A typical lunch in El Valle

On a recent trip to El Valle, we stopped to have lunch at Restaurante Massiel. That consisted of rice, lentils, stewed chicken, plantain strips, and macaroni salad (with cabbage and carrots in it). With a drink all for $2.00 and it was delicious.

After lunch we took a short trip to La Piedra Pintada, also in El Valle. If you google it you can read a lot more detail about it. As we walked up the trail this is the first "rock" you come across. You can see the petroglyphs that are on it. This site has been studied in the past by many. It's a prehistoric large stone where there are drawings of different types: spirals, stars, animals even a humanoid or alien or a kind of astronaut....... nobody is sure why or what were the reasons of this large stone with drawings there........ there is another petroglyph located in a higher part from this one named "El Sapo" (the toad) which is a small rock with a toad design carved on it . This is a testament to El Valle's pre-Columbian culture. These undeciphered petroglyphs lie below the crater formation La India Dormida, on the floor of the second largest inhabited volcano crater in the world. Once a crater lake, this quiet village became home to Indians from the surrounding mountains who have been here for thousands of years.

It was a very interesting place and I will probably go back to hike it all the way to the top. I did pass a small waterfall but I imagine that it would be a lot more beautiful and breathtaking during the rainy season as more water passes through there.

After visiting La Piedra Pintada (painted or drawn rock - literal translation) we decided to make a stop at the Zoo called El Nispero. Interesting animals and gorgeous orchids was the theme for the afternoon.

On left you can see the National Flower of Panama. This flower comes in several different colors. It becomes quite pretty and colorful if you have bushes of this plant planted in a row. Usually the most popular color is this golden one along with deep orange. As we continued to walk the paths we reached the beautiful orchids. So many different types, and all so beautiful, it would be hard for me to choose a favorite. I currently own 5 orchid plants which I bought just outside the supermarket all for $5.00. One of them is a very rare kind that is continuously blooming. They will be heading to a permanent house in one of the trees of our lot.

This is the outside wall of the "orchid house" where you can see many, many orchid plants growing.

This is the national bird of Panama - the Toucan.

This Toucan is the Aracari Toucan, and the photo was taken here in Altos del Maria, but you are probably used to the more colorful one. Am replacing the photo taken at the zoo because this one is clear vs. one taken through a bird cage.

Enjoy the photos and feel free to ask any questions anytime!