Thoughts on Vacation (2015)

Trivia

Miles traveled             4,265

MPG (trip)                  28.4

# states visited             14
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida (for dinner), Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island

# state capitals             7
(in the order first visited/driven through): Baton Rouge, Montgomery, Atlanta, Richmond, Providence, Dover, Columbia

Shore light

There is something about the air and light near the shore. Artists have known this for years, which is why there are so many seascapes. To me, I feel like I can tell that I am getting close to the shore just by the nature of the light – along with the vegetation. Certainly the American Impressionists (Childe Hassam, John Henry Twachtman, J. Alden Weir, Mary Cassat) knew this. It is why (in my opinion) so many of their paintings are from the shore. To me, it feels like they have been able to capture the light and feel of the shore.

For me, approaching the shore, feels like coming home.

Beaches

I love the beach. Always have. The part of this trip which was not about family and reunion was about the beach. (And one part was both family and beach.) On this trip I had the opportunity to visit a number of beaches and beach areas, some of them new.

My trip started with time on the Alabama Gulf coast. A couple of years ago, I discovered the joy of the Gulf beaches. Facebook friends know that I visited there just before Easter. The sand is soft, the water is warm. What is not to like?

Rhode Island – My family has been visiting the Rhode Island shore for generations.

Great-great grandparents owned property on the beach which was destroyed in the Hurricane of 1938. The family legend has it that the “cottages” stood about where Misquamicut State Park is currently located. I headed to Matunuk Town Beach which is where my mother used to visit when she would spend a month at the shore after her retirement. I remember going to Carpenter’s Beach (about ½ mile away) even as a very young child (and probably before the town beach was developed).

The water is cold!! Probably in the mid 50s. Much to cold to swim, even on a very hot day. It looks like more beach has been lost to the ocean. The boardwalk at the Town Beach is much shorter than the last time I was there, and the pavilion with the rest rooms has been moved inland, again. The sand texture is fairly rough, and there are a large number of smoothly polished small stones/pebbles. One of the summer passtimes at the beach is often collecting “interesting rocks.” One of my sisters had family members collect them one summer and she painted our names on each rock, and then took photos of them for the family calendar (and other crafty uses). It is a beach I know and love.

Connecticut – Truth be told, I did not actually go to the beach. I drove through several beach towns, and ate a meal sitting on the dock in one of them. Like Rhode Island the beaches are rocky, and the water is very cold – even at the end of summer.

Driving through Delaware – I took the Turnpike through New Jersey, and got off the Interstate right after the Delaware River bridge. I headed down DE-1 towards the shore. Delaware sure has a lot of tolls. There was a toll for the bridge, and two tolls along the state highway – which was generally limited access to Lewes and the beginning of the beaches. The road goes through the edge of Dover Air Force Base, and through lots of rolling farm country. It was a pretty drive. At Rehoboth Beach the road turns due south and goes along the shore. It is, in some ways, a typical beach community. Strips with shops specializing in “beach activities” (towels, surf stuff, kites) and seasonal bars and restaurants. Since I was there right after Memorial Day, it did not feel overcrowded – school had not let out for the summer. It reminded me of parts of Cape Cod, in terms of the business communities. There were hotels, and silver-grey, cedar shingled cottages and buildings. I got glimpses of the ware from time to time. There were only a couple of tall hotels/condos. Most of the buildings were no more than 2 – 3 stories tall. [The Delaware Official Transportation Map is physically about the same size as many other state maps. Because Delaware is so small, that means that the scale is about 4 mile per inch. A fair amount of detail is on the map!]

Maryland Eastern Shore/Virginia Eastern Shore – Delaware Highway 1, becomes MD Highway 528 at the border, just below Fenwick Island (DE). I spent the night in Ocean City, and wandered the beach a very little bit after doing the work-related webinar (as scheduled). There is not a lot of length of beach along the highway in Maryland. Just south of Ocean City, the road crosses the bay and goes inland. South of Ocean City are Assateague (in Maryland) and Chincoteague (in Virginia – but they are parts of the same island). I did not go to the park/seashore/wildlife refuge. Instead, I drove down US 113 and US 13 into Virginia. It is very different than the shore and road in Delaware and beginning of Maryland. It is clearly “beach territory” but you don’t get glimpses of the water. Many of the buildings (houses, condos, and even motels/businesses) are cedar-shingled which turn that wonderful gray near the ocean. Along the beach, there were not only many “traditional” older hotels (4-6 stories), but also a number of “resorts” with 10 – 12 floors. (Those were more reminiscent of the Gulf area.)

Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel – I was sort of disappointed in the bridge/tunnel. It was longer to get to from the Maryland shore – about 3 hours. When the person at the hotel said that, I did not believe him, but he was right.

It is expensive, $13.00 was the toll – one way, and they collect at each end. The bridges are no higher off the water than the Lake Pontchartrain Bridge. Like that bridge, there are a pair of spans with two lanes in each direction, but for the tunnel parts, the lanes collapse and there are only two lanes in the tunnels – one in each direction. There are two tunnels. I stopped at the Virginia Beach side where there is a viewing spot and a restaurant/gift shop.

I continued on US-13 through Virginia Beach, and connected with VA-168 to head south into North Carolina. I picked up US-158 to get me into the Outer Banks.

The Outer Banks – I can see the charm. I can see why folks like to visit here, and even more so, why people live here. The beaches are wonderful! There are so many houses, and not nearly as many hotels/resorts. There are houses right along the dunes/beach. I stayed in Kill Devil Hills in an older motel from which I could walk right out the back door to the dunes and beach. I guess I should not have been so surprised, but while the air was nice and warm, the water, even this far south, was still pretty cold. According to the sign on the lifeguard stand, the water temperature was 58^◦ F. Too cold for swimming!

There is a road closer to the shore (NC-12), which has mostly homes and a few of the motels. The “main drag” – a long block away – has more of the chain restaurants and newer construction. It is the business street. I really liked the area where I stayed, and am thinking about a return trip.

Ferries – I continued along down NC-12 the whole length of the Outer Banks. I stopped at the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. There are a lot of protected areas along the route, and not a lot of development. It is an incredibly beautiful area. I took the free ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke, and then through Ocracoke to take the ferry (pay) to Cedar Island. The first ferry used to be about a 30 minute trip, but the shoals – which had been dredged – keep returning, so the ferry now takes a longer route through Pamilco Sound for an hour ride. On Ocracoke I had two choices: to go to Swan Quarter or Cedar Island. Since the latter was a shorter ride, and seemed to take me further towards my goal for the night that is the one I chose.

These two ferry boats, and the one I took earlier this year to Dauphin Island in Alabama, all reminded me of the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry. They are all smaller ferries than some others I have taken (Bridgeport/Port Jefferson, Block Island, Hyannis-Nantucket, Woods Hole-Nantucket, and even the Canal Street Ferry in New Orleans). They were all had open air space for the vehicles and a raised bridge which was much narrower than the vessel itself. The last ferry I took (Swan Island) was larger than the Hatteras Ferry. It had a small, enclosed lounge for passengers.

Back to the Gulf/Orange Beach to Biloxi – After returning to the mainland, I headed inland. I spent the night in Florence (SC) which is where I picked up I-95 for a bit. I then headed through Colombia (SC), Atlanta, and Montgomery (AL) before heading south before my final beach stay, back where my beach trip started: Orange Beach AL.

I was going to add some comments about sand and the nature of sand, but this is so long, I think I will make that a separate post.

Cruise: Some thoughts

Going on a cruise has been a bucket list item for a while. But I had always resisted. I was concerned that I would feel trapped on the boat, and be unable to escape.

A friend suggested, and I wound up going on a cruise for Mardi Gras week. The cruise was on Carnival, and was out of Galveston. We stopped at Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Progresso - all in the Yucatan.

This was not a small ship. Most of my prior trips on a ship have been on ferries. I've been on several short river ferries, and on both the Point Judith/Block Island and the Nantucket ferries. Even the Nantucket ferry vessels are quite small by comparison! This ship had elevators going to 9 floors for most of the ship. In some places the ship goes to the 12th floor. Oh, the they count the decks the way the computer scientists do: starting at zero (the staff quarters).

The length of the ship was amazing. Some of the floors/decks had over 450 rooms. Because of the size, even with fairly rough seas, there was very little motion which I felt. There were, however, times when it was obvious that there was motion ... the water was sloshing in the pool.

It was a great trip. At two of the ports, I took excursions to visit Mayan ruins, which greatly expanded my knowledge of the culture and people of that area of the world.

Will I go on a cruise again? Probably. Here are the things I would do differently:

1. Get an outside cabin. I think it will be worth the extra cost to be able to see. It certainly will enhance the experience of being at sea.
2. Go as part of a larger group. I was surprised at the demographics of my fellow passengers. There were a good number of families - sometimes 3 generations. There were also more groups of young adults. (And by that I mean the 20-30 year olds.) They also tended to travel in "packs," and seemed to have a great time. There actually were fewer "old folks" than I expected. But even many of them were traveling in groups of 2 - 4 couples. Those "uncoupled" seemed to be lost in the shuffle.
3. I would take more advantage of some of the entertainment options. I went to a couple of the shows, but I generally avoided them. The ones I went to were enjoyable.
4. Bring more, dressier clothes for evening wear. I packed mostly for beach/pool and the "jungle" expeditions.

I did a lot of reading. That was one thing I did right, I brought more than enough books. (Always a concern for a reading librarian!)

Here are some of the photos from the cruise and land excursions.

I will enhance this post with photos (and will note that in an edited set of comments here).

More Panama - Week 2 (Part 4 of 4)

We headed out of Boquete bright and early. Because it was a weekday, there was, of course, construction. This time the only detour was right outside Boquete (starting right after the tourist agency building at the top of the hill as you leave town), and it was never more than 1/4 mile or so from the main road.

We had an uneventful trip into David, and stopped for a morning break before heading out on the Interamerican Highway (the local name for the Pan American Highway). I had our wonderful map out, and we tooled along the road.

At one point, we were slowed by a demonstration. There were a group of protesters walking along the road. They appeared to be Ngöbe-Buglé and were chanting and singing. All along our trip that day we saw some roadside gatherings, and places where the road had clearly been blocked at one point. The first group had a police escort. I will search some, but I am interested in understanding the reason for their upset.

One of my goals for this trip was to visit the Pacific beach. I had originally thought to go to the beach nearest David, but the beach was towards the Costa Rican border rather than towards Panama City, so I gave up that idea.

I looked at the map, and about an hour or so from David saw Playa Las Lajas marked on the map. We read the guide books (well, Miss R read while I drove), and since we had plenty of time, we decided to give it a go. We turned off the main road, and drove a few miles towards the ocean.

I noticed the change in the light, and the terrain as we got closer to the sea. I don't know if it is my imagination, but it sure seemed like the light was that on the Cape (or as you get close), and the trees were sparser, and it just felt like we were getting to the salt water.

All I can say is WOW! The area was definitely not upscale, but there was a very sandy access road which I pulled into (and was grateful again to have an SUV). We got out, and it was much warmer and nicer than in Boquete (cool in the mountains) and David. The beach went out for miles....and it went on in either direction for miles. And it was essentially deserted. (Look at the pictures!)

Here is the link to the set on Flickr. Playa Las Lajas photos are not the last 3, but the four before that.

We got back on the road, and drove. The Interamerican goes inland for a bit, and cuts across a peninsula with some hilly country. It was funny, at times it seemed like we could have been driving in the high desert country of New Mexico or West Texas, or the high plains of eastern Colorado.

After a while, we started to look for a place to stay for a couple days. The guide books recommended one place which was (unfortunately) full -- even mid-week! We wound up at a large resort near Playa Santa Clara. It was a fun couple of days, and then home.

Because I was driving, and the road signs were not even minimal, there are no photos from driving across the Panama Canal, or through Panama City. Suffice it to say, we got to the airport safely, and headed back home.

More Panama - Week 2 (Part 3 of this series)

We left David bright and early, and headed out of town. We had done this drive several times before on our prior trip, so we were not concerned about getting lost. They are doing road construction to improve the road, to replace some of the bridges, and to widen it to four lanes. It seemed like no big deal, until we got to a detour. My Spanish is "limited." (That may even be an exaggeration....I can read a few things, recognize key words, and often get a concept across. Road signs can be a challenge!) It took us far enough from the "main road" that I dragged out my trusty iPhone, and opened up the map/GPS application. I am glad I did, because otherwise, at the end of the detour, I would have headed off in the wrong direction. I think I mentioned that there are no route number signs, and very few directional signs!

We got to Boquete successfully, and found the place we were staying. We had to kill some time (having lunch, etc.) while our room was made ready. We reacquainted ourselves with the town.

Boquete is up in the mountains, and sits in a valley. The first day, it was sunny and warm, although breezy. Throughout our stay it was windy, and actually after the first day, it was mostly cloudy and rainy. We were staying on the other side of the river from the main town, and a little bit up the valley. We had a great view looking up towards Baru and the mountains. There are a couple photos in the Flickr set. (The last post in the series will have the link, I am still organizing the several hundred photos I took.)

After the weekend, we headed out, and that part of the trip will be the fourth post.

More Panama - Week 1 (Part 2)

While we were escaping Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Carnivale was happening in Bocas. Little did we know. As we walked through town to the water taxi, there were large costumed characters in the town square. There was dancing and gaiety. Bocas is part of the heart of Panama's Carnivale culture.

We were out on Red Frog Beach, most of what we saw were large crowds on the beach. (Many kids, it was a school holiday...) The day after Mardi Gras, we ran into one of our fellow travelers to the island from the airport. She had spent a day or so on Isla Bastimentos and then went to Bocas Town. She asked how we did with the power outages. They had happened two nights in a row, apparently, and in both cases at the height of the celebrations. Our reaction? What outages? The island we were on must have had its own power, because we did not notice it. It made us happy to have been where we were.

After a happy few days, it was time to go. We had not made any definite plans for after our stay at Red Frog Beach. I made a plane reservation for what I thought was the right day, and we took the water taxi back to Bocas town. Once we got there, we looked again, and discovered that the flight was for a week later! I called both airlines, and neither had ANY seats out for a week! Plan B....we took a water taxi ($5 each, 20 minute ride) to Almirante (a large banana and oil shipping port on the mainland) and then a cab to Changuinola ($20 ride to a big banana center) where we rented a car.

The drive was interesting. 2-lane, winding roads through the jungle and coast to Chiriqui Grande. That is where we turned to go through the mountains and over the continental divide. This road was also two-lane with the added "adventure" of having not only more curves than the coastal road (which had a bunch), but also some steep grades. Oh, and there were the potholes. Some were really large! Part of the road goes through the Ngöbe–Buglé Comarca (territory governed by the indigenous people).

On the water taxi, one of our fellow passengers was an ex-pat who mentioned that the President (of Panama) was talking on TV that night, and that if he did not say the right things, there could be road blockages, as there had been earlier in the year. This was an impetus to get to David that night.

It took about 5 hours, but we made it. We got a little lost in downtown David while looking for a hotel. Our only prior visits to the city had been "through trips" to and from the airport. We had a good night's sleep and headed to Boquete in the morning.

More Panama - Week 1 (Part one of maybe 4)

My new camera is great, but the tiny laptop is hard-ish to deal with many, many photos, so stay tuned.

We left New Orleans early on a Saturday morning (6 am flight, 4:15 cab pick up). Because we were traveling internationally, we could each check a bag for free (yay!). So we did. As we thought about this trip and the logistics, we realized that traditional luggage could be an impediment, so we packed in our backpacks. Ria's had not been used this way for a while (it still had an airline tag about a decade old). We got them out of storage, and packed. (I put my stuff in 2 gallon plastic zip bags -- just in case.)

The flight to Miami was uneventful. In addition to our checked luggage, R had her sling bag/purse, I had a day pack (computer, paperwork, travel books, etc.) and camera bag. We changed flights, walked the length of Terminal D, and the flight to Panama City was also uneventful.

Clearing immigration was no big deal (short lines), and to clear customs there, all, and I mean all, luggage is x-rayed (again). We had reservations at a mid-city hotel, the Hotel El Panama. It is in a central location, has a great pool, and was a great room! We walked some around the city, had dinner. In the morning (since we had an afternoon flight out..) we went to Casco Viejo. That is the oldest part of the currently Panama City. The guidebooks were right, it reminded us in many ways of the French Quarter! Narrow streets, slight decay, buildings with balconies, scenic views. It was Sunday morning so it was very quiet. There will be some great pics on Flickr later!

That afternoon, we taxied over to Albrook Airport. [Panama City has two airports: Tocumen (PTY) is the international airport, about 20 km south/east of the city; Albrook (PAC), a former US airbase, is along the Canal and serves domestic flights.] Since we were last there (in July), construction has moved along, and there are visible improvements. There are two airlines, Air Panama and Aeropelas.

Our flight to Bocas del Toro was more or less on time, but was very full. The flight was uneventful, and we got there and collected our luggage. That is when things began to fall apart. We were supposed to be met, and driven from the airport to the water taxi. No one was there. However there were two other groups (of three each) there, and an enterprising young man convinced us to walk with him the 3-4 blocks to the waterfront to get a water taxi. It was a hike, and we were glad to have backpacks rather than some other luggage. Some of the roads were unpaved, and we were definitely not in the "first world" any more. The water taxi was $5 each for a 20 or so minute ride over to the island where the resort was.

Once we got there, no one was at the dock. However, one of the owners of the resort was picking up some family (the seats in front of us on the flight, and the row next to us, too), and made sure we were picked up.

We were staying at Red Frog Beach villas. We rented a golf cart, and are glad we did. While the villas are near the beach, it is about a 1/2 mile trek along a dirt road to get there. It was very bumpy in the cart! The set up - for us- was interesting. The villa had 4 (or 5) bed rooms, each of which was rented out to someone different, a large living room, great kitchen, and a plunge pool. All three of the upstairs bed rooms were "en suite" and had balconies -- ours had two. The resort consists of many villas, all separate homes, essentially. There was no real common dining. We cooked once at home (after getting more groceries), but otherwise ate at the beach or at the restaurant by the hostel.

The beach was great, I already posted one photo for my Facebook friends. It had surf which reminded me of Surfside on Nantucket or at the southern Rhode Island shore. The only difference was that the water temp was about 80 degrees. Even without a lot of time in the sun, at 9 degrees above the equator, it did not take much for us to show the results.

We had a great, quiet several days.

As I think about this, I think that I will save the adventure of leaving for the next post, followed by our stay in David and Boquete for a third post, and the trip home for the final installment.

Are you ready for some

more Panama??

We are escaping the madness which is New Orleans at Mardi Gras, and going somewhere warm. (Yes, I know, my northern friends think that NOLA is warm, but at least a half dozen times this winter we have run the A/C and the heat on the same day.) Get ready for some pictures, and maybe a narrative. We are exploring more this time, so stay tuned for an ex post facto report (unless I get really ambitious).

Panama Vaction Pics

OK...so I am a month late...but I finally got approval from "she who must be obeyed" and there are now pictures from our vacation in Panama which have been posted here, on Flickr.

Because I am now used to getting up very early...like 5 am, there are a whole series of sunrise photos. The fact that our room faced the mountains to the East is another factor.

So here they are (including the coffee plantation tour).

I am disappointed at the lack of granularity for the mapping of places outside the US in Flickr. For US locations you can get to the street level. For Panama, at least, at best you could get city areas...roughly. Mind you, Rancho de Caldera is out in the boonies, but even the level of detail for Boquete is fairly "gross."

Enjoy!

Vacation in Panama #4 - wrap up

The rest of the vacation was not as adventure filled.

We spent some afternoons at the pool, when the rains did not begin too early. We had dinner most nights at Rancho de Caldera. The food was excellent, if sometimes a little sophisticated for our daily diet.

Wednesday morning, we went off to the hot springs. These are the naturally occurring hot springs which give the settlement (town is a too organized idea of what is there) its name. The springs are pictured in the Boquete area activities part of the Rancho's page. They are very hot 102 - 106 degrees, but you can cool down in the nearby rive. We walked from the bridge (about 500 meters), but it was a muddy rutted road. The folks who own the property have some "changing rooms" (i.e. sheds), and charge $2 per person.

Thursday we took a horse ride around the property. It was loads of fun with fantastic views. Our guide spoke very little English, but with my very little Spanish, we were able to communicate effectively. (I'll note that he had to put a different saddle on to start, because my big, fat feet would not fit in the original stirrup.)

Stay tuned for photos, on Flickr.

Friday, we drove to David (for the first time since we left). It was an interesting trip to do in the daylight and see the scenery. We visited one casino (small by Vegas standards, or even New Orleans standards) but with mostly penny slots - right up our alley!

Saturday was the early rising to begin the long trek home: five airports, four airplanes, and a taxi ride, plus the drive to the airport and finally home.

Vacation in Panama #3

OK...so I gave up blogging while there...

Tuesday morning we had a tour of a coffee plantation: Finca Dos Jefes. I booked the tour, at Gina's recommendation [Gina is the owner of Rancho de Caldera], from the web form at the site above.

We were the only two people on the tour, which lasted the full three hours. Rich (the owner) picked us up on the main street in Boquete, and drove us up to the farm. Because it was "green season" (i.e. rainy season) we scheduled our tour in the morning. We got to see the beans growing on the trees of various ages. This is an organic farm, so they don't use pesticides. They also pay the prevailing wage to their itinerant workers, and provide decent housing for both the permanent and temporary workers. We did get to see the beans in various stages of post-drying, as they age and dry further. At the end of the tour, and after tasting some of the coffee roasted there, I got to roast some coffee. Four [4] pounds of dried, green beans (about 10.5% moisture content) will roast to 3 pounds of coffee. We also got to take some coffee home.

We ate lunch several days in different restaurants in Boquete. We had local Panamanian food, we ate in a bar, and in a Peruvian restaurant. We also ate at a very nice, upscale restaurant The Rock, overlooking the river.

Vacation in Panama #2

This is a wonderful part of the world, incredible mountains and lush jungles.

Today we went zip-lining in the top of the jungle vegetation outside Boquete. We drove to the city, and were met for the drive up to the resort (3 cabins that I could see) where we started. To say that the roads were narrow and steep would be an understatement. We eventually left the paved road for a gravel one lane road (more at the end). We finally got to the starting point. There was only one other couple doing the trek with us, but there still was, what the guides called, our paparazzi - one of the staff who took photos of everything. We then drove up a track so steep that it had a pair of paved wheel tracks to the real end of the road, right at the border of La Amistad National Park. A short trek later we were beginning our descent down 3,000 feet over 12 zip lines.

The guides were great. Two of them were named Mohammed and Israel! And their command of English was amazing.

It was an exhilarating thrill to traverse the river, see waterfalls, and be on tree stands which are over 400 years old. If you ever find yourself in Boquete, I recommend Boquete Tree Trek.

It was a 4 hour adventure, and driving back down the mountain we met about 5 vehicles coming up the other way. Since the pavement was very narrow, and there were deep drainage ditches on both sides, it was an adventure to get past each one.

I am blogging tonight because we have some down time before dinner, and the afternoon rains have hit - hard. Tomorrow morning we are going on a coffee plantantion tour, then we will go another day to the hot springs, and one of the days after that for a horseback ride. We hope the weather is good enough to hike Baru, the volcano from whose top you can see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Vacation in Panama #1

So, we decided to do something different this year. After the ALA Conference as a "home game" (i.e., in New Orleans), we have gone away, and not to the beach.

Saturday, July 2, saw us on 4 planes in 5 airports. Our first flight left NOLA t 5:30. It was a short hop to Houston. After a fairly short lay-over there, we were headed to Panama City (Panama). One interesting thing was that our flight left late because of a TSA/ICE search of departing passengers. There were groups of 20 or so passengers who were asked to place their bags on one side of the jetway, and step to the other. Then a dog sniffed all the items left. Why? I have no idea. After we had boarded, we were further delayed because a few people did not make the flight, and their luggage needed to be removed.

We got to Panama City in good time. We landed at the international airport (Tocumen) and then needed to get to the domestic airport (Alport). We arranged for a driver, Mr. Kelley, who was great! He got us to Aloport in good time. Alport is very much a developing nation kind of airport -- 2 airlines, each with an A and B gate. Security was, well, lets just say interesting. Watch Flickr for photos. We were on a plane big enough for flight attendants, and the flight, which left an hour late, was about the same length as from MSY to IAH. When we got there, we did not understand that we needed to pick up our luggage out on the tarmac. But we got it figured out, and after renting a car from a different company than our reservation, oh well. It is the way here.

Our hotel is wonderful. We are outside Boquete, in the volcanic mountains, up near a national park. Facebook friends have seen the view from our bed...of the mountains and the valleys is incredible. The room is great, I am sitting on a porch which has a roof, but no screens...and there are no bugs. With the breezes we have turned off the A/C. (But the ceiling fan inside is on...) The Rancho Caldera is "off the grid." All the electric is provided by solar panels and/or a generator. The water is from a well on-site and multi-purified. The pool has an infinity edge corner. The food is cooked by great chef. Lunch is a la carte, dinner is prix-fixe menu decided by the chef each night. It is wonderful

Today has been recovery. Tomorrow we zip-line through the tree canopy, Tuesday is a coffee plantantion tour, Wednesday we hope to hike Baru. From the top, you can see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans! Thursday we will go to the natural hot springs, and Friday we will ride the horses here on the property. Unfortunately, our adventure will end on Saturday with a reverse trip with a drive to David, flight to Panama City, transfer between airports, and then travel home. Who knows what else we will sneak in?