We have settled here in Panama quite nicely. The chill vibes are in full force.
On Friday, we took our first excursion from San Carlos to Anton Valley. San Carlos is where my parent’s home is located. It’s on the Pacific side of Panama and it is most definitely paradise. Black sand beaches, caves, coconut trees, and gorgeous greenery surrounds us. I’ve taken some of my friends here to visit and I’m always so proud to show them this side of Panama.
A picturesque, but windy 45 minute drive from San Carlos, you can find yourself in Anton Valley. About 10 degrees cooler, El Valle sits in the crater of an extinct volcano. The kids were thankful for a little cooler weather. I put my hoodie on and took a deep breath of fresh mountain air.
Shortly after arriving in El Valle, I snapped a photo of the marvelous view below. And shortly after posting it, I received some negative criticism for my “essential travel” choice. I laughed it off because I knew it was coming. Travel shaming is the latest form of bullying.
In my opinion, shaming for any reason, shows that the shamer doesn’t have the needed skills to properly persuade others to “do it their way” or the “right way”. I certainly didn’t feel any need to change my plans after the shaming. Not one enlightening piece of information was shared. You didn’t see me head back to NC and stay put because of a couple of angry people. It actually made me dig my heels in deeper. Not going to lie, when others privately messaged me to laugh about the public snapping, it did make me feel good!
Sometimes I wonder, “do we think we are in a “Covid Competition?” Guys? Come on! Same storm. Different boat.
There are so many mixed messages. Does anyone feel guilty about sending their INSTACART person to face the grocery stores where NO ONE is temperature checked while we sit at home in our safe space!? (I love INSTACART by the way). Can we use our brains a little… do we think they aren’t breathing on all of our stuff in an enclosed car?! How about them Judgy Judys that totally act on travel sport events because that’s essential to their kids needs, but don’t even mention eating at an outdoor restaurant to them… or any restaurant for that matter. Those restaurant people definitely don’t need to get paid and should sacrifice their livelihood (please sense the sarcasm here). Just a side note…outdoor seating restaurants now have enclosed tents because it’s cold outside… isn’t that just indoor seating outside? Everyone knows everything, but nobody knows nothin.
You will always find me in the middle. I am not a woman of extremes. Please don’t get me wrong, I love extremist. They are the most fun.. specially the extroverted bungee jumping kind… but for me… I usually find a middle ground, weigh the pros and cons, and analyze the risks. I come to terms with my decision and I understand that no matter how I plan, things could go very bad… or… things could be great! Choose your risk wisely is what I say. I’m more of the, “No one is allowed to be in my house ever because I don’t want your nasty shoes/feet trailing in Covid,” but I’m also the “Put on your hazmat suits, we’re going to Panama!” Totally middle ground!
So, like pretty much everything I do, I weighed my options for this Panama trip as well. I thought about the risk of getting Covid, the possibility of spreading it to my older family members, my family’s mental well being, the social media repercussions, etc! Some, advised me not to post… but you know what… I completely enjoy posting…FOR ME. These postings are my memories and I truly cherish them.
I get the fear that people have and I get that some people are just trying their best but it comes out all wrong. Very wrong. I’m ok with that. Because I know MY reasons for this trip and I’m very confident these chill vibes are exactly what I need. Maybe a future post on my mental health journey from this past year… but for now, understand this trip is everything I needed. All in all, the travel shaming did not take away from this amazing volcano experience. I am also, very thankful for those of you who joined the journey with me in positivity.
I booked a “family house” at the Golden Frog Inn and it was every bit of exotic. As you can guess frogs are huge in Panama. Massive. I give 5 stars at this spot for the views and amenities; not for luxury. There wasn’t a spa or a gym but there was a gorgeous mountain view, outdoor porch eating with excellent Panamanian fixings, bikes to ride for free and a pool!
If you stay in Anton, I highly recommend getting bikes. There are horse rides available if that is your thing, but for me that’s a little too expensive and horses kinda scare me. The Inn provided bikes for free so the kids and I took the bikes to the downtown area and stopped for pineapple drinks at the famous Bodhi Hostel.
When in Anton, you’ll have no issue with boredom. There are so many nature lover adventures. It is very hard to pick just one. As a child, my parents took me to El Níspero Zoo a few times so I wasn’t too keen on another trip there. What has always captured my interest was hiking La India Dormida. From a distance, this mountain looks like a lady sleeping. Legend has it that these mountains carry the love story between an indigenous tribe princess and a Spaniard.
On our way up the mountain, a little boy told me the legend for some money. We negotiated a good price and let’s just say he was happy to get him and his friends some helados! The legend seemed pretty dramatic and interesting enough to grab my kid’s attention and it ended up being their favorite part of the trip. We enjoyed the many waterfalls and just being in the cool rainforest. I could barely get up all the rocks with my bad knees. Every once in a while, a Panamanian would wiz by like they do this hike all day, every day- which we found out, they do.
We scheduled a taxi driver to pick us up at 5:00 pm and bring us back to our hotel. 5:15 came around and no sign of our taxi man. As we started walking back, a dog came up to Roman and begged for water. Roman gladly gave her some and little did we know, this dog would follow us for the rest of the night.
Side Story:
My mom has this story that she tells us of her dog named Dukessa. When she was a little girl, one day, the entire family packed it up and went to the beach, including Dukessa. Dukessa went running around the beach and when it was time to go home, she was no where to be found. Everyone was sad. The family went home with no Dukessa. Then a few days later, there arrived Dukessa. She had taken a Chiba (a little colorful taxi bus) back home. As kids, we laughed and laughed at this story of a dog finding her way back home from the beach by bus! After spending all night with our new dog friend, who would NOT leave our sides, we totally believe my mom’s story now! Panamanian dogs are no joke.
We named our new dog friend Dukessa as she guarded our mountain house hotel door. Don’t worry, Banjo didn’t know about it all. Our Dukessa ate breakfast with us and cried as we got into the taxi to leave to San Carlos. This might be the most touching memory for Roman.
Overall, we had a wonderful little excursinon in El Valle. This was not a one and done check for me. I would like to go back again and explore some other hikes. One that I have on my mind is the “Cerro La Cruz” hike.
Other things to check out in Anton Valley:
El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center. Serpentario. El Mariposariois. Los Mandarinos Spa. Sunday Market. Hot springs. Craters Edge Brewery. Iglesia de San Jose.
Good times. Good views. Anton Valley. Chill Vibes.
Travel Ninja 