There are many things I really love about Boquete. Today I took dozens of wonderful bird photos with out leaving the backyard. Then it was time to run into town to pick up a few grocery items. Back in Florida if I had to make so many stops I would have been complaining. Here I look forward to the multiple stop shopping. The list was made and Eric driving so we don’t have to park at every stop, we set out for “downtown” Boquete.

First Stop the Global Bank. Here there is no mail service so bills are delivered to your gate and you have to take them downtown to stop in the bank or a store to pay. There is almost never a line for this task just a smiling face / guard at the door and more of the same inside. Eric had to go to a different bank across the street to cash a check and then we met back at the van for the next stop; the phone company. Yep, I was losing sleep over that $4.70 phone bill so had to get it paid! I gave the clerk $20.70 and he had to use the calculater to figure out the change. Think of that next time you wonder about the educational system in the states.

Then off to the fabric store where they have the least expensive honey in town (don’t ask why I have no idea) – a large jar for $5.25.

The next stop is one of our favorites – the indoor farmers’ market. Lot’s of stops and greetings in here as we are regulars and most of the time we now pay “local” prices for our veggies. Tourists and visitors usually pay a bit more – it is just the way it’s done. Here we visited 4 booths and talked with the owners of each (in Spanish) No one speaks English in there. We spent less than $15 and came home with a cucumber, 20 bananas, a pineapple, 3 avacados, 3 mangos, celery, 4 large potatoes, 3 onions, 2 tomatoes, a huge zucchini and 2 large peppers. Fresh from the farm, yummy! Oops, I forgot – also a bag of fresh pinto beans.

Next to walk across the street to the Romero Grocery Store for raw sugar, great homegrown coffee and a few miscellaneous items. Normally the next purchase is from the fish mongers selling from the trucks outside the farmers’ market (big negotiations there will usually net you tuna for $3.50 a lb or fresh red snapper for $2.50) but today I have fresh trout on my mind and have just found out where to go to buy it!

Stop number 6 is the chicken store for fresh pork, eggs and chicken.  Broke the bank and spent $12 there and left with 3 thick pork chops, 4 chicken breasts, 2 huge pork steaks (to feed 4 people) and a dozen farm fresh brown eggs (they are all brown here and they don’t cost more).

Last but not least is the trout processing house on the edge of town. This farm provides trout for Publix in Florida and I think we get it just a bit fresher. it was practically swimming when we got it at $3.50 per lb.. Freshly filleted pan seared with butter and almonds for lunch was a great reward at the end of our errands.

We stopped at my CENTURY 21 Office on the way home to pick up a sign; chatted a little everywhere we went and arrived home in less than 1 1/2 hours. Unbelievable! You just have to love a small town with perfect weather, no AC needed, just fresh mountain air and friendly people. not to mention great freah food!

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