Scenic Back Road Trip to Janson Coffee Farm In Volcan
This was a special day for my friends from Alabama. They had wanted to go visit the Janson Coffee Farm for the last two years. This was a great day for slow drive to Volcan. It was a cool, rainy, gray day but the smiles and laughter made it feel warm and happy. All along the way there was an air of excitement from the two of them. I heard stories about the times they rode horses with the Janson family, picnics and weekend outings; all the memories were so pleasant. Along the way we...
Driving south on Highway 1 from after it intersects Highway 5 is fairly uneventful, if by “uneventful” you mean "the hundreds of times when you’re confronted with the fact that even a slight miscalculation on your steering wheel will result in certain death." A half inch to the left, and you’ll crash head-on into a semi barreling towards you at 60 miles per hour. A half inch to the right, and you’ll go over the roughly 12-inch shoulder to plunge either into...
Most people think that the most important Spanish phrase you could learn is “Dónde está el baño?” (Where’s the bathroom?), “Cuánto cuesta este?” (How much is this?) or even, “Camarero, dos margaritas más, por favor (Bartender, two more margaritas, please). While all these are very good to know in appropriate circumstances, my view is that the most important phrase to learn while driving south from San Felipe through Baja on Highway 5 (pretty much the only road you...
My husband pulled our high-top white van with the dogs in the backseat into the Pemex, the ubiquitous gas stations of Baja California, Mexico. We were returning to the outskirts of La Paz, a busy little town that fronts a bay and is held in by the mountains. He spoke in Spanglish to the attendant about the price of gas as the van was serviced. I sat inside, drowsy from a day of walking along soft surf. From my side of the van, I watched a woman approach the car to the right of me.....jpg)
Two bodies of water surround most of the peninsula of Baja California. On the eastern side is the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California), while the western side faces the more familiar Pacific Ocean. These watery expanses merge at what looks like the large, natural arch you've seen pictures of at Baja’s southern tip, Cabo San Lucas, about 750 miles roughly south of the US-Mexican border. At its widest, the peninsula measures about 85 miles from side...
Panamá has always been on a global path, “pro mundi beneficio” (for the benefit of the world)..png)
Living in the western end of Panama has its charm as well as its challenges. We often hear that folks miss certain products from home and many make routine treks to Panama City to take advantage of greater product availability. The truth is, there is greater variety in Panama City than in smaller cities and towns. This is often the case in more urban areas. But here in Chiriqui, if you look around long enough you are usually able to find most of what of you need in...
Whoever chaired the city naming committee for the Calexico – Mexicali area was too clever by half. Calexico (a mash-up of “California” and “Mexico”) is on the US side, while Mexicali (a reverse mash-up) is on the Mexican side. Or is it the other way…
The Mexican border agent took a quick look at our over-sized van and motioned me to pull over to a special inspection area. Then, he asked me to open the rear doors. What he saw next was a cargo area so fully stuffed that you would have a difficult time adding a tennis ball.
vegetable trays, cheese and...