Our First Visitors: Day One

Well, my computer ate my first blog post about this day, so here is another!

My parents are the first people to come and visit us here in Panama, so they got to enjoy seeing everything as we try to figure out what is worth taking people to! We had a lot of fun, some adventure and plenty of duros. Well, we probably could have eaten more of those actually...

They made it and so did their luggage! Everyone was happy to see Nana and Pop! They flew United to Panama City and then flew Copa over to David and we picked them up. Everyone wanted to go, so we had to put their luggage on top of the car in trash bags (in case it rained). On the way home, we ran into a closed road due to a wreck, so we tried an alternate route. We were doing good until we hit some truly Panamanian rocky dirt roads and finally had to turn around when the connecting road was blocked by a locked gate. By the time we got back to the main road, traffic was moving! It was a great adventure to start the trip.

One of the first things we did was drive up to Cerro Punta. This is known as the "bread basket" of Panama as much of the country receives their produce from this region. The hills are covered with patchwork like crops of all different fruits and vegetables. It truly is a sight to see.

This was an amazing view as we traveled up the mountain. People out working the crops, animals, and plants. There is so much to see!

The side of this cliff was beautiful. Each crack and crevice was covered with plants of some sort. Down below was a raging river full during rainy season. White water rafting would be an adventure here.

This is a fun little park at a hotel called Casa Grande that's on the way to Volcan from Cerro Punta. It has a lot of plants around (a few coffee trees grow in and around this playground), slides, a trampoline and many other activities. You can ride a horse for $10, go tubing (with a helmet on), or dine in their restaurant.

Honestly, you wouldn't believe all the plants and flowers here. It's amazing.

We stopped to have lunch at a different hotel in Volcan called Dos Rios. It has a great view over the river with a lot of beautiful plants. Their pizza is supposed to be their best item on the menu, but I also love the lemonade! After this, we took the long, winding trail up toward the border to Costa Rica. This probably wasn't the best idea with a full stomach, but thankfully we aren't the car-sick type! Lots of beautiful plants to see on this day!

We finished the day with a fun game of Apples to Apples Big Picture edition that I got at the Todo a Dollar store. It is a great game for kids of all ages! We were happy to have Nana and Pop in! They stayed at the house next door to ours. They enjoyed having their own little casita for the week.