Value of Companionship

Wednesday: I awoke and walked up to a café that also gives tours of the coffee plantation. I didn´t take the tour, but I did have an awesome cappuccino and met a German traveler named Andrea. We then walked up to the Mi Jardín es Su Jardín, someone´s personal garden that they allow people to walk through.

The flowers were great, but so were the random statues of painted cows and flamingos, ponds filled with fish, and the small chapel in the middle of the yard. Mom, note the star pattern in the picture to the right--I thought you´d enjoy it!



I enjoyed Andrea´s company almost more than the garden, though. I think I´m finally learning the value of companionship. I think back to other travels and wonder why they were so much better than I think this one is going, and it all comes down to the friends I was with. I don´t think I´ll ever crave company as much as my sister does (love ya´!), but this might be my last trip that I go solo.

All that said, Panama is growing on me, and today I had a great time rock climbing. Not indoor fake wall where you can take the rainbow route up or follow the carefully marked holds, but the outdoor rock cliff where there are no indicators where to go (other than my guide) and there are bugs and dirt and rain. It was great! Don´t get me wrong, though--I´m not very good. The scale of difficulty goes from 5.6 to 5.11, and the gap between each level seems enormous.





Our crazy climbing guides first climbed without any rope at all so he could clip the ropes into the metal things drilled into the wall. There were 4 routes we could choose from: a 5.7, a 5.9, a mainly strength 5.10 and a technical 5.10. I started with the 5.9 and thought I´d have to quit at least 10 times. But with the patient guiding of Francisco, I rested my shaky arms and actually made it to the top! Right near the top I got stung 4 times by some kind of ant, but it was a great feeling to have actually done it. I then rested quite some time and scaled the 5.7 with relative ease (and the guidance of Marcos). After more waiting, I attempted the technical 5.10 thinking it would be easier to use my balance than my weary muscles. I got stuck 3/4 of the way up and, try as I might, could not advance, so I quit and didn´t feel too badly about it. All in all, I´d say it was a successful adventure!

After lunch, I set off to hike the Quetzal Trail, a trail where you might see the elusive tropical bird. It was misting lightly, but I was okay with that, so I walked and walked and walked for 2 hours. I saw signs for the trail "ahead" but I never actually reached the trail! It was raining harder at this point and getting darker, so I turned back and walked 30 minutes before a very nice farmer gave me a ride back into town! Sadly, I didn´t ever see a quetzal or any other spectacular bird, but I did see a nice waterfall, the river many times, and coffee and banana plantations the whole way.

I think I will put my timidéz aside and go out for dinner with a German, a Swiss, and two Israelis staying at my hostel. Good times.

Oh, and in one last note: the rock was basalt, which is a metamorphic rock caused by rapid cooling of lava, and you can clearly see that an uplift occurred at some point, too. Wouldn´t my geology teacher be proud?!