Sometimes plans change...

     This aftermoon Sandy and I were going to go to Playa Coronado in search of Mexican or Italian food, neither one of which is available in El Valle...when my new friend Jose Luis came driving down the road and stopped to say hello. He was running an errand...actually a bit of work to be more exact...and he invited us to come along for the ride.  Jose is like most Panamanians in that he loves to point out the beauty of his country and share the things that he loves about it. He took us out of the valley and turned up a road that we had never traveled. It was a secondary road that quickly turned into a tertiary one...and at times it was more like a riverbed.  Up we went, and up some more, until we were passing the cell towers at the top of one of the peaks.  Suddenly we made a quick right and plunged into the bottom of deep valley.  All the while, Jose was pointing out the vistas and flora that were appearing around every corner.  I didn't know where we were going, but we were really enjoying the ride.  Then he even had to stop to go into four wheel low range to negociate the next quarter mile of bedrock and rubble.  Finally we reached his destination, a cute little house in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by flowers and trees.  Here lives a three generation family, Grandma and Grandpa and their kids, one of whom has his own small family.  Jose had come to take the ladies of the family to the market in El Valle for a small price.  Just one of the things he does to make a living.   So, off we went, the ladies in the back of the truck and the two curious gringos in the front, back up the trail in four wheel drive and over the top of the mountain and back into the valley and the market. 
     What about that trip to find Italian food?  It got changed to a market visit for fresh veggies and a couple of beautiful wooden trays.  And dinner?  Would you believe a big plateful of BLTs fixed by yours truly?  Yummy!    Sometimes plans change here in Panama, and almost always for the better...and you never know where we'll find the next one of Mike and Sandy's Excellent Adventures in Panama.