El Valle

We are now in El Valle, literally the valley, of a town called Anton. This is our second day and it is much quieter and more picturesque than the city. Almost a little cooler, though not cold, as people from the city described it. We took a bus here from Panama City which broke down half way through the trek. Luckily, they called another bus to pick us up. Just part of the experience. Upon arrival, we found a friendly vegetarian restaurant, making us feel right at home. The veggie burgers were delicious and the owner was very friendly, explaining all the tropical fruit juices that we'd never heard of. Then, we took a hike to a waterfall and old petroglyphs, where we swam and got explained the history of the drawings by a local resident. Then we found a bar called Ty`s Sports Bar (we Americans can't help but flock to the most American places) and got treated to a drink by some visiting Canadians who felt an instant bond with Rose, though they were disappointed she spoke no French. Today, we took a walk to some square trees that were actually just round and were intent on hiking but were too pooped from the over an hour walk to the path that had led to the trees. So instead we've decided to go to the hot springs and go to an opening of a new restaurant tonight that will have live music that some local people invited us to.

Tomorrow, we will spend the day at a nearby undiscovered by tourists beach and then spend the night in Penenome, where a friend of mine from school is spending the summer. The next day, our plan is to head to a similarly rural and nature-filled town called Santa Fe, and eventually head to David and Boquete. Then to Bocas del Toro, back to Panama City, and if we have time, go to the San Blas islands where the indigenous Kuna reside. So we made a plan! Who says you can`t plan a vacation in a day!