Now we are in Boquete, Panama!! Freezing our butts off!!!

I have a few things to write about, regarding Panama.

First, everyone who knows me knows I LOVE animals and do a lot of animal rescue. It is hard for me to see the way animals are treated out there. I don't know if they just don't know any better, or just feel that us humans are at the top of the food chain, so we can do what we want to those below us. Here is what I have noticed... There are a lot of chickens / roosters just walking along the roads. That is very common. Same with dogs. They are all scrawny. I bet you won't ever see an overweight animal here. And, there are a lot of cats, too. I would be afraid to have them get hit by a car. But I can just see that none of the dogs are neutered, no collars on them, etc. I hope the dogs are happy. Even the cows are scrawny. Maybe it is a Panamanian thing, because they can just eat more grass, right? And there seems to be plenty of it around them.

But cockfighting is big here, and that disturbs me. The value they place on these beautiful creatures is based on how well they can fight.

And, as we were driving up to David from Boca Chica, we saw multiple people out there on the side of the road with birds, parrots, cockatiels, etc. on a piece of wood or stick, they were just holding them, wanting to sell them to just anyone passing by. To me, pet ownership is a responsibility. I don't think that just anyone should be a pet owner. In fact, many folks I know should NEVER have a pet.

Now that we are in Boquete (pronounced Bo ket ay), in the mountains, we are experiencing some bad weather. Strong winds, heavy rains. It may not be so bad if we weren't nestled in a little mountain valley... but I am not sure. We have been cold. We checked in to the Colibri Lodge, which is basically a house that a family lives in, and they have rooms on the side and back, maybe 4 rooms in all, with private entrances. Very inexpensive, about $25 per night for two people. It includes a private bath, and supposedly hot water. Last night the shower was hot, as I used it to wash my face. The sink doesn't have hot water though. And the power has been going on and off. Right now I have been wanting to take a shower, but apparently there is no hot water left so I am going to wait awhile. The poor weather in Boquete has really put a damper on our plans, it is freezing outside (well, rainy and windy) and we don't have the proper attire.

We thought more of the locals would speak English here, and it is frustrating for me to try to communicate. I know it isn't their fault at all, it is my lack of preparation by not learning Spanish well enough to communicate. Heck, we didn't even bring a Spanish to English / English to Spanish dictionary with us!!

When we first arrived, our driver, Patryck, took us to The Rock restaurant. I accidentally ordered fish and a soup. I even ate some of the fish without knowing what it was. haha. I quickly stopped once I found out what it was. Yuck. Steve says it is all psychological. Oh well.

Tomorrow morning our driver, Patryck, will pick us up, take us to the Caldera hot springs, and then on to Bocas del Toro, where we will spend the next 5 days in two different locations there.

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