One Beautiful Day in Panama

Who?  Jeff  Where?  In Boquete in the province of Chiriqui in western Panama, there is an annual “flower fair”.  Due to unusually heavy and destructive rains in November, there had been considerable concern that the fair would not be held this year.   But with great determination, the residents got the job done and this photo displays just one very tiny corner of a beautiful and successful event!

Who?  Jeff Lane  Where?  It’s not all sunshine in Panama.  And it’s not always a brilliantly colorful sunset.  But it can still be very beautiful.  In this photo, a boater heads home at day’s end among the islands of Bocas del Toro in northwest Panama on the Caribbean coast.

Who?  Jeff Lane  Where?  Relative to other seas and oceans, the Caribbean is well-loved for its clear waters and interesting marine life.  This is an excellent example of both from Bocas del Toro in the far north-west of Panama.  The photo was not taken underwater, but taken above.  Despite having to photograph through water, the little local residents are clearly there to be seen and enjoyed.

Who? Terry Phipps  Where? Here in Las Olas (literally “the waves” in English) on the Pacific coast in the western province of Chiriqui, a group of our favorite Panamanians are on their way to another beautiful day in Panama.  Los pelicanos (pelicans) are a common and welcome sight on our beaches.

Who? Jeff Lane  Where?  In Bocas del Toro in the far northwest corner of Panama, an RW member makes friends with one of Panama’s most popular residents.  Although not all of Panama’s wildlife is quite so tame as this new friend, they are a joy to meet, even if only as an “acquaintance” from a distance.

Photographer: Jeff Lane  Where?  Panama has frogs, but don’t jump to conclusions.  Frogs up north may not be thought of as pretty, but our frogs come in many colors and they are as pretty as a frog can get!  These little fellows live in Bocas del Toro, an island region in the far northwest of Panama.

Photographer: Terry Phipps  Where?  Scuba divers love Panama’s Caribbean coast, surfers love Panama’s Pacific coast, but everyone loves the coast, wherever it is.  In this case, we are on the Pacific in Chiriqui province of Panama’s “far west”.  Specifically, this area is called Las Olas (The Waves) and it takes very little time to understand why.

Photographer: Beth Where? Before they first visit Panama, many people think only in terms of tropical rain forests and ocean beaches. A scene like the one above near Volcan in the western province of Chiriqui just doesn’t “look like Panama”, but that’s exactly what it is, along with the rain forests and the ocean beaches.

Photographer: Sieg Pedde Where? Chiriqui province in the far west of Panama is our equivalent of America’s Texas. It’s in the west, local folks are extremely proud of their province, and there are plenty of cattle. This fellow is very typical. Most Panamanian cattle are hybrids, but you can see the influence of the Brahma family in this gentleman.

Photographer: Beth Where? We have modern supermarkets that provide a wide variety of foods, including imported premium ice cream, soy milk, and a whole variety of goodies. But it’s gentlemen like the one above who help us save money and enjoy truly fresh food. In this case, locally-grown onions are being bagged in Paso Ancho, a few miles from Volcan in western Panama’s Chiriqui province, to take into the local market, the kind of market where many of us prefer to shop.