El Valle was a beautiful little town. We stayed with relatives of one of our Portland friends. They were very hospitable and made us feel right at home. We checked out some local sights; a small zoo and gardens, thermal baths, and went on a nice hike up the mountain. There were all kinds of tropical plants that we hadn't seen before. We also saw our first leaf-cutter ants which were fun to watch. At one point we were up really high with scary drop-offs on either side with the wind beating us hard. We'd already heard a story about a man who fell and ended up stuck in a tree for days near there so we chickened out and turned back.
We also met two very sweet local girls (Margarita & Nilka) who John and Sharon (our hosts) had met while setting up a medical clinic in the Chiriqui Frontera of Panama. They didn't speak English but Mike was able to communicate all right. We all got along and they felt like friends even if we didn't understand each other most of the time. We ended up traveling with them out of El Valle to David.
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