Today was lots of fun. There were a few things on my list and it was a good day for a pile of miscellany.

Phil and I got up early and drove into Boquete to explore downtown without constant complaining about too much walking or the boring places that Mom likes to explore. We targeted the Tuesday Farmer’s market, a gathering of various vendors that happens every Tuesday near the bridge that spans the river that passes through the centre of town.

The sites were awesome and we met a bunch of cool people. I found a Chocolatier that runs chocolate making classes, totally my jam. Also found a hot food vendor with many vegan choices, a pastry chef who runs a public pool, the local juice bar owner and the essential oil guy who had a very cool roller for migraines. He also hilariously said that it was cold in Boquete so I might have to warm the oils in my hand first. I showed him a current picture of our house and he settled right down.

Phil met the captain of the local biker gang. Thank goodness I could afford the ransom to get him back when they were done chatting. We also found him great coffee. Not sure which made him happier.

In the afternoon Cal and I were off to what passes for a local zoo. I’m not a huge fan of zoos typically but this is a very cool place with a large garden and a collection of rescue animals from Zoos that have closed or animals that have been injured. The owner is a German woman who made her way to Boquete via Florida and is very passionate about her own little paradise. Their Hodge podge of animals were beyond charming and our tour guide was very patient with my toddler level Spanish.

After the Enchanted Garden we went back downtown for Vegan Gelato, sold by a young man whose French was way better than my Spanish. We also found TVP for our tacos. Every Vegan find feels like a victory these days and I am diligently writing down every recipe I invent down here for future use. Those who know me know that I much prefer to make something amazing and not record it so that it can never be replicated by anyone but me, thus ensuring my permanent relevance so this new habit is somewhat jaw dropping.

On the way back we saw our first accident since arriving in Panama. Since no one was hurt we felt comfortable taking a picture. Considering the level of noise online about driving in Panama (one guy claimed that he took a picture of a car that had flipped every day, disappointed that we have yet to see a single one) we expected there to be blood on the road. Honestly driving down here hasn’t been much different than driving at home; other than the crazy curves, perilously steep hills, potholes the size of cows and lack of road signs its no different at all.