[All pictures are hot linked to a larger version.]
One of the day trips we took from Coronado was to El Valle de Anton.
Supposedly the whole valley is a volcano crater.
Here is a shot of part of the crater rim from the outside:
One of the big draws to El Valle is the open air market on Sundays.
Scaled by the backdrop of the mountains that ring the valley, it doesn’t look like much…
There were a lot of locally made crafts as well as plants and produce.
Across the street, a band from neighboring Ecuador rocked the hizzah, playing The Sounds of Silence on the pan pipes to the backing of a beat box…
We weren’t really sure where to go to see all of the sights of El Valle, so we followed the first sign that seemed touristy. It said, "El Nispero" and showed a picture of a bird. What the heck!
The road seemed longer due to the fact that it wasn’t paved and we had no idea if we’d actually find something interesting at the end. But the view was nice…
It turned out to be a small zoo and plant nursery.
After we parked the car, a young boy (maybe six) asked us if wanted him to "protect" our car. Huh. That was really the last place I expected to run into a protection racket. Newark, maybe…
They had a few nice displays and some interesting critters, including albino peafowl. (As well as some normal peafowl with a couple of aggressively showy males…)
Another view of the backdrop. Pictures really don’t do it justice - it’s a fantastic view…
The area was very rocky - looks like they collected a lot of the rocks and formed several non-functional walls…
El Valle is the sole home to the Panamanian golden frog, Atelopus zeteki. They had a display at El Nispero, but it was terribly dark inside the cage and I was trying to focus through some heavily corroded welded wire with tight (for obvious reasons) spacing. Yeah, yeah - excuses…
At least the picture shows that I did, in fact, see one…
One monkey checking out another…
The three-toed sloth was just as fascinated with Donna as she was with it. Obviously hamming it up for the camera…
The margay was chillin’…
while the ocelot was pacing…
You could easily stick your fingers through the fence and lost a finger to a bored big cat…
Another dramatic shot of the surrounding mountains…
We drove around for a bit and then returned to "town" to grab a late lunch at Restaurante Bruschetta (on the right). Donna & I (with Dyson by my side) walked around looking for a photo op, while Kel waited at the table and Keira used the baño…
Dyson stole my cheap sunglasses and copped a ‘tude…
Supposedly, El Valle also offers a fantastic canopy trip and some really nice hikes and waterfalls. The kids were not up to further adventures, though.
Maybe I’ll make a return visit the next time I go to Panama on business. (Should be within the next month…)
gorgeous pictures. I can’t see a lot of difference between the margay and the ocelot, but I suppose they know the difference.
Ok, that was a stale joke.
Comment by opie_jeanne — 17 April 07 @ 1:18 am
I want a sloth, and a margay, and an ocelot for Christmas!
I got memory for Mother’s Day, so now I can come see all your beautiful pictures without having to wait for three hours for my puny computer to load them - YAY! Also, happy birthday!
Comment by elayne — 16 May 07 @ 6:39 pm