Drum Roll Please

We were beginning to think our search for a home would never end - though perhaps we were wrong. Now it appears it will end.  In fact it may have already ended.

The winner may be Santa Fe, a charming (though undeveloped) mountain town in the Veraguas region of western Panama, pretty much halfway between the Caribbean coast and the Pacific Ocean.

So far we've been here a week during which time have experienced such warm relationships with our fellow travelers (you know who you are) and also with the local people. THIS feeling is what we have been seeking, and this is the place where it has happened.

Plus the climate is right for us, much better than the humid hot coastal areas and the dripping cloud forest jungles we have hiked.

Yep, several times we've hiked up into the jungle to see various waterfalls. We swam in the river. We had lunch with Chon and toured his organic farm and his wife's orchid collection.

We sat around the hostel in the evenings swapping stories with other travelers, other seekers. These are our people, and we have enjoyed their company immensely.

But now we're leaving this place, moving on to Boquete, only 100 km to the west, but a 4 hour drive on the roads. Boquete is a town that was discovered by North Americans about 10 years ago and reputedly seems like a little America. Not really our kind of place, but we need to see and feel it before we can come back to Santa Fe. We need to be sure before proceeding to set up camp in Santa Fe.

It feels so strange to think that our search may be over. I have never in my life thought that Panama is a place I might call home.

But I might do just that.

Stopping our travels makes me feel weird.

Santa Fe makes Starr feel really happy.

The local people here have not been trampled by tourism.

Veraguas region makes their own version of the Panama hat.

I really like this wild flower growing in Panama.

We hiked up to Bermejo Falls on a warm day (though ther're all warm so far).

Hey Toni, check this one out!  It's just growing alongside a river.

All the people we meet in the countryside are willing to stop and talk. 

OK here's what happened: Wasp lands on huge spider, stings him, and drags his limp, paralyzed victim all the way across the dirt road and into the bushes - as we watched.

Maria's orchids win prizes in local orchid competitions.

I call this the Morse Code plant. All dots and dashes.

Orchids can get very complicated indeed.

Epiphyllum?

Prettiest of the day  . . .but what is it?

Red and black is always in style.

What a wonderful farm lunch Maria gave us during the organic farm tour.

Gusti's magnetic smile - and he never stops telling stories.

Chon roasts and grinds some fresh beans for our coffee.

Sean will know it when he sees it.

Denton is still working toward Sourdough status after 30 years in Alaska. The jokes got pretty grizzly before it was over. 

A river dip for the men while on an outing.

Chon explains his farming theories.

Ribbons of frog eggs float in the river.