Chiriqui in December

I've been promising picture updates....I know...I'm slow at it! But I promise to update little by little this week. I love taking pictures! But I'm editing down a lot and just sharing the highlights. I spent the holiday season in the province of Chiriqui with my relatives. Though it's always tough to be far from home during the holidays spending time in Chiriqui always manages to leave me feeling rejuvenated. Happy faces, good food and breath taking views are always good for the soul. Life there moves at a different pace, making you stop and see your own life a little different. I enjoyed spending time eating a lot of delicious Panamanian food, visiting with cousins, aunts and uncles, taking pictures, waking up late, crocheting in the afternoons, trips to the river, dancing the night away and just taking it easy. Here are some of my favorite shots.

my adorable niece is such a model! my roommate, her sisters and me....we were like a rainbow of colors on Christmas eve! (this was not planned!)

Christmas day I spent swimming in a river! What a nice way to spend the day with cousins and friends! I love that Panamanians are not afraid to paint their home bright colors, such as this lovely turquoise home in Bugaba with contrasting pink flower bush (I think this is the day my flip flop died and I had to walk to my aunties barefoot)

some mulberries in my aunties immense back yard. They are deceiving and look quite delicious but really aren't :/ and I got excited to see local organic salad greens with a flower! I just wonder if the flower is edible?

New Years was all a buzz with massive food preparation and anticipation of my friends from Oahu and San Francisco arriving that afternoon. See the huge New Years spread? Oh yeah it was some good eating of tamales, pork, ham, turkey, rice, salad, traditional egg bread with slivered almonds (rosca), my auntie Esther's famous fruit cake (yum), grapes and apples! And here I am salsa dancing with a friend in my aunts drive way before we headed to another outdoor party and danced 'till 6:30 in the morning! It was truly a night to remember.

New Year's day festivities are always spent at my aunts farm in Volcan. Everyone wakes up early and spends the day eating and visiting. Girls will be girls, having some fun dancing competitions! Here I am dancing with my sweet little niece. She's got some good moves that little one!

As always the walk to the most amazing river and my favorite place in Panama! And here is one of many pretty flowers aunt puts around her home.

PS:Don't forget to look in Panama posts for more great pictures of my adventures here!

*these pictures are for your personal use only and I maintain the copywrite. Thank you.

Chiriqui in December