January 10, 2010

Sunday was great. Without a church nearby, we decided to do a littel driving and explore a local highland called "El Valle". It is a small town just 30 minutes inland at about 2000 feet and is nestled inside what was once an active volcano some 3 million years ago. Click here to locate on Google Earth. The air was significantly cooler and the vertical mountains surrounding the town were reminiscent of Hawaii. We drove to a nice hiking area called Chorros Macho where we explored some local rivers and ended up at a large pool diverted from one of the rivers. Moriah jumped in first despite it being a tad chilly but I soon followed along with Dresden. We played and relaxed there for a good hour before loading up and going back into town to walk the street market and eat lunch at a small locals style (non touristy) restaurant. I ordered the plato typico of bistec picado which was beef strips in a teriyaki sauce with rice, fried bananas, and split peas. It was delicious. Liz ordered some corvina (sea bass) which was also tasty. We were all quite pleased with our food, and at $3/plate it was cheaper than any other option. I wont write much about food, but I know how much Mom Harrell likes to hear about it. Back to the street market where the girls got a souvenir of choice and Elijah set his heart on a blue race car that he hasn’t let out of his sight since. Best $1.50 I’ve ever spent on him.

We loaded up again and went exploring in our Toyota SUV up the mountains and on some grades that you would never find in Utah. Some of the driveways here make ours at Bear Lake look like childs play. We found some small roads leading to the top of some of the hills overlooking the valley and found ourselves driving through clusters of Orange and Banana trees. We also saw dozens of coffee terraces lining the steep hills around. When the girls were tired of driving around, and the babies had finished their naps, we explored a little more of El Valle town where many Gringos have retired to. One street is called Avenida de los Millionarios. The houses are gorgeous. Not many were overly large, but the yards were immaculate and filled with gorgeous trees, plants, ponds, streams, and gorgeous soft grasses. We unloaded and climbed on a a handful of bony horses for a quick ride well worth the $4 dollars per person we paid. We continued out to see La Piedra Pintada which shows carvings from Pre-Columbian times (they claim) but really looks like a bunch of graffiti etched into a huge rock wall. The best part of the short hike was the waterfall just minutes further up the trail. Moriah and I jumped into the inviting pool and swam around for a bit. We hiked up the river to the next set of falls as the dark was rising. As soon as the light dropped, frogs everywhere around us filled the air with their songs. We hiked out, tipped our 10 year old car watcher 2 bucks and headed back to the Pacific Ocean. What a great day.

PANAMA!!
On January 6, 2010 we got up at 4 am and loaded up the car with the kids, suitcases, backpacks and car seats and headed for Panama. Dad Collings was kind enough to take us up that early and bring the car back. We made it right through ticketing and customs and onto the plane easy cheesy. The kids were great. Well except Kennedy. She was a tired and writhing little thing for a long time until I finally got her to stop screaming and sleep on my shoulder. Elijah, Dresden and Moriah were all great though and just watched movies, read books, or played Nintendo most the way to Atlanta. The flight was just 3 hours, but felt like 5.

In Atlanta we had a 4 hour layover. We were all tired at this point and Liz and I took turns napping on the seats in the terminal. 4 hours went by fairly quickly thank goodness. Elijah and I walked down the hall to the bathroom and on the way back, her just couldn’t resist pulling open the fire extinguisher door. An alarm sounded and about made me fall over. I quickly shut it and stopped the alarm (it was loud) and smiled foolishly at some black ladies nearby. They were dying laughing at little Elijah who had a hilarious and mischievous grin on his face, likely because of the embarrassment he caused his dad.

On the connection flight to Panama things were much smoother. Kennedy still threw a couple fits, but fell asleep on my shoulder again and stayed that way for a good hour or more. The rest of the time she was playful and cute for the most part. She gets us good mileage with the flight attendants and people nearby with her big blue eyes and playful personality.

In Panama City we landed around 9:30 pm. Customs and baggage claim were fairly easy and the hotel we stayed at, Hotel Riande, sent over the shuttle to pick us up. Almost as soon as we walked in the lobby, Kennedy slipped off a chair and landed flat on the tile floor. After a good scream she was fine luckily. We checked into the room, threw on our suits and hit the pool in the dark. It was hot and muggy, so the pool felt wonderful. Liz was exhausted at that point and by the time we were in bed trying to get feisty Kennedy to sleep, she slipped a tear and asked me if we could go home…

We all slept well enough, with Elijah and Kennedy on the floor and didn’t get up until 10 am. Again we headed for the pool and ordered some poolside breakfast of eggs, toast, ham, fruit smoothie, etc. While there, Elijah found his way off the invisible ledge from the kiddy pool to the deep part. Liz, in full clothing, responded to her Lifeguard training and flew into the pool saving Lijah and the day. Leaving the hotel, Dresden walked into the road without looking and was just about hit by a car. Needless to say, it was an eventful morning and we’re glad we are all alive and healthy.

We drove through Panama city and after getting lost 3 or more times, made it to Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal. It was amazing. To see the structures and engineering marvels from the early 1900’s was inspiring. We watched 4 or 5 shipes pass through the locks raising and lowering in the same systems and same iron doors that were installed 100 years ago with ease and not the slightest sign of wear and tear. Some 3 million gallons of water fills a chamber 1000’x110’ in minutes, just as fast as we fill a bathtub at home…Wow.

We watched a movie and viewed a couple more ships from the top of the building. There were some 100 people on top of the building at the time when the guide asked everyone to say hello to his new friend “Moriah, the next Miss Teen USA” and her beautiful Mom and sister (Kennedy).

Our drive out to Palmar took us across the Puente Centenario over the Canal and along the highway about 45 miles. The roads are terrible with all kinds of deep pot holes hiding along the way. Still, there was less traffic and better roadway than Costa Rica for which we are grateful so far. We stopped at Quesos Chela and got some fresh local cheeses and a few empanadas that were delicious. Liz and my favorite snack was tomato and mozzarella slices just like Mom Harrell makes occasionally. Yum.

We stopped at El Rey in Coronado to get groceries for a few days and after getting lost for about 30 minutes we made it to the beautiful home of Jim and Karen Dertien. It is beach front with open patios and yard running right into the ocean. The home is about 3000 sq ft 4 bed 5 bath with a gorgeous master suite with balcony and view to die for. It feels like we have our own little private paradise here and it will be hard to want to leave. Dresden already requested that we move here for good. She said she would except that then she couldn’t play with Sidgy.

We got a little dinner at Bay View Hotel and Restaurant and then made it back to the house to relax and head for bed. Life is wonderful right now. My phone is off and I’m checking email on a limited basis and trying to focus on just my little family.