Another sunny day in Chitre

---

February 18th

(SKIP)Finally climbed out of bed around 7:30 and met Mike on the porch overlooking the main street. The town of Chitre is already coming to life. Mike had already prepared some good Panamaian coffee which I eagerly accepted. Barb arrived on the scene a short while later with a great need for coffee.
After spending some time discussing many topics Barb and I decided to venture forth and try the little food stand that Mike recommended. It seems this food stand only prepares hot breakfast items between the hours of 6am to 8am. We arrived at 8:45am and therefore only a few prepared breakfast items were
still available. The coffee was great and we are now determined to arrive earlier tomorrow morning.

Our plans for the rest of this day is to journey to Las Tables and generally take in the area.

February 19th 6:30am

(SKIP) I am sitting in an enclosed balcony at Miami Mikes with a cup of coffee watching the center of Chitre starting to come alive on this Saturday morning. Barb is still sleeping, Mike is up roaming around somewhere, but he did make coffee (thanks Mike).

First order of the day is for me to recall some of the major events of yesterday. After easing into yesterday morning we decided to travel to Las Tablas which is about 20 miles south of Chitre. Mike hitched a ride with us and at the same time showed us how to exit the town and find the highway south to Las Tablas. (very few street and route signs in Panama). We dropped Mike off at his destination and proceeded on our way. The highway to Las Tablas is under reconstruction and looks like it's being reconfigured to a 4 lane highway. A few vendors along side this highway are noted for selling large sausage that is unique to this area. On the way down to Las Tablas Barb noticed one of these venders with sausage hanging outside there building. (pretty dusty from all the construction)

As we traveled along the area of construction I felt sad for the residents on either side of the road, because once the new highway is finished they will virtually see the new highway within a foot or two of their driveway. During our drive south on both sides of the road were open lands that were used for growing hay or corn and pastures that supported both cattle and horses. Lots of corrals for controlling and sorting cattle during our entire trip. Barb and I noticed old fashioned milk cans sitting along side of the highway which were probably placed there early in the morning by the farmer. We assumed they were already empty since it was mid-day during our travels.

Some of the land is comprised of rolling hills and where this is the case and corn is grown the large tractor trailers that are used to transport the silage remained parked along side of the highway. The farm tractor hauls the cut silage to the road and blows the silage into the waiting tractor trailer. Somewhat different approach than used in the US.

Our initial plans upon arriving in Las Tablas were to park near the town center and just roam around; however, somehow the plans slowly changed to finding a road that would lead to the local beaches. Well, that failed also (very few, if any signs) and we found ourselves, by default, traveling to a town on the southern tip of the Azuero Peninsula called Pedasi.
(BARB) We finally found a sign that said beach in Spanish and headed that way. What we actually found was a housing development (no houses just numbered lots and construction workers. The lots face the Pacific Ocean. What a beautiful view...no place to dock a boat because of the huge rocks...but lovely views of the rolling waves crashing the shoreline. We were enthralled with the view, but alas we figured we'd better get out before they tried to sell us a lot!

One thing I've noticed is that there are beautiful small cemeteries scattered here and there in, seemingly, the middle of nowhere. Also scattered about and frequently, are a type of open beer drinking places. Kinda like a poll barn with tables and chairs and sometimes just high tables where people stop and have a beer. They are scattered all over the countryside, (in the middle of nowhere) in small villages and in cities,. Beer is cheap if you buy the locally made beer....40 to 50 cents in a store and 75 cents to $3 in a bar or restaurant, depending on the type of restaurant and/or bar.

The cows are predominately brama steers for beef and a mix for milkers. Lots of brama steers all over....yet there doesn't seem to be many steaks offered in restaurants...not sure why.

---