is the easier of the most popular hikes here. The uphill hike was not overly hard but it surely was not easy!
When I think about a pipeline hike, I’m thinking gasoline or some kind of petroleum pipeline. Not here. These pipes pipe water. We think it’s the water supply for Boquete. The pipes are not in good condition. Thick moss has turned their otherwise color to green and there are small leaks all along the way spraying water into the jungle. Who cares? No one? The town has water. That kind of stuff literally drives me crazy. Anything that is not working perfectly should be fixed. Not here.
The hike was strenuous but the beauty . . . . . almost overwhelming. Plant life seems to literally leap into being and grow over night. Great trees put down roots from their branches in order to grasp the nutrients they need. Vines grow up and around the magnificent trees to reach the sunlight they must have in order to survive. All working together. It’s God’s intricate creation; Mother Nature; science, pure science!!
Aside from the magnificent beauty, there are three highlights along the walk, the 1,000 year-old tree—gnarly and miraculous, catching sight of a colorful quetzal high up in the trees — which we never did, and the waterfalls.
At home at last, too tired to walk down the hill to town for dinner, Stan and I made simple sandwiches, talked with Cody and went to bed with water sounds and frogs singing on our terrace to lull us to sleep.
Early am flight
Ulmus Mexicana Cuidame! Mexican Elm Care for me!
